- Delcy Rodriguez claimed US forces gave Maduro's cabinet 15 minutes to comply or die
- A leaked video shows Rodriguez prioritising political power after Maduro's capture
- Rodriguez said US told them Maduro and his wife were assassinated, not kidnapped
Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, claimed that when former president Nicolas Maduro was captured, US forces gave the members of his cabinet 15 minutes to decide if they would comply with America's demands "or they would kill us".
"The threats began from the very first minute they kidnapped the president. They gave Diosdado [Cabello, the interior minister], Jorge [Rodriguez, the acting president's brother and congressional president,] and me 15 minutes to respond, or they would kill us", she said.
In a leaked video recording of a 2-hour meeting held in Venezuela, seven days after the US attack, Rodriguez can be heard saying that her priority was to "preserve political power". The video that was obtained by the local journalism collective La Hora de Venezuela shows how the remaining members of the regime are trying to reclaim control after the US removed Maduro.
There were reports that Rodriguez and her brother vowed to cooperate with Trump before US captured Maduro. However, the video shows that the remaining members of the regime were worried about being branded traitors.
Rodriguez in the recording said that it "hurt ... to have to assume responsibilities in these circumstances".
In fact, she said that US armed forces told them that "[Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores] had been assassinated, not kidnapped". She replied that she, her brother and Cabello "were ready to share the same fate".
"And I tell you, we stand by that statement to this day, because the threats and the blackmail are constant, and we have to proceed with patience and strategic prudence, with very clear objectives, brothers and sisters," she said, and listed three goals, "to preserve peace ... to rescue our hostages ... and to preserve political power".
US President Donald Trump has praised Rodriguez for playing along with his demands, however, Rodriguez said that she was only doing so because of the 'constant threats and blackmail'. In January Trump had told The Atlantic that if Rodriguez does not do what is right, "she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro".
However, historian and political analyst Margarita Lopez Maya told the Guardian that it could be a narrative that Rodriguez is spinning for herself, "because everyone knows that Maduro's removal could only have happened with internal complicity," she said.
Since Maduro's capture, the Venezuelan government has spoken against the US but complied with all of Trump's demands.
Maduro was succeeded by his vice president Rodriguez, whom Trump backed to take over, provided she gave Washington access to Venezuela's rich oil deposits. This week he praised her leadership as "very strong" and said the United States was set to "become richer" after taking a cut of Venezuela's crude.
