Trump warns new Venezuelan leader as Maduro prepares to appear in court

Donald Trump has warned Venezuela’s new leader, Delcy Rodríguez, that she could “pay a very high price, probably higher than Maduro’s” if she “does not do the right thing.”

His comments to the American magazine The Atlantic come as deposed President Nicolas Maduro is due to appear in a New York court on Monday.

The United States accuses Maduro, accused of drug trafficking and weapons crimes, of running a “narcoterrorist” regime, a claim he denies.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted the United States was not at war with Venezuela, after airstrikes in Caracas on Saturday led to Maduro and his wife being arrested and transported to the United States.

Some Democratic lawmakers called the operation an “act of war.”

In an interview with The Atlantic on Sunday, Trump said of Rodríguez: “If she doesn’t do what’s right, she’s going to pay a very heavy price, probably higher than Maduro. »

He added that for Venezuela, “regime change, whatever you want to call it, is better than what you have now.” It can’t be worse.”

On Saturday, Trump promised that the United States would “lead” the country until “a safe, appropriate and wise transition” was possible.

Trump also promised that U.S. oil companies would move into the country to fix the infrastructure “and start making money for the country.”

Despite the US president’s assertions, Maduro’s allies remain in control.

The Cuban government said 32 “brave Cuban fighters” died when U.S. forces attacked and captured Maduro and his wife. Cuba – a longtime socialist ally of Maduro – announced two days of national mourning.

In several television interviews Sunday morning, Rubio defended the U.S. military operation in Venezuela, emphasizing that the action did not mean the United States was at war with the South American country.

“We’re at war with drug trafficking organizations. It’s not a war with Venezuela,” Rubio told NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday morning.

The secretary of state also told CBS that if Venezuela does not “make the right decisions,” the United States will “retain multiple levers to ensure our interests are protected.”

This includes the “quarantine” the United States imposed on Venezuelan oil, he said.

“We’re going to judge everything by what they do, and we’re going to see what they do,” he added.

Maduro, who leads the United Socialist Party of Venezuela and has been in power since 2013, has frequently been accused of suppressing opposition groups and silencing dissent in Venezuela, sometimes using violence.

He is widely seen by opponents at home as well as foreign governments as having illegally won Venezuela’s 2024 elections.

The Venezuelan left-wing leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured at their compound and flown to the United States, in a dramatic special forces operation in the early hours of Saturday that also saw strikes on military bases.

The couple have since been charged with weapons and drug offenses and are scheduled to appear in a New York court on Monday.

Maduro has denied being a cartel leader and accused the United States of using its “war on drugs” as a pretext to try to remove him and get its hands on Venezuelan oil.

While U.S. officials said no U.S. soldiers were injured in the attacks, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said a “large portion” of Maduro’s security team and “soldiers and innocent civilians” were killed in the U.S. operation.

When asked why congressional authorization was not sought before the U.S. operation in Venezuela, Rubio told ABC that “it wasn’t necessary because it wasn’t an invasion.”

He described it as a “law enforcement operation” and said Maduro was arrested on the ground by FBI agents.

You can’t tell Congress about an operation like this because “it might leak,” he added.

Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, is now interim president after being sworn in before the country’s Supreme Court. The country’s army also gave him support. She will be sworn in as president on Monday in Caracas, at 8:00 a.m. local time (12:00 GMT).

Speaking to US media, Rubio was asked whether the US recognizes Rodríguez as the legitimate president of Venezuela.

He responded that “this is not the legitimate president” because the United States does not recognize the regime as legitimate.

Some Democratic lawmakers condemned the government’s actions.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the covert military operation, carried out without congressional approval, “was not just a narcotics operation.”

“It was an act of war,” Jeffries told NBC’s Meet the Press.

“This was a military action involving Delta Force, involving the military, apparently involving thousands of troops, involving at least 150 military aircraft, possibly involving dozens of ships off the coast of Venezuela and South America.”

Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told CBS Face the Nation that he has had “no outreach” from the Trump administration, adding that “to my knowledge, no Democrat has had any outreach.”

In an interview with ABC This Week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer questioned the legality of the US operation.

Schumer said that while he thought Maduro was a horrible person, “you don’t treat anarchy with other anarchies.”

“We have learned over the years, when America attempts regime change and nation building in this way, that the American people pay the price in blood and dollars,” Schumer said.

He added that Trump had abandoned his campaign promise of “no more endless wars.”

Schumer and Jeffries pledged to support a resolution that, if passed by both chambers, would prohibit Trump from taking any further action in Venezuela without congressional approval.

In a joint statement, the governments of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and Spain said the U.S. military actions “constitute an extremely dangerous precedent for peace and regional security and endanger the civilian population.”

They said they wanted a solution to the situation in Venezuela to come through peaceful means such as dialogue and negotiation.

They also expressed concern that external control is “incompatible with international law” and “threatens the political, economic and social stability of the region.”