Donald Trump, the U.S. president, told reporters aboard Air Force One earlier today that the United States would strike Venezuela again if the country “misbehaves.”
When asked what he wants from Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s interim president, Trump said, “We need full access. We need access to the oil and other resources in their country that will allow us to rebuild it.”
Trump described Venezuela as a “dead” country and said U.S. companies should go in and rebuild its oil infrastructure. “They will spend billions of dollars and extract the oil from the ground,” he added.
Rodríguez, taking a softer tone toward the United States, invited Trump to cooperate. In a statement, she said, “We call on the U.S. government to work within a framework of cooperation focused on joint development and in accordance with international law, to strengthen the sustainable coexistence of our societies.”
She added that the people of Venezuela and the region deserve peace and dialogue, not war a stance that has always been the message of Nicolás Maduro.
Trump had warned that if Rodríguez does not cooperate with the United States, she would “pay a heavier price than Maduro.”
On Saturday, the United States launched an operation in Venezuela, detaining President Nicolás Maduro and his wife and transferring them to U.S. custody. Pro-Maduro officials remain in power in the country.
