Donald Trump has issued a stern warning to Venezuela’s new leader, Delcy Rodríguez, saying she could “pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro” if she “doesn’t do what’s right.” Rodríguez is set to be sworn in today, amid heightened tensions following US military action against former President Nicolás Maduro.
The swearing in ceremony at Venezuela’s National Assembly comes after the Supreme Court designated Rodríguez as interim president over the weekend, following a US operation that seized Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The US has said Maduro will face drugs and weapons charges in New York.
Speaking to The Atlantic, Trump added, “Regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now.” He has vowed that the US will run the country until “a safe and proper and judicious transition” is possible, promising that American oil companies will move in to fix infrastructure “and start making money for the country.”
In response, Rodríguez appealed directly to the US president during her first cabinet meeting: “Our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war.” She further stated, “Venezuela has the right to peace, development, sovereignty and a future,” inviting the US to “collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation” within the framework of international law.
Maduro faces multiple charges including “Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States,” according to US Attorney General Pam Bondi. Trump described these as part of Maduro’s “campaign of deadly narco-terrorism” against the US and its citizens. Maduro has denied being a cartel leader, calling the charges a pretext to remove him from power.
Julia Buxton, professor of justice studies at Liverpool John Moores University, criticized the US framing, saying it rests on “very flimsy ground.” She told BBC Breakfast that Venezuela is “not a major exporter of cocaine” and explained, “The bulk of cocaine going into the US comes through the Pacific Coast, up through Mexico and Colombia. There’s no fentanyl coming out of Venezuela. What the Trump administration has had to do is kind of invent this notion of Maduro as a narco-terrorist in order to carry out policies of regime change.”
Cuba has confirmed 32 of its citizens were killed during the US operation to seize Maduro. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the nation honored “the brave Cuban combatants who fell taking on the terrorists in imperial uniforms who kidnapped and illegally removed the Venezuelan president and his wife from their country.” Trump, meanwhile, said military action against Cuba is unlikely but did not rule out intervention in Colombia.
The dramatic events were executed with extensive US surveillance. Spies monitored Maduro’s daily routines for months before the operation. According to Trump, “He made it to the door. He was unable to close it,” adding, “He got bum rushed so fast that he didn’t get into that (room).”By 04:20 local time, helicopters left Venezuelan territory with Maduro and Flores on board, en route to New York to face charges.
Freddy Guevara, a former political prisoner, told BBC Radio 4 that Venezuela has been left with “the leftovers of the Maduro regime.” He added that Maduro’s rule had been maintained “by force and fear” and relied heavily on international support.
Delcy Rodríguez, a lawyer and diplomat who has long served in Maduro’s inner circle, has called for cooperation with the US despite the turbulent circumstances. Previously, she had refused to acknowledge Venezuela becoming “a colony of an empire,” but at her first cabinet meeting, she struck a more conciliatory tone, emphasizing collaboration.
Trump’s actions and warnings have sparked global reactions. Chinese officials condemned the US operation, saying “hegemonic acts of the US seriously violate international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region.” Former MI6 chief Sir Alex Younger commented that the world is now governed by “strong men presiding over spheres of influences,” with Trump embodying this approach.
Ademide Adebayo
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