President Trump said Sunday the U.S. could launch a second strike on Venezuela if "they don't behave."
Why it matters: His comments came after Venezuela's interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, struck a more conciliatory tone after Trump issued a warning to her following her earlier criticism of the U.S. attack and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The latest: "We're dealing with the people who just got sworn in. Don't ask me who's in charge because I'll give you an answer and it will be very controversial," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
- Asked what that meant, Trump replied: "We're in charge."
State of play: Trump said Saturday that Rodríguez had been "gracious" during a conversation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and told him Venezuelan officials would "do whatever you need."
- However, Rodríguez vowed in a televised address later Saturday that Venezuela "will never return to being the colony of another empire."
- That prompted Trump to tell The Atlantic Sunday, "If she doesn't do what's right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro."
- Following those comments, Rodríguez invited U.S. officials to work with Caracas.
What she's saying: "We extend an invitation to the U.S. government to work together on a cooperation agenda, oriented toward shared development, within the framework of international law, and to strengthen lasting community coexistence," Rodríguez wrote on Telegram.
- "President Donald Trump: our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war. This has always been President Nicolás Maduro's message, and it is a message of all Venezuela right now," she said.
- "Venezuela has the right to peace, to development, to sovereignty and to a future," added Rodríguez, who was Venezuela's vice president before the U.S. took Maduro into custody on charges including narcoterrorism.
Of note: When asked what he needs from Rodríguez, Trump told reporters Sunday: "We need total access.
- "We need access to the oil and to other things in their country that allow us to rebuild their country."
- The president said during his telephone interview with The Atlantic that "rebuilding there and regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now" in Venezuela. "Can't get any worse," he added.
More from Axios:
- Why the U.S. went after Maduro
- Marco Rubio's Venezuela moment
- Pope expresses "soul full of concern" for Venezuela
- After capturing Maduro, Trump hints at military action in Cuba, Mexico and Colombia
Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from Venezuela's interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez.
