Trump Warns Venezuela’s Interim Leader: ‘She Could Pay A Very Big Price’

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to Venezuela's interim leader Delcy Rodríguez, telling The Atlantic that 'if she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.'

Rodríguez, who served as vice president under Nicolás Maduro, was reported by some outlets to have been declared acting president by Venezuela’s Supreme Court after accounts surfaced that U.S. forces had captured Maduro and taken him to the United States. Those reports remain highly consequential and were described in media accounts cited by the president.

Shift In Tone And Tense Exchanges

The president’s latest comments contrasted with his remarks a day earlier, when he said Rodríguez had been 'gracious' in a reported conversation with U.S. Senator Marco Rubio. At a briefing, Trump said, '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.”'

Despite Trump’s account, Rodríguez later insisted that Maduro remains 'the only president of Venezuela' and called for his 'immediate liberation.'

U.S. Officials, Elections And Legitimacy

Senator Marco Rubio told ABC News’ This Week that the current Venezuelan government 'is not legitimate via an election' and said that lasting legitimacy would require a transitional process and genuine elections. On NBC’s Meet the Press, Rubio described discussions about a near-term election as 'premature.'

Donald Trump addresses the media during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club on Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

Military Threats And Reconstruction

At a Saturday briefing, Trump suggested the United States remained prepared to use further force, saying the U.S. was 'ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so.' He also emphasized plans to assist with reconstruction, arguing that Venezuela’s infrastructure was severely degraded: 'We have to rebuild their whole infrastructure. The infrastructure is rotted.'

In his interview with The Atlantic, Trump added: 'You know, rebuilding there and regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now. Can’t get any worse.'

Greenland Remarks And International Reactions

The interview also revisited Trump’s longstanding interest in Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark and a NATO ally. 'We do need Greenland, absolutely,' he told reporter Michael Scherer, 'We need it for defense.'

In the hours after the reported U.S. operation in Venezuela, Katie Miller — a podcast host and the wife of a senior White House adviser — posted an image on X overlaying an American flag on a map of Greenland with the caption 'SOON.' Denmark’s ambassador to the U.S., Jesper Møller Sørensen, responded by stressing the close alliance between the U.S. and the Kingdom of Denmark and asking for respect for the kingdom’s territorial integrity.

Less than a year before he took office, Trump had declined to rule out using military pressure against Greenland or Panama, saying at the time, 'No, I can’t assure you on either of those two, but I can say this: We need them for economic security.'

Note: This article was originally published on NBCNews.com and is based on that reporting and subsequent interviews cited by the president and other officials.