In the hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had been captured by U.S. forces following strikes on Venezuela, social media quickly filled with rumors about who was really in charge in Caracas and which senior officials might be trying to leave the country. Among them were posts claiming that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez had fled to Russia.
The timing made the rumor particularly consequential. In the aftermath of Maduro's capture, Venezuela's Supreme Tribunal of Justice ordered Rodríguez to assume presidential powers in Maduro's absence. If she had actually left Venezuela, it could suggest a fracture in the government.
"Venezuelan vice president, Delcy Rodriguez has fled to Russia. This is according to Reuters News Agency, who cited four sources familiar with the matter," one Facebook post (archived) read.
The post redirected to an article article (archived) published by CNC3, a TV news station in Trinidad and Tobago, titled "Venezuela vice president flees to Russia," which attributed the claim to Reuters and "four sources familiar with the matter." Similar claims spread on Threads, X, Facebook and Instagram, similarly citing Reuters as a source.
However, we could not independently verify Rodríguez was in Russia or that she traveled there after Maduro's capture. The claim largely rested on a Reuters report that cited anonymous sources familiar with her movements. However, later Reuters reporting said Venezuelan state television showed Rodríguez speaking in Caracas, contradicting the earlier reports. Russia's Foreign Ministry also denied she was in Russia.
What Reuters reported, and what it did not
Reuters published a brief article (archived) on Jan. 3 stating that Rodríguez "is in Russia," citing "four sources familiar with her movements." The same Reuters article also said her brother Jorge Rodríguez, head of Venezuela's National Assembly, was in Caracas, according to three sources with knowledge of his whereabouts. But Reuters did not report that Rodríguez had "fled," "escaped" or "sought asylum," and therefore did not imply a motive and a decisive break from normal governing activity.
Reuters also reported that Rodríguez had earlier appeared via an audio message carried on Venezuelan state television demanding "proof of life" for Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Reuters published the broadcast clip:
Venezolana de Televisión, Venezuela's state-run television station, shared the broadcast on video sharing platform Dailymotion. It was unclear from the footage where Rodríguez recorded the message.
Reuters reported later on Jan. 3 that Venezuelan state television showed Rodríguez speaking in Caracas, despite earlier reports she was in Russia. We also found multiple videos posted after Maduro's capture that show Rodríguez in Caracas, including footage from a Council of Ministers meeting.
Similarly, The New York Times reported that "while reports circulated that Ms. Rodríguez was in Russia at the time of the attacks, Ms. Rodríguez is in Caracas, according to three people close to her. Russian state media also denied reports that she was in Moscow."
On Jan. 5, Reuters reported that Rodríguez had been sworn in as the nation's interim president.
Russian Foreign Ministry's denial
Russian state media and some U.S.-based news
On Jan. 3, TASS, Russian state-owned news agency, reported that the Foreign Ministry dismissed reports of Rodríguez's presence in Russia as false, responding "Fake" when asked about the Reuters dispatch citing unnamed sources. The article, headlined "The Russian Foreign Ministry has dismissed reports of Venezuela's vice president's presence in Russia as fake news," read:
Earlier, Reuters, citing its sources, claimed that Rodriguez was in Russia.
"Fake," the Russian Foreign Ministry responded.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also described the reports as fake in comments carried by Russian media, including Gazeta.ru, which attributed her remarks to a conversation with the newspaper Izvestia.
In sum …
All in all, the claim that Rodríguez "fled to Russia" was not supported by publicly available and independently verifiable evidence at the time it spread. In early January 2026, Reuters reported that Rodríguez was in Russia, citing anonymous sources, but did not describe her as fleeing. The news outlet later reported contradictory indications about her location. Russia's Foreign Ministry publicly denied she was in Russia.