Venezuela’s Delcy Rodríguez has a deep spiritual link with Sathya Sai Baba, having visited Puttaparthi at least three times. Photos: X.
Delcy Rodríguez: Venezuela is reeling from a period of political turmoil after Donald Trump captured its President, Nicolás Maduro. In his absence, Delcy Eloina Rodríguez has been appointed as the president of the country. As soon as Rodríguez took charge of the highest office, social media unearthed her devotional connection to Indian spiritual guru Sathya Sai Baba. According to the reports, the new president has made several visits to Sathya Sai’s ashram, Prasanthi Nilayam, in Andhra Pradesh.
Rodríguez has been serving as the vice president of the oil-rich country since 2018. She last visited India in 2024. She made her trip from Kazan after attending the BRICS. She then met the then Indian Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar in New Delhi. Rodríguez then went on to pay obeisance at Sathya Sai’s memorial.
In 2019, Rodríguez visited India along with a team of Venezuelan ministers. At that time, the whole team went to Prasanthi Nilayam. In 2023, accompanied by Capaya Rodríguez, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Rodríguez again visited India as a part of a Venezuelan delegation to attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi.
The reports emerged after Maduro’s connection with Sathya Sai came into light on the day when he was captured by US forces. According to reports, Maduro has a well-known connection with the spiritual Indian Baba. According to reports, Maduro’s private office at his Miraflores Palace in Caracas is adorned with the large framed photo of Sathya Sai Baba, placed next to portraits of revolutionary figures like Simón Bolívar and Hugo Chávez.
Maduro has also visited Sathya Sai several times. According to reports, before becoming President of Venezuela, he visited Puttaparthi with his wife, Cilia Flores, and reportedly met Sathya Sai, who passed away in 2011, in private.
According to reports, when the spiritual guru died, the Venezuelan president visited the ashram along with a large delegation and stayed at Shanti Bhavan, the VIP guest house there.
In 2012, Venezuela even declared a day of national mourning on the death of the spiritual guru, saying that he touched lives far beyond India, including in Venezuela.
Just last year, in November 20025, Maduro marked Sathya Sai’s 100th birth year and called him a “being of light” in an official statement.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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