US plans to force Delcy Rodríguez out of presidency in 2027

The United States plans to require Venezuela's interim government to declare a permanent vacancy in the presidency during 2027, according to the State Department and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The US timeline envisions a sweeping overhaul of public institutions before elections are called, in which the current interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, would face no obstacles to running.

The strategy devised by Washington aims to dismantle the institutional control of chavismo through a series of sequential steps. The first milestone is set for mid-December of this year, when a new Supreme Court of Justice is expected to be elected by a committee agreed upon by representatives of the ruling party and the opposition grouped around the National Assembly elected in 2015.

In parallel, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must be transformed to strip it of its political powers and prevent the discretionary exclusion of candidates, a mechanism that in previous processes blocked the participation of opposition figures such as María Corina Machado. Only after these institutional reforms are completed will the definitive vacancy in the head of state be triggered, opening a six-month period for holding elections.

The US administration argues that this transition process has strict deadlines accepted by Caracas and backed by the persistence of economic sanctions. The validity of licenses and special authorizations to operate in the oil and financial sectors serves as the main lever of pressure to ensure that the interim government meets the planned timeline before the end of the presidential term in Washington in early 2029.