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Venezuela's interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, has offered to work with the United States, marking a shift from the defiant rhetoric she first adopted after the capture of former dictator Nicolás Maduro.

A Statement of Collaboration

In a statement issued Sunday night, Rodríguez declared she had "extended an invitation to the American administration to cooperate on an framework of joint work."

Her comments followed just a short time after ex-President Donald Trump warned that Rodríguez could "face severe consequences, potentially bigger than Maduro" if she failed to comply with his wishes.

Transition of Power in Venezuela

Rodríguez has effectively been running Venezuela since Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured over the weekend. The pair were transported to New York and are scheduled for an appearance at a U.S. court in Manhattan.

She was formally inaugurated as president by the constitutional tribunal on Saturday. The next day, the country's armed forces agreed to recognise her leadership, while still demanding the prompt liberation of Maduro and his wife.

The Former President's Comments and Strategy

Following the surprising apprehension of Maduro, Trump claimed that the United States would now "run" Venezuela "until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition." He also mentioned that contact had been established with Rodríguez.

On Sunday, he cautioned that the US might launch a second strike if remaining members of the government fail to comply with his efforts to get the country "fixed."

Trump's actions have entirely sidelined the nation's political opposition, headed by Nobel prizewinner María Corina Machado. This tactic has been broadly condemned by observers who argue that the existing power framework remains mostly unchanged – simply without Maduro at its helm.

The Leader's Evolving Posture

In her initial address after Maduro's detention, Rodríguez first adopted a defiant tone, declaring that Venezuela would "never again be any other nation's colony."

However, on Sunday night, after chairing her first cabinet meeting, she struck a markedly more cooperative stance. Rodríguez issued a communication stating she considered a "balanced and respectful relationship" with the United States to be a key objective.

"We extend an invitation the government of the US to collaborate on an agenda of cooperation, aimed at mutual progress, within the framework of global norms, and that strengthens lasting peaceful coexistence," she stated.

A Direct Address to Trump

Speaking to the former US president directly, she said: "Mr. Trump: our peoples and our hemisphere deserve dialogue and peace, not war. That has always been President Nicolás Maduro’s belief and it is that of the entire nation at this juncture."

"This is the Venezuela I have faith in and to which I have devoted myself. My dream is for Venezuela to become a significant nation where all decent Venezuelans can come together. Venezuela has the right to peace, development, sovereignty and a future," she added.

Contrasting Messages

Alongside the cooperative language, the administration – and Rodríguez herself, via her official channel – later honored 32 "Cuban security personnel" who were part of Maduro’s personal security and who perished "as a consequence of the criminal and infamous attack carried out by the United States."

Previously that day, the defence minister, Gen Vladímir Padrino López, had stated that US troops had "cold-bloodedly assassinated much of [Maduro’s] protection team, military personnel and non-combatants," without providing names or a death toll.