US President Donald Trump threatens Venezuela’s interim president after abduction of her predecessor Nicolas Maduro

After abducting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro through a military incursion that violated international laws, US President Donald Trump has now issued threats against Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez. Trump warned that Rodriguez would face a fate “worse than Maduro’s” if she failed to cooperate with the United States.

Trump said Venezuela would have to pay a very heavy price if it did not implement what the US considers “right” for the Latin American country. Rodriguez had strongly condemned the abduction of her predecessor and demanded his immediate return.

Following the forcible detention of President Maduro by the US, the Venezuelan Supreme Court appointed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as interim president. In the early hours of Saturday, the US carried out a military operation inside Venezuela and abducted President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, subsequently imprisoning them.

Maduro and his wife are currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, and are scheduled to be produced before a Manhattan federal court on Monday. The US Department of Justice has filed charges including drug trafficking and terrorism against Maduro. The allegations claim that Maduro conspired for over 25 years to smuggle thousands of tonnes of cocaine into the United States, and illegally possessed explosives and machine guns, among other serious offences.

After Maduro’s abduction, Trump had declared that the United States would run Venezuela. However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later clarified that Washington is not prepared for direct administration, and that the US would instead impose oil sanctions on Venezuela.