US President Donald Trump made clear on Sunday that the US is prepared to conduct a second strike on Venezuela if its regime figures do not comply.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said, “We were prepared to do a second strike if we needed. We’re still prepared."
He was then asked whether a second strike is off the table now and replied, “No it’s not. If they don’t behave, we will do a second strike."
Hours earlier, Trump issued a sharp warning to Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodríguez, telling The Atlantic that “if she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro."
Rodríguez, who served as vice president under Nicolás Maduro, was declared acting president by Venezuela’s supreme court on Saturday night, after US forces captured Maduro and brought him to the United States.
In his interview with The Atlantic, Trump said, “You know, rebuilding there and regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now. Can’t get any worse."
Trump’s remarks marked a clear shift from the previous day, when he told reporters that Rodríguez had a “gracious" conversation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“She had a long conversation with Marco, and she said, ‘We’ll do whatever you need,’" Trump said Saturday. “I think she was quite gracious, but she really doesn’t have a choice. We’re going to have this done right."
Later on Saturday, however, Rodríguez publicly rejected the transition, declaring that Maduro was “the only president of Venezuela" and calling for his “immediate liberation."