President Trump is warning Venezuela's new leader that she could face consequences harsher than those imposed on Nicolás Maduro, the country's ousted leader now being held in a New York jail after a US military raid on Caracas. In a phone interview from his golf club in West Palm Beach, Trump told the Atlantic that Delcy Rodríguez "is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro" if she refuses to cooperate with Washington following the operation that removed Maduro from power. He criticized her public rejection of US intervention and her vow to defend Venezuela's resources and demand Maduro's return, a stance that raises the prospect of a drawn-out struggle and deeper American military involvement. (The AP reported late Sunday, however, that "newly conciliatory" comments from Rodríguez invited Trump to "collaborate.")
Trump has already signaled he is prepared to authorize further military action if he deems it necessary. ("If they don't behave, we will do a second strike," he said Sunday. "We're in charge.") The president's hard line marks a shift from his earlier comments, when he said Rodríguez had indicated privately she was ready to work with the US as it temporarily "runs" Venezuela. It also represents a notable break from his campaign-era promises to avoid regime change and "nation building." Asked why Venezuela is different from Iraq, Trump deflected, saying, "I didn't do Iraq. That was Bush. You'll have to ask Bush that question, because we should have never gone into Iraq. That started the Middle East disaster." He insisted, "Rebuilding is not a bad thing in Venezuela's case. The country's gone to hell. It's a failed country."
Trump also suggested Venezuela may not be the last target of US ambitions, once again floating the idea that the US "needs" Greenland for defense. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has urged other nations to take the Venezuela operation as evidence that Trump is willing to act on such threats, but pressed on the subject of Greenland, Trump said others would need to decide how to move forward: "They are going to have to view it themselves. I really don't know." Also Sunday, speaking aboard Air Force One on his way back to Washington, Trump had warnings for Cuba and Colombia, Politico reports. "Cuba looks like it's ready to fall. I don't know if they're going to hold out," he said. Colombia, he warned, is "run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and sending it to the United States, and he's not going to be doing it very long." Asked about the possibility of conducting an operation there, Trump said "it sounds good" to him, the AP reports.
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