Donald Trump described Delcy Rodríguez as a figure who maintains active contact with Washington and whose continuation in power depends on her level of cooperation with the United States, amid a context of strong political and military pressure on Venezuela.
During an interview with NBC News, the U.S. president stated that Rodríguez has collaborated with officials from his administration following the capture of Nicolás Maduro, who was arrested in Caracas and transferred to New York to face charges of narcoterrorism.
The Chavista leader was sworn in this Monday as the acting president, in a process marked by the direct intervention of the United States.
Trump avoided presenting Rodríguez as a legitimate political interlocutor and made efforts to dismiss any prior coordination with the Venezuelan environment before Maduro's overthrow.
According to him, there was no prior communication with his team, although he admitted that "many people wanted to reach an agreement," a statement that raises questions about potential negotiations in the future.
According to Politico, the Trump administration has conveyed a series of specific demands to Rodríguez if he wishes to avoid a fate similar to that of Maduro. Among these are stopping the flow of drugs to the United States, expelling Iranian, Cuban, and other agents considered hostile by Washington from the country, and halting the sale of oil to American adversaries.
Officials cited by that outlet indicate that Washington also hopes that Rodríguez will eventually facilitate elections and step down from power, although without defined timelines.
In contrast, in the interview with NBC, the president did not specify the future of the sanctions imposed on Rodríguez and stated that his government will assess in the coming days whether to maintain or lift them.
The statement places the new Venezuelan leader under a kind of political guardianship, contingent upon her willingness to continue cooperating with Washington.
Trump went further by warning that the United States is prepared for new military action if Rodríguez stops cooperating. Although he claimed not to believe it would be necessary, he acknowledged that a second incursion had already been contemplated by his administration, reinforcing the message of direct pressure on the new leadership in Caracas.
The U.S. president also refused to confirm whether he has spoken personally with Rodríguez, but emphasized that Secretary of State Marco Rubio maintains a "very strong" relationship with her and communicates in Spanish, which confirms the existence of active diplomatic channels, albeit controlled from Washington.
Trump's statements portray Delcy Rodríguez as a transitional figure, tolerated as long as she serves U.S. interests and lacking her own political support. Her leadership, according to the president himself, is bound to monitored cooperation and the looming threat of a new intervention in Venezuela.
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