US President Donald Trump has issued a blunt warning to Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, threatening severe consequences if she continues to defy Washington following the US-led operation that
resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, according to The Atlantic.
In a telephone interview with the magazine on Sunday morning, Trump made what The Atlantic described as a “not-so-veiled threat” against Rodríguez, saying, “If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.”
Trump was referring to Nicolás Maduro, whom US authorities say is now being held in a New York City jail cell after being captured in a nighttime military operation.
Trump told The Atlantic that he would not tolerate Rodríguez’s rejection of what he described as the armed US intervention that led to Maduro’s arrest.
Trump also said he needs Rodríguez to provide the United States with “total access.”
“We need total access. We need access to the oil and to other things in their country that allow us to rebuild their country,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One tonight.
Speaking during the call with the magazine, Trump had just arrived at his golf club in West Palm Beach and appeared to be in good spirits.
During the interview, Trump also suggested that Venezuela may not be the last country to face US intervention.
“We do need Greenland, absolutely,” he said, describing the island, which is part of Denmark and a NATO ally, as being “surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships,” according to The Atlantic.
On Venezuela itself, Trump signalled a notable shift from his past scepticism about regime change and nation-building, rejecting concerns from sections of his MAGA base.
“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,” Trump told the magazine.
Trump had earlier suggested Rodríguez might be willing to cooperate with Washington.
“She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” he was quoted as saying.
However, Rodríguez swiftly rejected that characterisation, declaring that Venezuela was “ready to defend our natural resources” and insisting that the country’s defence leadership remained committed to the policies of Maduro.
“We shall never be a colony ever again,” she said.
According to the Associated Press, Rodríguez assumed the role of interim President after Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered her to take power following Maduro’s capture by US forces.
Rodríguez, who has served as Maduro’s Vice President since 2018, was next in the presidential line of succession and has been backed by the Venezuelan military.
In a televised address cited by the AP, Rodríguez gave no indication she would cooperate with Trump, referring to his government as “extremists.”
“The only President of Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro,” she said, calling the US action “an atrocity that violates international law.”
Rodríguez, a 56-year-old lawyer, has long been a central figure in Venezuela’s socialist government, overseeing the oil-dependent economy and the country’s intelligence services.
Her sudden elevation followed Trump’s announcement that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been in contact with her and had initially described her as “gracious” and someone the administration could work with, unlike Maduro.
That tone shifted sharply after Rodríguez and other officials publicly pushed back against Washington.
KASH PATEL SAYS MADURO CAPTURE WAS ‘PERFECTLY EXECUTED OPERATION’
In a separate statement posted on X, FBI Director Kash Patel outlined the US government’s account of Maduro’s capture, framing it as a coordinated law-enforcement mission.
Patel said the Department of Justice, working with the Department of War, the Department of State, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Intelligence Community, and international partners, “successfully executed a complex law-enforcement mission to bring Nicolás Maduro into US custody to face justice.”
“This operation required months of coordination, detailed planning, and seamless execution across multiple components of the federal government,” Patel said, adding that the Department of War led the effort.
He praised US military personnel and said specialised FBI and DEA teams worked alongside other agencies to ensure the secure transfer of “two high-risk defendants.”
According to Patel, the mission was tied to an ongoing criminal prosecution related to “large-scale narcotics trafficking and related offences” that he said had destabilised the region and fueled the US drug crisis.
“The responsibility for this outcome rests solely with those who chose to continue criminal conduct rather than disengage,” he said, calling the operation a demonstration of the US government’s commitment to accountability and national security.
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