‘If she fails to do what’s right … ’: Trump warns Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez— What he said
US President Donald Trump has warned Venezuela’s current leader, Delcy Rodriguez, that she could face harsher consequences than former president Nicolas Maduro if she did not cooperate with the United States.Speaking in a telephone interview with The Atlantic on Sunday, Trump said Rodriguez would “pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro” if she failed to “do what’s right”.
The comments came a day after Trump had publicly praised Rodriguez, following a dramatic US operation in which American forces seized Maduro and his wife from the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.Rodriguez had said Venezuela would defend its natural resources, a remark that appeared to have hardened Trump’s tone. “We are ready to defend Venezuela; we are ready to defend our natural resources,” after US President Donald Trump said Washington intends to “run” the Caribbean nation and tap its huge oil reserves.Trump earlier told reporters following Mudaro’s capture that US would “run the country until a safe, proper and judicious transition” can be ensured, a remark later contradicted by secretary of state Marco Rubio.Trump further said Rodriguez was willing to cooperate with Washington. He said she had spoken at length with Rubio and had shown readiness to do “whatever” the US needed.“I think she was quite gracious,” Trump added. “We can’t take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesn’t have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind,” he said.The Venezuelan court soon appointed Rodriguez as the interim president in line with the US constitution. In her speech soon after Mudaro’s capture, Rodriguez rejected the US action outright. She demanded the immediate release of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and called the military operation a violation of international law.“There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolas Maduro,” Rodriguez had said, standing alongside senior civilian leaders and top military commanders.
