US President Donald Trump has issued a fresh warning to Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodríguez, saying she would face severe consequences if she failed to comply with US demands.
Speaking to The Atlantic, Trump said Rodríguez would “pay a very big price” if she did not “do what’s right”, adding that the cost could be “probably bigger than Maduro.”
Rodríguez, who served as vice president under Nicolás Maduro, was declared acting president by Venezuela’s supreme court after US forces captured Maduro and transported him to the United States.
Trump’s Tone Shifts
Trump’s remarks marked a sharp shift from his tone a day earlier, when he described a conversation between Rodríguez and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “gracious”.
“She had a long conversation with Marco, and she said, ‘We’ll do whatever you need,’” Trump told reporters on Saturday. “I think she was quite gracious, but she really doesn’t have a choice. We’re going to have this done right.”
However, later the same day, Rodríguez publicly declared that Maduro remained “the only president of Venezuela” and demanded his “immediate liberation”.
US Doesn’t Recognise Venezuela’s Current Regime: Rubio
Rubio, speaking on This Week, said the US did not recognise the legitimacy of Venezuela’s current regime, arguing that it had not come to power through free and fair elections. He added that legitimacy would require a transition followed by real elections.
In a separate interview on Meet the Press, Rubio said discussions about potential elections in Venezuela would be premature at this stage.
Trump also hinted at the possibility of further US military action, saying on Saturday that Washington was “ready to stage a second and much larger attack” if required. He added that the US was effectively “rebuilding” Venezuela, describing the country’s infrastructure as “rotted”.
Reiterating that view in his interview with The Atlantic, Trump said regime change and reconstruction were preferable to the current situation. “You know, rebuilding there and regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now,” he said. “Can’t get any worse.”
During the interview, Trump also reiterated his interest in US control over Greenland, calling it essential for American defence. His remarks triggered fresh reactions after Katie Miller, a right-wing podcaster and wife of Trump adviser Stephen Miller, posted an image on X showing an American flag superimposed on a map of Greenland.
Denmark’s ambassador to the US, Jesper Møller Sørensen, responded by stressing that Denmark and the US were close allies and that Copenhagen expected full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Trump has previously declined to rule out the use of military pressure over Greenland or Panama, saying both were vital to US economic and security interests.
