{"id":2530162,"date":"2026-01-05T17:23:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T22:23:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-warns-new-venezuelan-leader-to-do-whats-right-or-pay-a-bigger-price-than-maduro\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T17:24:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T22:24:38","slug":"trump-warns-new-venezuelan-leader-to-do-whats-right-or-pay-a-bigger-price-than-maduro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-warns-new-venezuelan-leader-to-do-whats-right-or-pay-a-bigger-price-than-maduro\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Warns New Venezuelan Leader to &#8216;Do What&#8217;s Right&#8217; or Pay a &#8216;Bigger&#8217; Price Than Maduro"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-warns-new-venezuelan-leader-to-do-whats-right-or-pay-a-bigger-price-than-maduro%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2530162&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>After a U.S. operation captured Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, President Donald Trump pressured Venezuela&#8217;s interim leader, Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, to cooperate with the United States and warned she would face severe consequences if she did not. Trump framed rebuilding or regime change as preferable to the previous regime, saying Venezuela &#8220;can&#8217;t get any worse.&#8221; Rodr\u00edguez initially condemned the raid as an atrocity but later offered an invitation to the U.S. to work on a cooperative, development-focused agenda within international law. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. will judge Venezuela by actions, not rhetoric-demanding steps such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-keeps-door-open-to-military-strikes-inside-venezuela\/\" title=\"... keeps door open to ... strikes inside ...\">stopping drug trafficking<\/a>, expelling Iranian and hezbollah influence, and curbing armed groups like the ELN and FARC. Republican Sen.Tom Cotton emphasized that U.S. officials do not recognize Rodr\u00edguez as Venezuela&#8217;s legitimate leader despite her control of the military and security forces. U.S.officials say they will respond to concrete policy changes rather then statements.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">President Donald Trump is keeping up the pressure on Venezuela&rsquo;s interim leader to work with the U.S. and not against it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Immediately after the U.S. raid that captured dictator Nicol&aacute;s Maduro, Trump said Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez would collaborate with the United States to govern Venezuela. Later Saturday, she made a speech condemning Maduro&rsquo;s capture.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That led Trump to say, &ldquo;If she doesn&rsquo;t do what&rsquo;s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,&rdquo; according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/national-security\/2026\/01\/trump-venezuela-maduro-delcy-rodriguez\/685497\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Atlantic<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trump has indicated he will not allow Venezuela to backslide into another military-backed dictatorship.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Rebuilding there and regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now. Can&rsquo;t get any worse,&rdquo; he said, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/trump-issues-direct-warning-venezuelas-new-leader-delcy-rodriguez-following-maduro-capture\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trump said rebuilding the country is &ldquo;not a bad thing in Venezuela&rsquo;s case,&rdquo; according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/01\/04\/trump-warns-acting-venezuelan-leader-00710314\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Politico<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although Rodriguez said that the raid to capture Maduro was &ldquo;an atrocity that violates international law,&rdquo; Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he believes Venezuela will follow the U.S. lead to install a better government.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Well, we&rsquo;re not going to judge moving forward based simply on what&rsquo;s said in press conferences,&rdquo; he said, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/week-transcript-1-4-26-secretary-state-marco\/story?id=128879021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ABC News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;We want to see action here at the end of the day. Rhetoric is one thing. You see rhetoric for a lot of different reasons. There&rsquo;s a lot of different reasons why people go on TV and say certain things in these countries, especially 15 hours or 12 hours after the person who used to be in charge of the regime is now in handcuffs and on his way to New York,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;So, what I will say is, moving forward, it&rsquo;s very simple, we&rsquo;re not going to be reactive here to statements at press conferences or what people say in a certain interview or what some media posts &mdash; some media post somewhere,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;What we are going to react to is very simple, what do you do? Not what you&rsquo;re saying publicly. What happens? What happens next? Do the drugs stop coming? Are the changes made? Is Iran expelled? Is Hezbollah no longer able &mdash; and Iran no longer able to operate against our interests from Venezuela? Does the migration pattern stop? Do the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >drug trafficking boats end<\/a>? Do you deal with the ELN and the FARC, two narco-terrorist organizations who control territory and operate with impunity from the territory of Venezuela against the interest of Colombia and the United States?&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;These are the things we want addressed. If they are addressed, that&rsquo;s how we&rsquo;ll judge it. If they&rsquo;re not addressed, that&rsquo;s how we&rsquo;ll judge it,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas said, &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t recognize Delcy Rodriguez as the legitimate ruler of Venezuela,&rdquo; Politico reported.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;&ldquo;They have control of the military and security services. We have to deal with that fact, but that does not make them a legitimate leader. What we want is a future Venezuelan government that will be pro-American, that will contribute to stability, order, and prosperity, not only in Venezuela, but in our own backyard,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Sunday, Rodriguez appeared to be slightly shifting her tone.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;We extend an invitation to the U.S. government to work together on a cooperative agenda, oriented toward d development, within the framework of international law, and to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elon-musk-owned-company-steps-in-to-help-the-people-of-venezuela-after-maduros-ouster\/\" title=\"Elon Musk-Owned Company Steps In to Help the People of ... After ...&#039;s Ouster\">strengthen lasting community coexistence<\/a>,&rdquo; she said, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2026\/01\/04\/world\/trump-us-venezuela-maduro\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Our people and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war. That has always been President Nicol&aacute;s Maduro&rsquo;s position, and it is the position of all of Venezuela at this moment. That is the Venezuela I believe in, the Venezuela to which I have dedicated my life. My dream is for Venezuela to be a great power where all good Venezuelans can come together,&rdquo; she said<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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