Trump: Venezuela interim leader to face heavier price than Maduro if she acts against US

US President Donald Trump threatened Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodriguez with a “very big price” if she doesn’t cooperate with the United States, following the capture and imprisonment of her predecessor Nicolas Maduro by US forces.

"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 in a brief telephone interview.

Trump's warning came as Rodriguez was confirmed as interim president by Venezuela's Supreme Court and military officials. She sounded a defiant note on January 3, after the US raid on the capital Caracas, saying that Maduro was the country's sole legitimate leader and that "we're ready to defend our natural resources."

The US president emphasised that rebuilding in Venezuela and pursuing regime change—whatever term one chooses to use—would be better than the current situation.

"Rebuilding is not a bad thing in Venezuela's case," he said. "The country's gone to hell. It's a failed country. It's a totally failed country. It's a country that's a disaster in every way."

Trump also reiterated his long-standing call for Greenland—an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark—to become part of the United States.

When asked what the US military action in Venezuela signaled for Greenland, Trump said: “They are going to have to view it themselves. I really don’t know.”

He added that the United States absolutely needs Greenland for defence purposes.

By Jeyhun Aghazada