{"id":550,"date":"2026-01-05T03:41:05","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T03:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/?p=550"},"modified":"2026-01-05T03:41:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T03:41:05","slug":"trump-warns-venezuelas-new-leader-as-maduro-heads-to-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/?p=550","title":{"rendered":"Trump Warns Venezuela\u2019s New Leader as Maduro Heads to Court","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"
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U.S. President Donald Trump<\/strong><\/a> has delivered a direct warning to Venezuela\u2019s interim president, Delcy Rodr\u00edguez<\/strong><\/a>, saying she could face consequences if her government does not align with Washington\u2019s expectations.<\/p>\n

His remarks, published Sunday in U.S. magazine The Atlantic<\/strong>, came just hours before Venezuela\u2019s removed president, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/strong><\/a>, was scheduled to appear in a New York federal court on Monday to face longstanding criminal charges tied to weapons and drug-related allegations\u2014claims he has consistently denied.<\/p>\n

The U.S. government has described Maduro\u2019s administration as a \u201cnarco-terrorist regime,\u201d<\/strong> an assertion the Venezuelan leader rejects. He has repeatedly accused Washington of using anti-drug operations as a pretext to expand its influence and gain access to Venezuela\u2019s significant oil resources.<\/p>\n

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Rubio: \u201cNot a War Against Venezuela\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Following Saturday\u2019s air strikes on Caracas<\/strong>, which preceded the detention of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores<\/strong>, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio<\/strong> insisted the operation was not an act of war.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are targeting drug networks, not Venezuela itself,\u201d<\/em> Rubio told NBC\u2019s Meet the Press<\/strong> on Sunday. He echoed similar statements to CBS<\/strong>, arguing the operation was tied to an arrest warrant, not a military invasion.<\/p>\n

Rubio also referenced what he called a \u201cquarantine\u201d on Venezuelan oil shipments<\/strong>, describing it as one of several leverage tools Washington may retain.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will judge this by their next decisions,\u201d<\/em> he added, reiterating that the U.S. still holds diplomatic pressure points<\/strong> should Venezuela resist cooperation.<\/p>\n

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Trump: \u201cRegime Change Is Better Than What Was There\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In his Atlantic interview, Trump said Rodr\u00edguez could \u201cpay a bigger price than Maduro if she fails to do what the U.S. considers necessary.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He also commented that replacing Maduro, whether labeled as regime change or transition, was preferable to the status quo<\/strong>, adding:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s better than what was there. It can\u2019t get worse.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

On Saturday, Trump also stated that the U.S. would guide Venezuela\u2019s administration until a secure political transition can be arranged<\/strong>, including rebuilding the country\u2019s oil infrastructure with the involvement of American energy firms.<\/p>\n

\"Trump<\/p>\n

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Cuba Declares National Mourning<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Cuba, a political ally of Maduro\u2019s government, said 32 Cuban nationals died during the same operation<\/strong>. Havana announced two days of national mourning<\/strong>, describing those lost as \u201cbrave combatants\u201d<\/em> in official broadcasts.<\/p>\n

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Rodr\u00edguez Rejects Trump\u2019s Version of Cooperation<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Rodr\u00edguez, sworn in by Venezuela\u2019s Supreme Court<\/strong>, has publicly contradicted Trump\u2019s statement that she was willing to cooperate with U.S. plans for Venezuela\u2019s restructuring.<\/p>\n

In an address broadcast on state television Saturday, she said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is only one president here, and his name is Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The Constitutional Chamber of Venezuela\u2019s Supreme Court officially appointed Rodr\u00edguez as acting national leader to ensure administrative continuity<\/strong>, instructing her to maintain government operations and national defense.<\/p>\n

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U.S. Political Backlash Grows Ahead of Midterms<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Democratic leaders strongly criticized the operation, framing it as a military intervention carried out without congressional approval<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries<\/strong> said on Sunday that the operation went beyond narcotics enforcement<\/strong>, calling it:<\/p>\n

\u201cA military act, not just a drug mission.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer<\/strong> also questioned the legality of the raid in an interview on ABC\u2019s This Week<\/strong>, saying:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t respond to lawlessness with more lawlessness.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Both Schumer and Jeffries have signaled support for a congressional resolution that would restrict further military or administrative action in Venezuela unless approved by Congress<\/strong>, though its passage remains uncertain due to narrow Republican control of both chambers.<\/p>\n

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Latin American and European Governments Voice Alarm<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In a rare unified response, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Spain, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and Spain? No \u2014 all listed nations<\/strong> including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Spain, and several regional partners<\/strong> issued a joint statement condemning the action as a dangerous precedent for peace and regional stability<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The statement emphasized that Venezuela\u2019s political future should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation<\/strong>, not external military oversight.<\/p>\n

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Current Status in Venezuela Remains Unclear<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Despite Trump\u2019s public claims, Maduro-aligned officials remain in operational control inside Venezuela<\/strong>, and the United States currently holds no direct institutional command over the country<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Rodr\u00edguez, constitutionally mandated to call new elections within 60 days<\/strong>, has not publicly confirmed how she plans to organize that process or what level of public authority she currently holds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. President Donald Trump has delivered a direct warning to Venezuela\u2019s interim president, Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, saying she could face consequences if her government does not align with Washington\u2019s expectations. His remarks, published Sunday in U.S. magazine The Atlantic, came just hours before Venezuela\u2019s removed president, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, was scheduled to appear in a New York […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":1,"featured_media":552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[55,54,29,53],"class_list":["post-550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-delcy-rodriguez","tag-maduro","tag-trump","tag-venezuela"],"aioseo_notices":[],"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=550"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":553,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions\/553"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}