US President Donald Trump has warned that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez will “pay a very big price” if she refuses to cooperate with U.S. involvement in Venezuela following the attack and capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
Speaking to The Atlantic on Sunday, Trump said Rodriguez could face consequences similar to Maduro, who is currently being held in federal prison in New York on narcoterrorism and drug trafficking charges, if she does not align with U.S. demands.
“If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” Trump said.
The remarks represent a sharp shift in tone from Trump’s comments a day earlier, when he praised Rodriguez during a press conference after the attack. At the time, Trump said U.S. officials had spoken with her and claimed she was “essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.”
During that same press conference, Trump stated that the United States would effectively “run” Venezuela until a democratic transition of power is achieved, though he declined to give a timeline.
Soon after, Rodriguez, a close ally of Maduro, insisted that Maduro remains the legitimate head of Venezuela’s government despite his capture. She condemned the U.S. intervention as “an atrocity that violates international law” and said Venezuela was “ready to defend our natural resources.”
Trump later left open the possibility of U.S. troops reentering Venezuela if necessary, telling The Atlantic that rebuilding the country was “not a bad thing in Venezuela’s case.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a more cautious tone, downplaying Rodriguez’s public statements and saying the administration would judge the situation based on actions, not rhetoric.
“We’re not going to judge moving forward based simply on what’s said in press conferences,” Rubio said on ABC’s This Week. “We want to see action here at the end of the day.”
Republican Senator Tom Cotton also weighed in, rejecting Rodriguez’s authority and calling for a U.S.-backed reconstruction of Venezuela’s government.
“We don’t recognize Delcy Rodriguez as the legitimate ruler of Venezuela,” Cotton said. “They have control of the military and security services, but that does not make them a legitimate leader.”
He added that the U.S. goal is a future Venezuelan government that is pro-American and contributes to stability and prosperity both in Venezuela and across the region.
0 Comments