🔗 Share this article

Venezuela's interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, has offered to work with the US government, marking a shift from the defiant rhetoric she initially displayed after the apprehension of former dictator Nicolás Maduro.

A Statement of Cooperation

In a statement released late Sunday, Rodríguez stated she had "extended an invitation to the American administration to cooperate on an framework of joint work."

Her remarks came just a short time after former President Donald Trump threatened that Rodríguez could "pay a very big price, potentially bigger than Maduro" if she failed to comply with his wishes.

Leadership Shift in Venezuela

Rodríguez has effectively been running Venezuela since Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured on Saturday. The pair were transported to New York and are due to appear at a U.S. court in Manhattan.

She was formally inaugurated as acting president by the supreme court on Saturday. The following day, the military leadership agreed to recognise her authority, while simultaneously calling for the immediate release of Maduro and his wife.

The Former President's Comments and Approach

Following the surprising apprehension of Maduro, Trump claimed that the United States would now "run" Venezuela "until we can execute a safe, proper and judicious transition." He also mentioned that communication had been established with Rodríguez.

On Sunday, he warned that the US might initiate a second strike if holdouts of the administration fail to comply with his plans to get the country "back on track."

Trump's actions have entirely sidelined the nation's political opposition, lead by Nobel laureate María Corina Machado. This tactic has been widely criticised by observers who contend that the regime's power structure remains largely intact – simply without Maduro at its helm.

The Leader's Shifting Position

In her first public appearance after Maduro's detention, Rodríguez initially struck a stance of resistance, declaring that Venezuela would "never again be any other nation's colony."

However, on Sunday night, after chairing her first cabinet meeting, she adopted a markedly more cooperative stance. Rodríguez issued a communication stating she considered a "stable and mutual relationship" with the United States to be a key objective.

"We invite the government of the US to work jointly on an agenda of cooperation, focused on mutual progress, within the confines of global norms, and that promotes enduring peace," she added.

A Direct Address to Trump

Addressing the American ex-president directly, she said: "President Donald Trump: our peoples and our region are entitled to dialogue and peace, not war. That has consistently been President Nicolás Maduro’s belief and it is that of the entire nation at this moment."

"This nation I have faith in and to which I have dedicated my life. My aspiration is for Venezuela to become a great power where all patriotic Venezuelans can unite. Venezuela has the right to peace, development, sovereignty and a future," she added.

Contrasting Signals

Despite the conciliatory tone, the Venezuelan government – and Rodríguez herself, via her social media channel – later paid tribute to several dozen "Cuban security personnel" who were part of Maduro’s security detail and who died "as a consequence of the criminal and infamous attack carried out by the United States."

Previously that day, the defence minister, Gen Vladímir Padrino López, had said in a statement that US troops had "summarily executed much of [Maduro’s] security detail, soldiers and innocent civilians," without providing names or a death toll.