WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump has warned new Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodríguez ahead of her swearing in that she could 'pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro' if she 'doesn't do what's right.'
In an interview with The Atlantic magazine Sunday, Trump said, 'if she doesn't do what's right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.'
Speaking over telephone at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, he added, 'Rebuilding there and regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now. Can't get any worse.'
At her first cabinet meeting, Rodríguez appealed to Trump that the people of Venezuela and the region 'deserve peace and dialogue, not war.'
The acting president said the Latin American country is committed to moving towards 'balanced and respectful' relations with the United States, and called for co-operation with Washington.
Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who was captured by the U.S. military in a deadly attack on Saturday, is currently jailed in New York City.
He is reportedly set to appear before U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York at noon Monday for hearing on drug and weapons charges.
In a new indictment unveiled after his capture, the U.S. Department of Justice alleged that Maduro and his allies have turned Venezuelan institutions into a hotbed of drug trafficking-fueled corruption for their own benefit.
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