The brother of Venezuela's acting president told Newsmax that Delcy Rodriguez is stabilizing the country following the capture of dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
The two were brought to the United States to face federal drug charges.
Jorge Rodriguez told "Rob Schmitt Tonight" during an exclusive interview in Caracas on Saturday that the turmoil from Maduro's capture by U.S. forces has not led to lingering effects on the nation as a whole, despite the traumatic nature of the operation.
"So the country has been incredibly mature about it, even though it was a highly traumatic event which took place," Jorge Rodriguez, president of Venezuela's National Assembly, said through an interpreter.
"The government of Delcy Rodriguez is actually looking for that, to stabilize the country completely and to make it all good and reconcile everybody, all the population of Venezuela."
He has led the National Assembly since 2021 with the Simon Bolivar Great Patriotic Pole, a coalition of left-wing and socialist parties.
He said Venezuelans are just looking to return to a normal way of life following the upheaval caused by Maduro's capture.
"We know that you have been around Caracas lately, and you've been able to see the normality on the streets," he said.
"We are well aware that the people are looking to consolidate and get back to normality and to live their lives."
Jorge Rodriguez has been a longtime figure in Venezuelan politics.
He served as vice president under the late dictator Hugo Chavez from 2007 to 2008 and was mayor of Caracas from 2008 to 2017.
Venezuela's last elections were held in 2024, when many international observers, including the United States, said the opposition Vente Party had won.
The State Department later condemned what it called Maduro's "illegitimate attempt to seize power," saying Washington did not recognize him as Venezuela's lawful president after he claimed victory and moved to remain in office.
Jorge Rodriguez said he does not foresee elections happening in the near future.
"The only thing I could say is that there will not be an election in this immediate period of time where the stabilization has to be achieved," he said.
"What we have agreed at the moment, what we're working on at the moment, is what we call the reinstitutionalization of the country so that every single institution of the country can again be brought to full power and full recognition by everybody," he continued.
"We're going to work on the timetable that suits everybody and that guarantees not only to the winners, but also to those who do not win, that all guarantees are going to be safe, and they're going to be provided by both the current parties."
Jorge Rodriguez was asked if that meant the last election was illegitimate.
"No," he said. "There's a reality speaking to the fact that we have been divided for a very long time. ... We have in Venezuela a very clear itinerary, a very clear timetable for elections, and this is stated clearly in the Constitution of Venezuela.
"And this interim government is going to do everything following exactly what is stated in the constitution."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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