Trump issues direct warning to Venezuela's new leader Delcy Rodríguez following Maduro capture

Venezuelan Political Crisis

Trump issues direct warning to Venezuela's new leader Delcy Rodríguez following Maduro capture

Trump said he would not tolerate what he described as her defiant rejection of US intervention

Amanda Macias Fox News

Published

January 4, 2026 3:17pm EST

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Trump says US will ‘run Venezuela’ after Maduro capture

Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson reports on Operation Absolute Resolve, which led to the capture of Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro.

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President Donald Trump issued a pointed warning to Venezuela’s new leader on Sunday, suggesting severe consequences if she continues to resist U.S. demands following the American-led operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

In an interview with The Atlantic, Trump said Delcy Rodríguez would "pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro" if she fails to "do what’s right," adding that his administration would not tolerate what he described as her defiant rejection of the U.S. intervention.

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A side by side photo of President Donald Trump and Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. (Joe Raedle/Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images)

Defending that approach, Trump said, "Rebuilding there and regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now." Can’t get any worse," he added.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Trump’s remarks followed a stunning predawn announcement Saturday that U.S. operators had carried out a mission to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

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Speaking at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said a U.S.-appointed team would "run Venezuela" until the country's political leadership was stabilized.

He also pledged a return of U.S. energy investment to the cash-strapped Latin American country which sits atop of the world's largest oil reserves.

Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro is led through the hallway of the DEA office in handcuffs

Nicolas Maduro is led in handcuffs through the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York office after his transfer to U.S. custody, Saturday, January, 3, 2026. (Obtained by Fox News)

Trump framed his foreign policy approach, according to The Atlantic, through what he described as a modernized version of the Monroe Doctrine, the 19th-century policy opposing European colonial influence in the Western Hemisphere.

Trump referred to his approach as the "Donroe Doctrine."

President Donald Trump said the U.S. will ‘run’ Venezuela until the political environment in the country stabilizes. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump also hinted that Venezuela would not be the last nation to face U.S. pressure, raising the prospect of additional interventions beyond Latin America.

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As an example, he reiterated his long-standing interest in Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, a NATO ally.

"We do need Greenland, absolutely," Trump told the magazine, citing U.S. national security interests and strategic location.

Amanda covers the intersection of business and politics for Fox News Digital.

Trump issues direct warning to Venezuela's new leader Delcy Rodríguez following Maduro capture