The new interim leader of Venezuela on Monday offered a conciliatory message after a U.S. military operation over the weekend captured former leader Nicolás Maduro and extradited him on narco-terrorism and other charges.
“We invite the U.S. government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence,” said Venezuelan acting leader Delcy Rodriguez in a Jan. 5 statement on Instagram, which was in English.
The country is now “moving towards balanced and respectful international relations between the United States and Venezuela, and between Venezuela and other countries in the region, premised on sovereign equality and non-interference,” she said.
Rodriguez, a socialist who served under Maduro as deputy leader before his arrest, also mentioned President Donald Trump in her statement and referred to Maduro as the Venezuelan president.
“President Donald Trump, our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war. This has always been President Nicolás Maduro’s message, and it is the message of all of Venezuela right now,” she said. “This is the Venezuela I believe in and have dedicated my life to. I dream of a Venezuela where all good Venezuelans can come together.”
The Venezuelan Supreme Court over the weekend named her as the acting leader following a dramatic operation carried out by the U.S. military targeting Maduro’s compound. He and his wife, Celia Flores, were captured and are due to appear in a federal courtroom on Monday.
Rodriguez’s first comments to the United States were of a more defiant tone as she deemed the U.S. operation to be a violation of “international law” and said that Washington needed to return Maduro to Venezuela.
On Sunday evening, Trump told The Atlantic that Rodriguez needs to act in accordance with U.S. national interests and warned her about consequences if she doesn’t.
“If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” Trump said in the exclusive interview.
The U.S. president told the outlet that removing Maduro was needed for national security purposes, adding that “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,” he added. “It’s a totally failed country. It’s a country that’s a disaster in every way.”
Over the weekend, Trump said in a speech that the United States would run Venezuela and was already doing so. When asked during a press conference who would be running the country until a transition of power can take place, Trump said, “the people that are standing right behind me” are going to be running it “for a period of time.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the U.S. administration would not govern Venezuela day-to-day, other than enforcing an existing “oil quarantine” on the country.
According to an indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Maduro and five co-conspirators were charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons offenses.
Before his capture, Maduro had long stressed that he was not involved in drug smuggling or any other illegal activities, saying that he wanted peace with the United States.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
