Venezuela's Acting President Appeals to Trump for Talks
Rodriguez, who had held the vice presidency since 2018, ascended to interim leadership after Maduro was forcibly seized by American forces in Caracas and transported to New York to face allegations of leading a "narco-terrorism conspiracy."
"President Donald Trump, our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war," Rodriguez wrote on Telegram on Monday. "This has always been President Nicolas Maduro's message, and it is the message of all of Venezuela right now."
The interim leader advocated for a "balanced and respectful" bilateral relationship, calling on the White House to collaborate with Caracas on "an agenda for cooperation aimed at shared development." Rodriguez asserted the Bolivarian Republic's right "to peace, to development, to sovereignty and to a future."
Previously, Rodriguez had demanded Maduro's immediate release while declaring that Venezuela would "never return to being the colony of another empire" or "return to being slaves."
On Sunday, Trump issued a stern warning to Rodriguez, stating she would face a "bigger price" than her recently captured predecessor "if she doesn't do what's right."
The detention occurred Saturday during a US operation involving multiple airstrikes across the capital and additional provinces. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were both apprehended. Washington announced Sunday that the couple faces indictment in the Southern District of New York on charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons offences.
Maduro has consistently denied any involvement in narcotics trafficking, characterizing Washington's accusations as justification for orchestrating regime change in Venezuela.
The military intervention represents the latest escalation in decades of deteriorating relations between the two nations, characterized by widening diplomatic divisions, comprehensive unilateral sanctions, political hostility and reciprocal accusations. Washington had long refused to recognize Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate president.
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