Venezuela Interim Leader Asks Trump for Balanced, Respectful Relationship

Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodríguez yesterday said that her government wants a “fair and respectful” relationship with the United States, one day after U.S. forces launched attacks in Caracas and detained former president Nicolás Maduro.

Writing on Telegram, Rodríguez said establishing a constructive and balanced relationship with Washington was a top priority for her administration. She also invited the U.S. government to engage in talks aimed at cooperation and mutual development.

Her remarks marked a noticeable change in tone from statements made a day earlier, after Venezuela’s Supreme Court named her interim president. In a televised address on Saturday, Rodríguez appeared defiant, describing the Trump administration as “extremist” and offering no signal of cooperation.

At the time, she insisted that Maduro remained Venezuela’s only legitimate president, calling the U.S. actions an “atrocity” and a violation of international law. She delivered the speech flanked by senior civilian officials and military commanders.

Rodríguez has served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018 and has played a key role in managing Venezuela’s oil-based economy as well as its powerful intelligence apparatus. As next in line under the constitution, she assumed the interim presidency following Maduro’s capture.

A 56-year-old lawyer and longtime political figure, Rodríguez has been a prominent international representative of the socialist movement founded by the late Hugo Chávez.

Her sudden elevation surprised many observers after President Donald Trump announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been in contact with Rodríguez and described her as cooperative and willing to work with Washington. Rubio later said Rodríguez was someone the administration could engage with, in contrast to Maduro.

Analysts noted that this approach appeared to sideline Venezuela’s opposition, which the U.S. had previously claimed won the country’s 2024 presidential election only weeks earlier.

By Sunday, however, Trump’s tone hardened as Rodríguez and other Venezuelan officials continued to criticize Washington while asserting their control over the country.

“If she doesn’t do the right thing, she will face very serious consequences — possibly even greater than Maduro,” Trump said in an interview with The Atlantic.