President Trump warned Sunday that if newly-appointed Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodriguez fails to fall in line with his vision for reform, she likely suffer a worse fate than captured President Nicolas Maduro.
Following Rodriguez’s condemnation of the US operation that saw Maduro arrested and flown to a New York City jail, Trump made it clear that he would not stand for any defiance from the long-time socialist who he had tapped to run Venezuela in the interim.
“If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” Trump told The Atlantic.
The warning was a major shift from the praise Trump poured on Rodriguez on Saturday as the person who he believed was “necessary to make Venezuela great again.”
Despite the US president’s endorsement, Rodriguez went on to reject the notion that she would work together with the Trump administration, calling Maduro the “only” leader Venezuela needs while saying that the country was “ready to defend” its oil reserves from the US.
“We had already warned that an aggression was underway under false excuses and false pretenses, and that the masks had fallen off, revealing only one objective: regime change in Venezuela,” she said.
Following Rodriguez’s fiery speech, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Maduro loyalist cannot serve as Venezuela’s interim leader and vowed that the US would not support her administration.
Instead, Rubio pushed for free elections to be held to determine the next leader of the country as the US and other nations never recognized Maduro’s 2024 win.
Along with the threats against Rodriguez, Trump also suggested that the US would carry out a second wave of military actions in Venezuela if he deemed it necessary.
