Delcy Rodríguez facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal family name is Rodríguez and the second or maternal family name is Gómez.

Quick facts for kids Delcy Rodríguez
Rodríguez in 2016

24th Vice President of Venezuela
Incumbent
Assumed office 14 June 2018 Disputed between 10 January 2019 and 5 January 2023
President	Nicolás Maduro
Preceded by	Tareck El Aissami
Minister of Petroleum
In office 27 August 2024 – 15 January 2025
President	Nicolás Maduro
Preceded by	Pedro Tellechea
President of the Constituent Assembly
In office 4 August 2017 – 14 June 2018
President	Nicolás Maduro
Preceded by	Luis Miquilena (1999)
Succeeded by	Diosdado Cabello
189th Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 26 December 2014 – 21 June 2017
President	Nicolás Maduro
Preceded by	Rafael Ramírez
Succeeded by	Samuel Moncada
2nd Minister of Popular Power for Communication and Information
In office 3 August 2013 – 13 October 2014
President	Nicolás Maduro
Preceded by	Ernesto Villegas
Succeeded by	Jacqueline Faria

Personal details
Born	Delcy Eloína Rodríguez Gómez (1969-05-18) 18 May 1969 (age 56) Caracas, Republic of Venezuela
Political party	United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) (until 2018) Movement We Are Venezuela (MSV) (from 2018)
Domestic partner	José Vicente Olmos iguaro (1996 - Presen)
Parents	Jorge Antonio Rodríguez (father; 1942-1976)
Relatives	Jorge Rodríguez (brother)

Delcy Eloína Rodríguez Gómez (born 18 May 1969) is a Venezuelan lawyer and politician. She has been the vice president of Venezuela since 2018.

Rodríguez has held many important jobs in the Venezuelan government. She served as Minister of Communication and Information from 2013 to 2014. From 2014 to 2017, she was the Minister of Foreign Affairs. She also led the Constituent Assembly from 2017 to 2018. Since 2024, she has also been the Minister of Petroleum.

Some countries, like the European Union, the United States, and Canada, have placed sanctions on her. They state this is due to concerns about human rights violations and her role in political issues in Venezuela.

Early Life and Education
Political Career
Sanctions
Personal Life
See also

Early Life and Education

Delcy Rodríguez was born in Caracas, Venezuela. Her father, Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, helped start a political group called the Socialist League. Her mother is Delcy Gómez. Her father passed away in 1976 while he was in prison. Delcy also has a brother named Jorge Rodriguez Gomez.

Rodríguez studied at the Central University of Venezuela (UCV). She earned a law degree there in 1993. During her university years, she was also a student leader. She later studied labor law in Paris, France.

In her career, Rodríguez has taught at the Central University of Venezuela. She also led the union for Venezuelan labor lawyers.

Political Career

Rodriguez shaking hands with former United States Secretary of State John Kerry

Starting in Government

Rodríguez began working for the government in 2003. She first joined the Vice Presidency of Venezuela. Later, she became the Director of International Affairs at the Ministry of Energy and Mines. In 2005, she was named Vice-minister for European Affairs.

She also served as Minister for Presidential Affairs from February to August 2006. This was during the time Hugo Chávez was president. The next year, she was the General Coordinator to the Vice-President of Venezuela. Her brother was the Vice President at this time.

In August 2013, President Nicolás Maduro appointed her as the Minister of Communication and Information. She held this job until October 2014.

Minister of Foreign Affairs

On 26 December 2014, President Nicolás Maduro chose Rodríguez to be the Minister of Foreign Relations. This job is also known as Chancellor. She was the first woman in Venezuela to hold this important position.

In December 2015, Rodríguez attended a meeting of Mercosur leaders. Mercosur is a group of South American countries that work together on trade and other issues. At this meeting, she had a disagreement with the President of Argentina, Mauricio Macri. He asked for political prisoners in Venezuela to be released. Rodríguez said he was interfering in Venezuela's matters.

She also showed photos of protests in Venezuela. She said these images proved that opposition leaders were responsible for attacks on public buildings.

In 2016, Rodríguez spoke out against Luis Almagro. He is the head of the Organization of American States (OAS). She said he was trying to suspend Venezuela from the OAS. She called his actions "international bullying."

In June 2016, President Nicolás Maduro gave Rodríguez a special award. It was the Military Order of National Defense. He honored her for "defending the interests of the nation." Later that year, she received another award for "bringing the truth of Venezuela to the world."

In December 2016, Rodríguez tried to attend a Mercosur meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Venezuela had been suspended from the group by most member countries. She was initially stopped from entering the building. However, she eventually got in, but the other ministers had moved to a different location.

Rodríguez left her role as Minister of Foreign Affairs in June 2017. She decided to run for a seat in the National Constituent Assembly.

President of the Constituent Assembly

On 30 July 2017, Rodríguez was elected as a representative for Caracas to the National Constituent Assembly (ANC). When the ANC started on 4 August 2017, she was chosen to be its president.

In January 2018, President Nicolás Maduro announced that Rodríguez would lead a new political group called the Somos Venezuela Movement (MSV). She left her old political party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), to join the MSV. This was because rules in Venezuela do not allow people to be members of two political parties at once. However, she later rejoined the PSUV in October of the same year.

Vice President

On 14 June 2018, President Maduro appointed Rodríguez as the Vice President of Venezuela. She took over from Tareck El Aissami. As Vice President, she also became the head of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN). This is Venezuela's main intelligence agency.

In December 2018, Rodríguez welcomed the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to Venezuela. This was part of his official visit. In November 2022, she visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.

Minister of Economy and Finance

Since 10 September 2020, Rodríguez has also served as the Minister of Economy and Finance of Venezuela. President Nicolás Maduro appointed her to this position.

In July 2021, Rodríguez attended the yearly meeting of Fedecámaras. This group brings together leaders from Venezuela's main businesses. It was the first time in 20 years that a high-ranking government official attended this event. Rodríguez said that private businesses are important for Venezuela's economy.

Sanctions

Several countries have placed sanctions on Delcy Rodríguez. This means they have put limits on her, such as banning her from traveling to their countries or freezing her money there.

Canada sanctioned Rodríguez on 22 September 2017. They said it was because of her role in Venezuela's political issues.

On 25 June 2018, the European Union also sanctioned her. They froze her money and banned her from traveling to EU countries. They stated this was for "undermin[ing] democracy and the rule of law in Venezuela."

Mexico also froze her money and banned her from entering the country in April 2018.

Switzerland sanctioned Rodríguez on 10 July 2018, for similar reasons as the European Union.

The United States sanctioned Rodríguez on 25 September 2018. They included her on a list of people for "corruption and humanitarian issues."

Personal Life

Delcy Rodríguez is the daughter of Jorge Antonio Rodríguez. He was a founder of the Socialist League of Venezuela. Her brother, Jorge Jesús Rodríguez, has served as Mayor of Caracas and as Vice President.