Presumed successor to Venezuela’s Maduro is in Russia, report says

The presumed successor to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is now in Russia, a report published on Saturday said.

Four sources familiar with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez’s movements confirmed his location to Reuters. news agency quoted The Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that the report was “fake”.

Earlier in the day, Rodriguez demanded the United States provide “proof of life” for Maduro and his wife, in an audio recording broadcast on Venezuelan state television, after President Donald Trump said the pair were captured in a US military operation.

“We demand that the government of President Donald Trump immediately provide proof of life of President Maduro and the First Lady,” Rodriguez said, according to Reuters.

LIVE UPDATES: VENEZUELA’S MADURO CAPTURED BY THE USA

Trump later shared a photo on Truth Social of Maduro in custody aboard the USS Iwo Jima, seen wearing gray sweatpants and a sweatshirt while blindfolded and holding a water bottle. Trump later said he would be brought to New York.

Maduro served as vice president of Venezuela before coming to power following the death of then-leader Hugo Chavez in 2013.

Jorge Rodríguez, Delcy’s brother and president of Venezuela’s national assembly, remains in Caracas, three sources say he told Reuters.

When asked what the future of Venezuela will be now that Maduro is no longer in the country, Trump said “we’re making that decision now” in an interview on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”

AFTER THE US ATTACK ON VENEZUELA, REPUBLICANS ARE LOOKING BEHIND TRUMP, MADURO WAS ARRESTED: ‘HE CHANGED THE FLOW OF HISTORY’

President Donald Trump shared a photo of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was captured on the USS Iwo Jima ship after the attack on Venezuela on Saturday, January 3, 2026. (Real Social/ @realDonaldTrump)

“We can’t take the risk of letting someone else run and take over where he left off. That’s why we’re making this decision now,” Trump told Fox News. “We’re going to be very involved in this, and we want to provide freedom for the people. You know, we want to have a great relationship. I think the people of Venezuela are very, very happy because they love the United States. You know, they were essentially ruled by a dictatorship or worse.”

Trump later confirmed at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida that the United States would temporarily govern Venezuela.

Maduro’s successors will likely be 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner and opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González. one expert said on Saturday.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez addresses the media in Caracas, Venezuela, on March 10, 2025. (Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters)

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Venezuelan Jorge Jraissati, who heads the Economic Participation Group, told Fox News Digital: “Machado and Gonzalez will assume a transitional government in Venezuela.

Fox News’ Rachel Wolf, Benjamin Weinthal and Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.