President Donald Trump warned that Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodríguez could face consequences if she doesn’t “do what’s right” after the United States captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
Trump said Sunday the interim leader could also suffer a fate similar to Maduro, who is being detained in a federal prison in the New York City borough of Brooklyn on a range of charges, including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.
“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.
Rodríguez was named as the country’s interim president by the Venezuelan Supreme Court and recognized as such by military officials over the weekend, following Maduro’s capture.
During a Saturday speech, Rodríguez condemned the U.S. capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and said they should be returned. She also said that the president of Venezuela is still Maduro.
Rodríguez in her televised address did not declare herself acting president or mention any political transition. A ticker at the bottom of the screen identified her as the vice president, and she gave no sign that she would be cooperating with the United States. At one point, she said that the U.S. military action was in violation of “international law.”