TRUMP THREATENS VENEZUELA’S INTERIM LEADER WILL PAY ‘BIG PRICE’ IF SHE FAILS TO ‘DO WHAT’S RIGHT’
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Agency report
President Donald Trump on Sunday warned that Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, would face a “very big price” if she fails to cooperate with the United States, following the seizure of her predecessor, Nicolas Maduro, by US forces.
“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 in a brief telephone interview.
US forces carried out an operation in the early hours of Saturday, striking military targets in Caracas before taking Maduro and his wife into custody to face federal narcotrafficking charges in New York.
The Trump administration has indicated its readiness to engage with the remaining members of Maduro’s government, provided Washington’s objectives are met. These include opening Venezuela’s vast crude oil reserves to US investment.
Trump’s remarks came after Rodriguez was confirmed as interim president by Venezuela’s Supreme Court and senior military officials.
Following the US raid on Caracas, Rodriguez struck a defiant tone on Saturday, insisting that Maduro remained the country’s only legitimate leader and declaring that “we’re ready to defend our natural resources.”
Although Trump has consistently campaigned against US nation-building and regime change abroad, he said on Saturday that the United States would “run” Venezuela.
In his comments to The Atlantic, he argued that “rebuilding there and regime change—anything you want to call it—is better than what you have right now.”
“Rebuilding is not a bad thing in Venezuela’s case. The country’s gone to hell. It’s a failed country. It’s a totally failed country. It’s a country that’s a disaster in every way,” he said.
The 79-year-old Republican also reiterated his long-standing call for Greenland—an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark—to become part of the United States.
When asked what the US military action in Venezuela could signal for Greenland, Trump told The Atlantic, “They are going to have to view it themselves. I really don’t know.
“But we do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense.”
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