Venezuela's Interim Leader Rodriguez Invites the U.S. to 'Work Jointly on a Cooperation Agenda' Following Maduro's Detention

Venezuela's interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, called on the United States to "work jointly on a cooperation agenda" and appealed for peace and dialogue after assuming the role following the U.S.-led operation that detained Nicolás Maduro on Saturday.

In a message published Sunday on her official social media channels, Rodríguez said Venezuela's priority was to pursue "balanced and respectful international relations" with the United States and other countries in the region, based on "sovereign equality and non-interference." She said the government is prepared to collaborate with Washington on an agenda "oriented toward shared development, within the framework of international law."

"President Donald Trump: our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war," Rodríguez wrote, adding that Venezuela "has the right to peace, development, sovereignty and a future." She described peace as essential not only for Venezuela but for regional and global stability.

Noticeably absent from the statement was any mention of Nicolás Maduro's capture.

Rodríguez's statement came a day after Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered her to assume the presidency on an interim basis following the aforementioned operation that captured not only Maduro but his wife, Cilia Flores, and included airstrikes in Caracas and nearby states.

Her call for cooperation also followed sharp warnings from Washington earlier on Sunday. Trump said in an interview with The Atlantic that Rodríguez would "pay a very high price, probably higher than Maduro," if she failed to act in line with U.S. expectations. He later said she was "willing to do what we consider necessary," but stressed that U.S. pressure would continue if American interests were not respected.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also signaled conditional openness to engagement. Speaking to CBS and NBC, Rubio said Rodríguez was someone "we can work with," contrasting her with Maduro, whom he described as someone who "never fulfilled any of the agreements he made."

Rubio also said calls for immediate elections were premature, arguing that "there is still much work to be done." While praising opposition figures, including María Corina Machado, he said the "immediate reality" was that much of the opposition leadership was no longer inside Venezuela, requiring short-term arrangements to stabilize the country.