Venezuelan government seeks to show it is operating free from US control

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The Venezuelan government on Monday sought to show its people and the world that the country is being run independently and not controlled by the United States following its stunning weekend arrest of Nicolás Maduro, the authoritarian leader who had ruled for almost 13 years.

Lawmakers aligned with the ruling party, including Maduro's son, gathered in the capital, Caracas, to follow through with a scheduled swearing-in ceremony of the National Assembly for a term that will last until 2031.

Delcy Rodríguez, who served as vice president to Maduro and has vowed to work with the Trump administration, was sworn in as interim president. She was sworn in by her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, who was reelected as speaker.

“I come with sorrow for the suffering inflicted upon the Venezuelan people following an illegitimate military aggression against our homeland,” she said with her right hand up.

Venezuelan lawmakers gave speeches focused on condemning Maduro's capture Saturday by U.S. forces.

“If we normalize the kidnapping of a head of state, no country is safe. Today, it’s Venezuela. Tomorrow, it could be any nation that refuses to submit," Maduro's son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, said at the legislative palace in his first public appearance since Saturday. "This is not a regional problem. It is a direct threat to global political stability."

Maduro Guerra, also known as “Nicolasito,” demanded that his father and stepmother, Cilia Flores, be returned to the South American country and called on international support. Maduro Guerra, the deposed leader's only son, also denounced being named as a co-conspirator in the federal indictment charging his father and Flores.

While Venezuelan lawmakers met, Maduro made his first court appearance in a U.S. courtroom on the narco-terrorism charges the Trump administration used to justify capturing him and taking him to New York. Maduro declared himself “innocent” and a “decent man” as he pleaded not guilty to federal drug-trafficking charges.

The U.S. seized Maduro and Flores in a military operation Saturday, capturing them in their home on a military base. President Donald Trump said the U.S. would “run” Venezuela temporarily, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that it would not govern the country day-to-day other than enforcing an existing ” oil quarantine.”

Rubio said the U.S. was using pressure on Venezuela's oil industry as a way to push for policy changes. "We expect to see that there will be changes, not just in the way the oil industry is run for the benefit of the people, but also so that they stop the drug trafficking,” Rubio said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

On Sunday, Rodríguez said Venezuela is seeking “respectful relations” with the U.S., a shift from a more defiant tone she struck in the immediate aftermath of Maduro’s capture.

“We invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence,” Rodríguez said in a statement. Her conciliatory message came after Trump threatened that she could “pay a very big price” if she did not fall in line with U.S. demands.

Venezuela's Supreme Court appointed Rodriguez as interim president on Saturday. The country's constitution requires an election within 30 days whenever the president becomes “permanently unavailable” to serve. However, the Supreme Court declared Maduro’s absence a “temporary” one.

In such a scenario, the vice president, an unelected position, takes over for up to 90 days — a period that can be extended to six months with a vote of the National Assembly.

The Supreme Court made no mention of a time limit, though, leading some to speculate she could try to remain in power even longer. Rodríguez is also backed by Venezuela’s military, long the arbiter of power struggles in the South American nation.

Before taking the oath of office, Venezuelan lawmaker Grecia Colmenares said she would “take every giant step to bring back (to Venezuela) the bravest of the brave, Nicolás Maduro Moreno, and our first lady, Cilia Flores.”

“I swear by the shared destiny we deserve,” she said.

A State Department official said Monday that the Trump administration is making preliminary plans to reopen the U.S. embassy in Venezuela.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations, said early preparations “to allow for a reopening” of the embassy in Caracas had begun in the event Trump decides to return American diplomats to the country.

Associated Press Writers Megan Janetsky in Mexico City, and Matthew Lee in Washington, contributed to this report.

Venezuelan Vice President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez gives a press conference at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

Funeral workers prepare the body of Rosa Elena Gonzalez, 80, who died after her apartment was hit during a U.S. strike to capture President Nicolas Maduro, in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Police patrol in downtown Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

FILE - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, left, and his son Nicolas Maduro Guerra who is running to represent Caracas as a lawmaker for the National Assembly attend a closing campaign rally for the regional election on May 25, in Caracas, Venezuela, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

Pro-government armed civilians attend a protest demanding the release of President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores, the day after U.S. forces captured and flew them to the United States, in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

A government supporter holds an action figure of Super Bigote during a protest demanding the release of President Nicolas Maduro, who was captired by U.S. forces, in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Government supporters demand President Nicolas Maduro's release from U.S. custody during a protest in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tarris Reed Jr. sat at his locker Thursday, fielding questions about his run as the interior-scoring, rebound-snagging force in UConn's latest Final Four push.

Yet he wasn't the main attraction.

That's because across the room, an even bigger gaggle of reporters waited for freshman guard Braylon Mullins — the Indiana kid who hit an all-timer of a shot to send the Huskies back to the sport's biggest stage — to return for his own round of interviews.

“Guards are the ones that hit the big shots,” Reed said Thursday when asked about big men getting their due, adding with a grin: “We just do our job, we do the dirty work — and we're used to doing it our whole life so we have fun doing it.”

Maybe so, but there's no minimalizing the impact of size this week in Indianapolis. Not with the Final Four boasting its biggest quartet of teams going back roughly two decades, starting with guys such as Reed, Michigan's Aday Mara, Arizona's Koa Peat and Illinois' 7-foot Ivisic twins as anchors to lineups with size radiating all the way out to the perimeter.

The average height of the Final Four teams is nearly 79.1 inches, or roughly 6 feet 6, according to KenPom’s analytics site. That edges last year’s average of nearly 78.3 inches for the biggest of any Final Four going back to the start of KenPom’s data in 2007.

Illinois (28-8) is Division I's tallest team with an average roster height of nearly 6-7 (80 inches), while Arizona (36-2) is seventh at nearly 6-6 (79 inches). Michigan (35-3) and UConn (33-5) are in the top 30 nationally with nearly identical averages slightly behind the Wildcats.

Consider it a sign of the premium each team put on building a roster to overwhelm teams inside, on the glass and with game-altering length spanning the gaps between.

That kind of size, strength and wingspan creates trouble cascading through the matchups. ACC Network analyst Luke Hancock said teams are also thriving by finding power forwards and centers capable of stepping outside to stretch defenses further and create space, eliminating the ability for a defense to simply collapse on a lone big man.

“Guards still win in March,” said Hancock, the most outstanding player of the 2013 Final Four in Louisville’s later-vacated title run. "But I think these guys have become almost like a necessary component. If you want to win championships, you need a big 4 and a monster 5.”

And it's manifesting in several ways as March Madness reaches its final act.

The Illini have had the best defensive tournament efficiency of the Final Four teams while dominating the glass to complete those stops. Their roster includes an influx of European talent, including Tomislav (7-1) and Zvonimir Ivisic (7-2), as well as 6-9 forward David Mirkovic from Montenegro.

The Illini also brings 6-9, 235-pound graduate Ben Humrichous off the bench, while the outlier in the big lineup is 6-2 senior guard Kylan Boswell as a strong backcourt defender.

The South Region champion has allowed .976 points per possession in the NCAA Tournament to lead the remaining four teams. Throw in the fact that Illinois is outrebounding opponents by 16.3 per game, and it's been a perfectly timed boost to an already elite offense with those forwards and centers capable of hitting from behind the arc, too.

"Playing in the summer, you could tell it’s a little bit harder to do some things just because you’ve got Z at the rim, who’s 7-foot-2 and a great shot blocker," 6-6 forward Jake Davis said. “You got Tommy down there. So anybody you’re going up against in practice is super tall. ... We’ve just got a bunch of length everywhere. And you could tell early on that we could cause problems for other teams.”

The Illini will be tested against Reed, a 6-foot-11, 265-pound senior whose scoring (21.8) and rebounding (13.5) averages in the tournament are the best of any player still standing.

That included opening the tournament with a video game-type stat line of 31 points and 27 rebounds against Furman, making him the first player with 30-plus points and 25-plus rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game since Houston’s Elvin Hayes did it twice in 1968.

He’s coming off a 26-point showing in the comeback from 19 down to stun Duke in the Elite Eight.

“He’s a monster,” said UConn senior Alex Karaban, who was part of the Huskies’ 2023 and 2024 title winners. “He’s been so dominant. He’s really playing like the most dominant player in college basketball right now.”

When it comes to the No. 1 seeds, the Wolverines have hummed with 90-plus points in four tournament wins. The Wildcats have been right behind in offensive efficiency despite being shooting fewer 3-pointers than just about every other Division I team all season.

Their meeting Saturday matches strengths.

Michigan has used the 7-3, 255-pound Mara to protect the paint, flanked by a pair of versatile 6-9 forwards in Associated Press first-team All-American Yaxel Lendeborg (240 pounds) and Morez Johnson Jr. (250).

“Our size definitely makes it tougher for smaller guards,” Lendeborg said. “Because we’re so versatile ... we can switch and guard point guards, make their life a little harder. And you know, we’re all strong bodies too. So we try to wear down teams.

“And then, toward the end of the game, that’s when we usually make our runs when we need it.”

Michigan will be tested against the Wildcats with 7-2 center Motiejus Krivas (10.4 points, 8.2 rebounds) and Peat, a 6-8, 235-pound freshman considered a strong NBA prospect.

“If you don't have the big to defend other bigs, you can't compete at this level in my opinion,” Hancock said.

“How do you make it so you're really tough to guard and you have an advantage? It’s the 4-men in this Final Four who are just so talented and the diversity of their skill sets — they can do so many things. That is the ultimate to me.”

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Arizona forward Koa Peat (10) dunks during the second half in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Purdue, Saturday, March 28, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Kelley L Cox)

Iowa's Tavion Banks (6) has his shot blocked by Illinois' Zvonimir Ivisic (44) during the first half of an Elite Eight game in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

UConn forward Tarris Reed Jr. (5) reacts after the team's win against Duke in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)