US President Donald Trump repeated on Sunday that the United States “governs” Venezuela, following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro by American special forces the previous day.
“We are negotiating with people who just took the oath. Don’t ask me who’s governing because I’ll give you a very controversial answer,” the Republican told journalists aboard Air Force One when asked if he had spoken with interim President Delcy Rodríguez, formerly the vice president. When pressed, Trump clarified, “That means we govern.”
Rodríguez calls for balanced US-Venezuela ties
Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez advocated on Sunday for balanced relations marked by respect between her country and the US, which launched an attack capturing Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
“We prioritize advancing international relations that are balanced and governed by respect between the US and Venezuela, based on sovereign equality and non-interference,” Rodríguez stated via Telegram in English and Spanish.
“We invite the US government to work with us on a cooperation agenda focused on shared development,” she added.
Rodríguez, appointed interim president by Venezuela’s supreme court on Saturday evening, held her first cabinet meeting that night. State broadcaster VTV showed her at the Miraflores Palace oval table, flanked by Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, and other Maduro-era officials.
She also announced a high-level committee to secure the release of Maduro and Flores, captured during the US operation and taken to the US. Information Minister Freddy Ñáñez presented the committee, which he will join, co-chaired by National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez and Foreign Minister Yván Gil.
Trump threatens Colombian military action
Trump threatened military action against Colombia’s government on Sunday, telling journalists such an operation “sounds good to me.”
“Colombia is very sick too, governed by a sick guy who likes to make cocaine and sell it to the US, and he won’t do it much longer,” Trump said aboard Air Force One, apparently referring to President Gustavo Petro. Asked directly about a potential US operation, he replied that the idea “sounds good to me.”
This followed Maduro’s capture in Caracas and transfer to New York, where the Trump administration plans to try him for drug trafficking.
Trump sees Cuba regime on verge of collapse
Trump judged on Sunday that no US military intervention against Cuba appears necessary, as the Caribbean nation’s government seems ready to fall, he told accompanying journalists.
Maduro faces New York judge on Monday
Nicolás Maduro will appear before a New York judge on Monday afternoon, the court announced, where he will be formally informed of the charges.
He faces US justice primarily for “narco-terrorism” and cocaine importation. Captured Saturday during a US military operation, Maduro will appear in the Southern District of New York’s federal court in Manhattan.
Also read: How the US attack on Venezuela unfolded
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