President Trump issued a warning to Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, on Sunday after she railed against the U.S. following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro in the oil-rich South American country.
Why it matters: Rodríguez, who served as Venezuela’s vice president in Maduro’s regime before the U.S. attack and capture of Maduro, condemned the Trump administration’s actions in a televised addressed and vowed her country “will never return to being the colony of another empire.”
- Trump told reporters earlier Saturday that Rodríguez had been “gracious” during a conversation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and said Venezuelan officials “do whatever you need.”
What he’s saying: “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 Sunday.
- Defending the U.S. operation to capture Maduro in Venezuela, Trump said in the telephone interview that “rebuilding there and regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now,” adding: “Can’t get any worse.”
Of note: The president doubled-down on his desire for U.S. control of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory within the kingdom of Denmark has drown, during his interview with reporter Michael Scherer.
- “We do need Greenland, absolutely,” Trump said. “We need it for defense.”
Source: Trump warns Venezuela’s new leader of “very big price” if “she doesn’t do what’s right”
