Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodriguez struck a markedly conciliatory tone toward Washington late Sunday, inviting U.S. President Donald Trump “to collaborate” and calling for “respectful relations,” even as the United States asserted sweeping control over the country following the dramatic seizure of Nicolas Maduro.
Rodriguez’s English-language message, posted on Instagram, stood in sharp contrast to her defiant speeches earlier in the weekend and appeared aimed at easing tensions after Trump warned she could “pay a very big price” if she resisted U.S. demands.
“We invite the U.S. government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented toward shared development, within the framework of international law,” Rodriguez wrote, adding that she sought peaceful coexistence and mutual respect.
Her appeal came as senior U.S. officials sought to clarify Trump’s repeated claims that Washington would “run” Venezuela following Maduro’s removal in a clandestine overnight operation that extracted the longtime leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, from a military base in Caracas.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio moved Sunday to soften concerns that the United States was embarking on another prolonged foreign intervention, saying Washington had no intention of governing Venezuela day to day. Instead, he said, the U.S. would rely on economic pressure, chiefly an existing oil quarantine, to force reforms.
“We continue with that quarantine, and we expect changes,” Rubio said on CBS’ Face the Nation, citing the oil industry and drug trafficking as primary pressure points. “That’s the sort of control the president is pointing to.”
The blockade on sanctioned oil tankers, some of which have been seized by the U.S., remains a powerful lever, Rubio said, until policies shift in ways that benefit both American interests and Venezuela’s population.
Trump, however, continued to project a far broader role. Speaking Sunday, he reiterated that the United States would “run everything” and “fix it,” promising elections “at the right time” without offering a timeline. A day earlier, he said U.S. officials would oversee a transition until the country could be stabilized.
The operation that captured Maduro marked the most forceful American bid for regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, following months of secret planning. Legal experts quickly raised questions about its lawfulness, noting it was carried out without congressional authorization.
Cuba said 32 of its security officers were killed during the U.S. operation, a claim Trump acknowledged. “There was a lot of death on the other side,” he said aboard Air Force One. “No death on our side.”
The president’s rhetoric unsettled some Democrats and members of his own Republican coalition, particularly those aligned with an “America First” stance wary of foreign entanglements. Rubio dismissed the comparisons to Iraq and Afghanistan, saying Venezuela’s situation was fundamentally different.
“This is not the Middle East,” Rubio said. “This is the Western Hemisphere.”
Despite the upheaval, Venezuela’s government continued operating over the weekend. Ministers remained in office, and the incoming National Assembly, still controlled by the ruling party, is set to be sworn in. Caracas was largely quiet Sunday, with many businesses closed and traffic sparse.
Rodriguez, Venezuela’s vice president, has continued to refer to Maduro as the country’s rightful leader, even as the nation’s high court appointed her interim president. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez condemned Maduro’s capture as a “cowardly kidnapping” and pledged that the armed forces would maintain order.
Under Venezuelan law, Rodriguez is next in the line of succession, though she initially said she did not intend to assume power before the court’s ruling compelled her to do so.
Maduro is scheduled to make his first appearance Monday in federal court in Manhattan. He and several senior officials were indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, and a new indictment unsealed Saturday portrayed his government as a drug-fueled criminal enterprise. The United States does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader.
Trump told The Atlantic that Rodriguez could face severe consequences if she fails to cooperate, later saying he wanted “total access” to Venezuela’s oil operations and infrastructure to oversee reconstruction. Even so, he suggested she was already “cooperating,” underscoring the uncertain balance of power now unfolding in Caracas.
