Venezuela Crisis: Trump Demands US Access as Delcy Rodríguez Takes Charge

Donald Trump wasted no time in setting the tone for Venezuela’s new leadership.

As Delcy Rodríguez assumed charge as Venezuela’s acting president late Sunday, the former US president issued a blunt warning: grant Washington “total access” to the country or face consequences “probably worse than Maduro.”

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said the United States needed unrestricted access to Venezuela’s resources, particularly its vast oil reserves. Framing it as a reconstruction effort, he claimed such access was essential to rebuilding the crisis-hit nation.

“We need total access. We need access to the oil and to other things in their country,” Trump said, reiterating earlier remarks made to The Atlantic. He warned that Rodríguez would suffer a fate harsher than that of Nicolás Maduro if she failed to “do the right thing,” though he stopped short of spelling out what that entailed.

Maduro, Venezuela’s former president, was captured by US forces in a military operation on Saturday and is currently in American custody. Trump suggested that Maduro “gave up immediately,” implying that Rodríguez might not receive the same leniency.

Photographs released by Venezuela’s presidential office showed Rodríguez chairing her first Council of Ministers meeting soon after taking office. In her first public message, she struck a markedly different tone, calling for peace, cooperation, and dialogue with Washington.

In a statement posted on Instagram, Rodríguez said Venezuela sought peaceful coexistence, respect for sovereignty, and balanced international relations. She invited the United States to work together within the framework of international law, stressing non-interference and mutual respect as the basis of diplomacy.

While Washington has previously signalled that Rodríguez could be an acceptable figure in a post-Maduro transition, she echoed loyalty to her predecessor, saying the message of peace and dialogue had always been Maduro’s stance as well.

Meanwhile, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, remain detained in the United States and are scheduled to appear before a federal court in New York on Monday. They face charges linked to alleged narco-terrorism and drug trafficking conspiracies.

(ANI and yMedia are the content partners for this story)