Maduro’s No. 2 Drops Tough Talk, Offers Cooperation With United States

Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro’s second-in-command released a statement on Sunday, dropping the tough tone from earlier statements and claiming that she intends to work hand in hand with the United States in the coming months.

Delcy Rodriguez issued the statement within one day of assuming the top spot in the Venezuelan regime in Maduro’s absence — which she did almost immediately after U.S. forces swept in and arrested both Maduro and his wife, extraditing them to New York.

“We extend an invitation to the U.S. government to work together on a cooperation agenda, aimed at shared development, within the framework of international law, and to strengthen lasting community coexistence,” Rodriguez said.

“President Donald Trump: Our people and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war. That has always been President Nicolás Maduro’s position, and it is the position of all of Venezuela at this moment,” Rodríguez she added. “That is the Venezuela I believe in and have dedicated my life to. My dream is for Venezuela to be a great power where all good Venezuelans can come together.”

Rodriguez’s statement comes just one day after she demanded Maduro’s return from U.S. custody, calling him “the only president of Venezuela.”

Several in President Donald Trump’s administration appear skeptical that Rodriguez will fully cooperate with the United States, but they have also voiced their willingness to give her a chance to do so.

Trump himself warned, “If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.”

The president’s warning marked a change in tone since Saturday, when he’d seemed optimistic that Rodriguez was ready to work with the United States.

“She had a long conversation with Marco, and she said, ‘We’ll do whatever you need.’ I think she was quite gracious, but she really doesn’t have a choice. We’re going to have this done right,” he said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that he did not believe the current regime to be “legitimate” and that the United States would support a move toward a free and fair election for the Venezuelan people.

“Ultimately, legitimacy for their system of government will come about through a period of transition and real elections, which they have not had,” he said during an interview with “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos on ABC News.

On CNN, Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) shared a similar sentiment: “I don’t think we can count on Delcy Rodriguez to be friendly to the United States until she proves it.”

“There are recent examples of anti-American leaders around the world turning over a new leaf,” Cotton said, citing Libya’s Muammar al-Qaddafi and his 2003 reconciliation with the West. “But they made concrete concessions that benefited the United States. Delcy Rodriguez and other sanctioned and indicted ministers in Venezuela were in league with Maduro until yesterday, so I don’t think we can count on them to be pro-American at all.”