Who is the Indian guru Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodriguez follows?

Delcy Rodriguez is successful India for the archetypal clip since she became Venezuela’s interim president aft democratically elected President Nicolas Maduro was abducted by the US subject successful January.

Energy cooperation, including the proviso of Venezuelan lipid to India, tops the docket during her five-day trip, arsenic leaders successful New Delhi look to diversify vigor imports amid proviso disruptions successful the aftermath of the US-Israel warfare connected Iran.

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But diplomacy is not her lone focus. Rodriquez, who is simply a follower of Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba, is expected to sojourn his birthplace successful Puttaparthi successful the Indian authorities of Andhra Pradesh. Rodriquez’s predecessor, Maduro, was besides a devotee of Sathya Sai Baba.

So, who is Sathya Sai Baba and wherefore are Rodriquez and different Venezuelan politicians connected to him?

Here’s what we know:

Who is Sathya Sai Baba?

Born Sathyanarayana Raju successful November 1926 successful the colony of Puttaparthi, Sai Baba was an Indian self-styled ‘godman’ and spiritual person who had a planetary pursuing and whose teachings connected unity, bid and spirituality transcended religion.

He was spiritually inclined from a young age. In 1940, astatine the property of 14, helium said helium was the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba – an Indian saint, who was calved successful the precocious 19th period and followed by millions.

Sathya Sai Baba advocated for “peace, emotion and nonviolence” to the world. As a portion of his spiritual mission, helium encouraged radical to “Love All, Serve All”.

Sathya Sai Baba became fashionable successful India and worldwide successful the 1970s and 1980s and was known to materialise objects specified arsenic rings and ineffable ash. He is besides believed to person performed healings and resurrections. While scientists person accused him of faking those activities, his followers person defended his miraculous skills.

Besides the mean Indian, his followers included celebrated Indian cricketers specified arsenic Sachin Tendulkar, Bollywood actors including Amitabh Bachchan, arsenic good arsenic salient concern and governmental leaders.

In 2002, Britain’s parliament noted that Sathya Sai Baba had been sexually abusing the antheral children of devotees, and called connected the overseas caput astatine the clip to rise the contented with Indian officials.

In 2004, the BBC produced a documentary titled The Secret Swami which investigated a lawsuit of alleged intersexual abuse. In November 2006, the Guardian paper reported that the US State Department had issued question advisories informing of “inappropriate intersexual behaviour by a salient section spiritual leader”, which officials aboriginal told the work was a notation to Sai Baba. But helium was ne'er charged with the crime.

After his decease successful April 2011, suitcases containing currency and golden were recovered successful his idiosyncratic lodgings which led to fraud allegations. But officials from his Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust told section media that Sai Baba did not person immoderate spot of his own, and that income taxation was ever regularly paid.

Indian spiritual person Sathya Sai Baba, right, receives a angiosperm from a miss astatine a relation to conscionable his devotees successful New Delhi connected April 10, 2010 [File: Mustafa Quraishi/AP Photo]

What is Rodriquez’s transportation with Sai Baba?

Rodriquez has been a devotee of Sathya Sai Baba for years and has regularly visited Puttaparthi – the past clip was successful 2024.

“Many times, erstwhile I was successful danger, I felt Baba with me, my household and besides with my country,” she said. “He is ever with us, teaching america … and showing a way for bid and love,” she said successful an interrogation with the Sri Sathya Sai Trust’s authoritative media channel.

When she became interim president earlier this year, during her archetypal media briefing, she conveyed Sai Baba’s teachings to Venezuelans and said: “A caller infinitesimal wherever coexistence, communal respect and designation of others let for the operation and gathering of a caller spirituality”.

According to Indian media, a 2005 photograph shows Maduro and his woman Cilia Flores, seated astatine the feet of Sai Baba. Maduro besides reportedly had a photograph of Sai Baba successful his office.

According to the Associated Press, erstwhile Sai Baba died, Maduro declared a nationalist time of mourning successful Venezuela and called the spiritual person “a being of light” and a “beacon of unconditional love, selfless work and truth”.

In 1974, Sai Baba’s organisation opened a centre successful Caracas, which runs a “Human Values School” and imparts the guru’s teachings.

What’s connected Rodriguez’s agenda?

The interim president’s sojourn coincides with India expanding Venezuelan lipid imports.

At an estimated 303 cardinal barrels of lipid – astir 17 percent of known planetary lipid resources – the South American federation holds the world’s largest reserves, larger than Saudi Arabia and the US, though years of US sanctions and authorities mismanagement crippled production.

Venezuela emerged arsenic India’s third-largest crude lipid supplier this month, arsenic the warfare connected Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has forced countries to scramble for alternate vigor sources.

Nearly fractional of India’s crude lipid imports are usually shipped from Gulf producers done the strait, on with ample volumes of liquefied earthy state and petroleum gas. But the constrictive shipping transmission has been nether effectual Iranian blockade since March 2.

India has besides been buying much Russian lipid amid the planetary vigor situation aft Washington allowed a waiver. But earlier the Iran warfare began, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised the US that it would halt buying Russian lipid and bargain much crude from the US and Venezuela instead.

Indian companies person besides had longstanding ties with Venezuela’s lipid sector. Indian state-owned firms, led by ONGC Videsh, entered Venezuela successful 2008, seeking entree to dense crude reserves.

By 2010, Indian consortia had secured stakes successful large projects, including Carabobo-1 successful the Orinoco Oil Belt, portion successful 2012, India overtook China arsenic the largest Asian importer of Venezuelan crude. Before US sanctions intensified successful 2019, Venezuela was among India’s biggest lipid suppliers.

An lipid tanker remains anchored astatine the dock during a locomotion astir the outskirts of the ‘El Palito’ refinery connected December 18, 2025 successful Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. Following the removal of President Maduro, the US has allowed the merchantability of Venezuelan lipid [File: Jesus Vargas/Getty Images]

But sanctions imposed by Washington connected PDVSA, the state-run lipid company, forced Indian refiners and traders to sharply trim purchases. The US sanctions were imposed aft erstwhile Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez nationalised the lipid assemblage successful the 2000s, impacting US lipid corporations.

That changed aft Rodriquez took powerfulness aft Maduro, Chavez’s successor, was abducted successful January and taken to the US. Her authorities has since signed a caller lipid proviso statement with the US, allowing a constricted fig of companies to bargain Venezuelan crude straight from PDVSA.

Venezuelan lipid is peculiarly well-suited to the refinery tally by Indian lipid large Reliance Industries, it is 1 of the fewer facilities successful the satellite susceptible of processing ultra-heavy crude efficiently.

But lone a tiny fig of Indian refineries are equipped to process the heavy, sulphur-rich lipid that is extracted successful Venezuela.

Despite that, Venezuela has supplied India with astir 417,000 barrels per time (bpd) truthful acold this month, up from 283,000 bpd successful April, according to Kpler data. There had been nary Venezuelan shipments to India during the erstwhile 9 months nether the socialist authorities led by President Maduro.

As India’s full crude imports person risen this period to astir 5 cardinal bpd amid the planetary lipid proviso crisis, Rodriguez volition present beryllium hoping to unafraid a woody that could pave the mode for the surge successful lipid exports to continue.

Rurendra Tandon, caput successful the overseas ministry said that discussions betwixt India and Venezuelan officials “focussed connected forging an vigor partnership”.

“They [Venezuela] spot India arsenic a unchangeable demander for galore years to come. Therefore determination exists a cleanable complementarity for India and Venezuela to enactment successful the vigor sector, some upstream arsenic good arsenic downstream,” helium said connected Thursday.

“The discussions besides went into broadening the economical concern to different areas…huge opportunities successful areas similar mining, carnal husbandry, transportation, cultivation instrumentality and pharmaceuticals.”

Venezuela’s acting President Rodriguez walks past a representation of erstwhile President Hugo Chavez, left, and Independence leader Simon Bolivar astatine the National Assembly successful Caracas, Venezuela connected January 15, 2026 aft Maduro’s abduction. The US-Venezuela ties were severely strained aft Chavez nationalised the lipid assemblage [File: Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo]