Jorge Rodríguez (politician)


Jorge Jesús Rodríguez Gómez is a Venezuelan politician and psychiatrist who was Vice President of Venezuela from January 2007 to January 2008, and served as Mayor of the Libertador Bolivarian Municipality from 2008–2017. He is the brother of Delcy Rodríguez, the current Vice President.

Life and career

He was born in Barquisimeto. His father was a leader in the Socialist League and was tortured to death by police in the 1970s. Prior to his appointment as vice-president, Rodríguez had been the chief of Venezuela's National Electoral Council.
On 3 January 2007 President Hugo Chávez announced that Rodríguez would be the next Vice President, replacing José Vicente Rangel. He was sworn in on 8 January, two days before Chávez's swearing in for his next term as president.
Rodríguez studied medicine at the Central University of Venezuela ; he was the president of the Federation of University Centers in 1988. After graduating, he studied psychiatry at the UCV and community clinical psychology at the Andrés Bello Catholic University.
He headed the government's campaign in favor of a group of constitutional amendments in the December 2007 referendum. Following the defeat of the referendum, Chávez announced on 3 January 2008 that he was replacing Rodríguez with Ramón Carrizales, previously the Minister of Housing. Chávez said that Rodríguez would concentrate on developing the new United Socialist Party of Venezuela.
In the November 2008 regional elections, Rodríguez was elected as Mayor of the Libertador District in Caracas.

Sanctions

Rodríguez has been sanctioned by several countries and is banned from entering neighboring Colombia. The Colombian government maintains a list of people banned from entering Colombia or subject to expulsion; as of January 2019, the list had 200 people with a "close relationship and support for the Nicolás Maduro regime".

Canada

On 22 September 2017, Canada sanctioned Rodríguez due to rupture of Venezuela's constitutional order following the 2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election.

United States

The United States sanctioned Rodriguez on 25 September 2018 for his efforts in solidifying President Maduro's power in Venezuela.