- Delcy Rodríguez took over Nicolás Maduro’s temporary powers after his arrest.
- Trump announced his intention to change the regime in Venezuela for its further development.
- Trump emphasized the strategic importance of Greenland to US security.
Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, may pay an even bigger price than the detained Nicolás Maduro if she doesn’t do what’s right. American President Donald Trump said this in a telephone interview with The Atlantic magazine on Sunday, TASR reports, according to an AFP report.
“If she doesn’t do the right thing, she’s going to pay a very high price, probably higher than Maduro,” Trump said of Rodríguez in an interview from Florida in the morning local time.
The head of the White House claimed at a press conference after the US military intervention in Venezuela that Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Rodríguez, who reportedly expressed a willingness to “do what we think is necessary, in short, to make Venezuela great again.” At the same time, he said that the US will govern Venezuela until a safe and orderly transfer of power to new leadership is possible.
Venezuela’s Supreme Court on Saturday ordered Vice President Rodríguez to temporarily take over Maduro’s powers. However, the court did not declare Maduro, who was detained by American special forces together with his wife and taken to the USA, permanently absent. In that case, elections would have to be announced within 30 days.
Rodríguez previously declared in a video speech that Venezuela will never be a colony of any country, and She called Madura the only head of state and called for his release. The Venezuelan army also recognized her as the interim president on Sunday.
According to Sky News, Trump indicated to The Atlantic that he considers regime change in Venezuela a legitimate goal. The station reminded that part of the American right is critical of American interference abroad. “You know, country restoration and regime change, whatever you want to call it, is better than what you have now. It couldn’t be worse,” he said, adding that, in his opinion, Venezuela is in ruins. “It is a country that is a disaster in every way,” he said.
In addition, he reiterated his frequent demand for Greenland to become part of the United States, claiming that it is surrounded by “Russian and Chinese vessels.” The world’s largest resource-rich island belongs to Denmark, and the US president has repeatedly refused to rule out taking it by force, arguing that the US needs Greenland for its own security.
