US President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated that he is ready to send more troops to Venezuela if the country's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, stops cooperating with the US, writes UNN with reference to Politico, which also reported that the Trump administration is demanding that Venezuela's interim leader take several pro-American measures that her predecessor refused to take if she wants to avoid a similar fate.
Details
In an interview with NBC News, Trump said that Rodriguez had cooperated after a US military strike on Venezuela's capital, which led to the capture of the country's leader, Nicolas Maduro, on Saturday. He added that his administration initially expected to have to send US troops again after the operation, but he does not currently believe a second attack will be necessary, the publication writes.
Nevertheless, he insisted that the US is "at war with people who sell drugs," not with Venezuela. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges in a Manhattan federal court on Monday.
His comments echoed remarks to the press aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, when he said: "If they don't behave properly, we will strike a second time."
Trump told NBC that his administration would soon decide whether to lift sanctions on Rodriguez (she was sworn in on Monday as interim president), who has been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department along with several other members of Maduro's inner circle since 2018.
On Sunday, Trump threatened that Rodriguez would "pay a very heavy price, probably heavier than Maduro" if she refused to cooperate with the US. Earlier, Rodriguez called the attack "an atrocity that violates international law" and insisted that Maduro remains the country's leader.
Venezuela's interim leader changes rhetoric after Trump's warnings05.01.26, 08:57
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed those comments in a Sunday interview on ABC's This Week, saying, "We're not going to judge future actions based solely on what was said at press conferences."
In the NBC interview, Trump called Rubio's relationship with Rodriguez "very strong," but denied suggestions that she had worked with US officials in the period before the attack. He also named Rubio as one of several administration officials who would temporarily help govern the country until new elections are held, which he said would not happen within the next 30 days.
US Vice President J.D. Vance, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller will also assist in the matter, Trump said.
List of demands
At least three demands have been made by US officials to Rodriguez, telling Maduro's ally that they expect her to step up anti-drug trafficking measures, expel agents of countries or networks hostile to the US, and stop selling oil to US adversaries, two sources familiar with the delicate internal discussions told the publication. The US expects her to eventually oversee free elections and resign, the sources said.
However, the timing of the demands may vary, and US officials emphasize that elections are not expected in the near future.