Her revolutionary fervor is believed to stem from the torture and death of her father, Jorge, in the 1970s. For many years she has been seen as a mere blip alongside Venezuelan rulers Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro. Now the “tigress,” Delcy Rodríguez, has become supreme leader herself.

The nickname “La Tigresa” was given to the 56-year-old by her then-boss, President Maduro, for her fervent defense of the so-called Bolivarian Revolution, the hard-line leftist shift in Venezuela that was initiated by Chávez when he became president in 1999 and has continued to this day.

Delcy Rodríguez’s political fervor was awakened during her student years in Caracas and Paris in the 1980s. Together with her older brother Jorge Rodríguez, she shared the painful memories of the death of her father, Jorge Antonio Rodríguez. In connection with a high-profile kidnapping of an alleged CIA spy in 1976, her father was arrested by the feared intelligence service Disip. He died from torture in custody.

“Conquer power”

The siblings were seven and ten years old at the time, but the incident has left its mark on the family’s life. The Spanish newspaper El País has described her as the widow and the siblings’ mother, Delcy Gómez, “instilled in her children that they must be the best, conquer power and avenge their father’s death.”

The emotional fuel that has driven them to their current positions is based on revenge, a Venezuelan political scientist told the AFP news agency anonymously.

Her brother Jorge Rodríguez ended up in the circle of the charismatic Hugo Chávez, who, after a turbulent 1990s, was elected president and said he would start a revolution based on the deeds of the Latin American independence fighter Simón Bolívar in the early 19th century.

Took over embassy

Delcy Rodríguez made a name for herself, among other things, by seizing control of the Venezuelan embassy in London with her mother during a coup attempt against Chávez in 2002. She also became close to the president. However, according to leaks, Delcy Rodríguez, the younger sibling, with her unconventional and fiery style, often clashed with Chávez.

After Chávez’s death from cancer in 2013, Rodríguez apparently got along better with his successor, Maduro. She was given several important ministerial posts before becoming vice president in 2018 – and is now president after Maduro was arrested in the US.

Alongside Maduro, who has become increasingly authoritarian over the years, Rodríguez has stood out at international meetings, not least for her style of dress. Red is the signal color of the Chávez revolution, but Delcy Rodríguez is internationally known not only for her bright red jackets, but also for her fondness for mixing them with other strong colors such as yellow, blue and pink.

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