Billionaire Elon Musk has expressed support for the people of Venezuela after SpaceX-owned Starlink announced it was providing free broadband internet service in the country for a limited time at a time when Venezuela is gripped by rapidly evolving political events.
In a post on the social network X, Musk wrote "In Support of the People of Venezuela" and published a message from Starlink describing the initiative.
The company states: "Starlink provides free broadband service to the people of Venezuela until February 3, ensuring continuous connectivity".
The news coincided with dramatic scenes involving ousted dictator Nicolas Maduro after his removal by the United States. A video released by US authorities shows the captured Venezuelan leader in handcuffs during a staged criminal walk.
In the footage, Maduro is seen wishing reporters and Drug Enforcement Agency agents a Happy New Year and good night as he is led away to custody.
Amid these developments, Venezuela's Supreme Court has taken action to address the leadership vacuum by ordering Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the powers and duties of acting president after the US took Nicolás Maduro away.
The order, announced late last night, concludes that Maduro is in a "material and temporary inability to exercise his functions".
According to the decision, Rodriguez will "assume and exercise, as acting president, all the powers, duties and capabilities inherent to the office of president of the Bolivarian Republic. Venezuela, to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive protection of the nation.
The court cited the Venezuelan constitution, which states that when there is a temporary or absolute absence of the president, the person holding the position of vice president must replace him.
Additional information on the situation was provided by former US national security adviser John Bolton. He said that a plan to remove Maduro was presented to US President Donald Trump during his first term, but failed to move forward because administration officials failed to keep the president "focused" on the issue.
Bolton explained that even during his first term, Trump was "very interested in Venezuelan oil" and that while his team managed to get him interested in the idea of removing Maduro, they "couldn't keep him focused on it."
He added that the opposition in Venezuela at the time believed that economic pressure would be enough to shake the Maduro regime.