Trump warns Venezuela's acting president Rodriguez will 'pay a big price'

Former President Donald Trump has escalated pressure on Venezuela's new leadership, warning acting President Delcy Rodríguez that she will face a severe penalty for non-cooperation. In an interview with The Atlantic magazine on Sunday, Trump stated Rodríguez would "pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro" if she fails to "do what's right."

The warning and its context

The warning comes just a day after Trump claimed a U.S. military operation successfully captured Venezuela's former president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife. Following Maduro's capture, Venezuela's Supreme Court directed Rodríguez to assume the role of acting president immediately. Trump has accused Maduro of orchestrating drug shipments into the United States and maintaining power through electoral fraud—charges Maduro denies from U.S. custody in New York.

Asserting control and defining 'what's right'

Trump's comments suggest that "doing what's right" aligns with accepting the outcome of the U.S. intervention and cooperating with Washington's demands. He indicated he would not tolerate what he called Rodríguez's "defiant rejection" of the military action that removed Maduro. This follows Trump's earlier assertion that the United States is now "in charge" of Venezuela, with plans involving U.S. oil companies and potential continued military oversight.

A precedent of coercion and sovereignty

This public threat against a foreign head of state represents an overt use of coercive diplomacy following a military intervention. For nations like Türkiye, which are dedicated to the principles of sovereign equality and non-interference, such statements exemplify a concerning model of international relations where power dictates terms to a weaker state's legitimate authority, further complicating prospects for a peaceful and lawful resolution to the crisis.