- US President Trump warned Delcy Rodriguez may pay a bigger price than Maduro if she missteps
- Trump defended capturing Maduro and called regime change better than the current situation
- Venezuela called for respectful US ties and warned of US threats to global order
US President Donald Trump has warned Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez may have to pay a bigger price than ousted leader Nicolas Maduro "if she doesn't do what's right." Rodriguez served as Maduro's vice president since 2018, overseeing much of Venezuela's oil-dependent economy and its feared intelligence service, and was next in the presidential line of succession.
"If she doesn't do what's right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro," Trump said during an interview with The Atlantic magazine.
Trump initially praised Rodriguez after US troops captured Maduro and his wife from Caracas. Rodriguez said later, however, that her country would defend its natural resources.
The Republican leader warned that a second strike on Venezuela was not off the table if Rodriguez does not cooperate with US. "We are dealing with the people who just got sworn in. We were prepared for a second wave, were all set to go, but do not think we will need it. Will hold elections at the right time," he said.
"US needs full access to oil and other resources in Venezuela," Trump added.
Trump also defended his decision to take Maduro by force. "You know, rebuilding there and regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now. Can't get any worse," he was quoted as saying in the telephone interview held as he arrived at his West Palm Beach golf course in Florida.
The US President warned that other countries may be subject to American intervention. "We do need Greenland, absolutely," he said of the island that is part of Denmark, a NATO country.
He also said, "Cuba is ready to fall," saying it would be hard for Havana to "hold out" without receiving heavily subsidised Venezuelan oil.
"I don't think we need any action. It looks like it's going down."
In warning to Colombia and Mexico, he said, "Colombia is governed by a sick man. he will not be doing it very long. Operation Colombia sounds good to me. We have to do something with Mexico. Mexico has to get their act together. If they do not behave, will carry out a second strike on Venezuela."
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Venezuela's Response
Photo Credit: Reuters
Venezuela's interim president has called for a "balanced and respectful" relationship with the United States after American forces attacked Caracas and captured leftist leader Nicolas Maduro.
"We consider it a priority to move toward a balanced and respectful relationship between the US and Venezuela," Rodriguez, Maduro's vice president, wrote on Telegram.
"We extend an invitation to the US government to work together on an agenda for cooperation that is aimed toward shared development."
Meanwhile, Venezuela's defence minister, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, warned that the world should be on their guard because US action "poses a serious threat to the global order."
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"If today it was against Venezuela, tomorrow it could be against any state or any country. I call on the people of Venezuela to remain peaceful and orderly and not to fall into the trap of psychological warfare, threats, and fear that others want to impose on us. I call on the people of Venezuela to resume their economic, labour, educational and all other activities in the coming days," he said.
He also called for the immediate release of Maduro and the first lady, Cilia Flores de Maduro. "Its (Venezuela's) destiny of development and prosperity, stability, and order (continues). And we, the soldiers of the nation, will be here to guarantee it. The Republic's Military High Command, which, as you can see, is united today, standing together in the face of imperial aggression," he added.
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Maduro's Capture
Photo Credit: Reuters
Maduro landed late Saturday afternoon at a small airport in New York City's northern suburbs following the middle-of-the-night operation that extracted him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home in a military base in the capital city of Caracas - an act Maduro's government called "imperialist". The couple faces US charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.
The dramatic seizure of the Maduros capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on Venezuela's autocratic leader and months of secret planning, resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Legal experts raised questions about the lawfulness of the operation, which was done without congressional approval.
