Interim President Delcy Rodriguez asserts Venezuela’s sovereignty as Trump demands oil shipments, while the nation mourns casualties from the US raid.
CARACAS: Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodriguez (pic) has insisted no foreign power is governing the country. Her statement comes as US President Donald Trump announced Caracas would swiftly turn over millions of barrels of oil.
Rodriguez, who was vice president under toppled leader Nicolas Maduro, gave the assurance three days after a US raid. “The government of Venezuela is in charge in our country, and no-one else,” she declared.
“There is no foreign agent governing Venezuela,” Rodriguez added. Trump insists Washington is now “in charge” but says he will work with Rodriguez if she grants access to Venezuela’s oil reserves.
The US leader was direct about his intent regarding the country’s reserves. He announced Rodriguez “will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil” to the United States.
“This oil will be sold at its market price, and that money will be controlled by me” as president, Trump said on his Truth Social platform. He has tasked Energy Secretary Chris Wright with “immediately” executing the plan.
Rodriguez has offered an olive branch but also sought to placate hardliners controlling the security forces. “We are a people that does not surrender, we are a people that does not give up,” she declared.
She paid tribute to the “martyrs” of the US attacks, announcing seven days of mourning. Venezuela’s military published a list of 23 troops killed, including five generals.
Top ally Havana separately issued a list of 32 dead Cuban military personnel. Many were members of Maduro’s security detail.
Venezuela has not yet confirmed the number of civilian casualties from the operation. Attorney General Tarek William Saab spoke of “dozens” of civilian and military dead without giving a breakdown.
Thousands of supporters of the presidential couple marched through Caracas demanding their release. This included powerful Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.
Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores appeared in court in New York on Monday. They pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has called on the United States to ensure a fair trial. Rodriguez has sought to project unity with hardliners Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado warned Rodriguez is not to be trusted. “Delcy Rodriguez… is one of the main architects of torture, persecution, corruption, narcotrafficking,” she told Fox News.
Machado added Rodriguez is the “main ally and liaison with Russia, China, Iran.” In a sign repression continues, 16 journalists and media workers were detained on Monday before later being released.
Trump has warned Rodriguez will pay “a very big price” if she does not comply with Washington’s agenda. A retired general predicted she would open Venezuela to US oil and mining companies.
He also believed she would seek to release political prisoners to appease criticism. Trump told Republican lawmakers that Rodriguez’s administration was “closing up” a torture chamber in Caracas.
The constitution states elections must be held within 30 days if Maduro is formally declared absent. Machado said she was confident the opposition would win “over 90 percent of the votes.”
