Delcy Rodríguez: President Donald Trump on Sunday issued a stark warning to Venezuela’s newly-appointed interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez. US President said that failure to comply with his vision for reform could lead to consequences far graver than those faced by captured President Nicolás Maduro.
“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, marking a dramatic shift from his earlier praise of Rodríguez as a key figure “necessary to make Venezuela great again.”
Delcy Rodríguez Rejects US Support, Defends Maduro
Despite Trump’s endorsement on Saturday, Rodríguez immediately dismissed the notion of cooperating with the Trump administration. She reaffirmed Maduro as “the only” leader Venezuela needs and vowed to protect the nation’s oil reserves from foreign interference.
“We had already warned that an aggression was underway under false excuses and false pretenses, and that the masks had fallen off, revealing only one objective: regime change in Venezuela,” Rodríguez said.
US Signals Non-Recognition, Calls for Free Elections In Venezuela
Following Rodríguez’s speech, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Maduro loyalists, including Rodríguez, cannot legitimately serve as Venezuela’s interim government. Rubio reaffirmed that the US would not support her administration and pushed for free elections to determine the country’s next leader.
“The US and other nations have never recognized Maduro’s 2024 election victory,” Rubio said, highlighting the ongoing international dispute over Venezuela’s leadership.
Donald Trump Hints at Further Military Action Against Venezuela
Alongside his warnings to Rodríguez, Trump suggested the possibility of a second wave of military action in Venezuela if he considers it necessary, signaling that US intervention in the region may continue.
Delcy Rodríguez, 56, was born on May 18, 1969, in Caracas. She is the daughter of Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, a left-wing guerrilla fighter and founder of the revolutionary Liga Socialista party in the 1970s.
Rodríguez studied law at the Central University of Venezuela and has risen rapidly through the political ranks over the past decade, becoming one of the country’s most prominent political figures.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
