Overview
- State Department official Michael Kozak sent a letter asking prosecutor Jay Clayton to inform the court that Rodríguez is the only head of state authorized to act for Venezuela.
- Washington’s notice follows its March 5 move to normalize relations with Caracas under interim president Delcy Rodríguez.
- The recognition undercuts Maduro’s strategy to claim presidential status for immunity and to seek state-funded legal representation.
- Maduro was captured in early January in Caracas and transferred to New York to face federal narcotics charges, with U.S. officials calling him an accused narcoterrorist.
- Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal directed then–vice president Rodríguez to assume interim authority to preserve institutional continuity after Maduro’s detention.