“Enough Already”: Venezuela’s Interim Leader Pushes Back Against U.S. Pressure

“Enough Already”: Venezuela’s Interim Leader Pushes Back Against U.S. Pressure After Maduro’s Capture

Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, said on Sunday that she has had “enough” of Washington’s demands, signaling rising tensions with the United States as she works to stabilize the country following the U.S. capture of former leader Nicolás Maduro.

Rodríguez, who was backed by Washington to lead Venezuela on an interim basis, has spent weeks navigating a delicate balance—keeping Maduro loyalists aligned at home while maintaining U.S. support abroad.

Nearly a month into her role, Rodríguez publicly pushed back amid continued U.S. pressure, including calls for Venezuela to resume oil production.

“Enough already of Washington’s orders over politicians in Venezuela,” Rodríguez told oil workers in the coastal city of Puerto La Cruz, speaking at an event broadcast on state-run Venezolana de Televisión. “Let Venezuelan politics resolve our differences and our internal conflicts. This Republic has paid a very high price for confronting the consequences of fascism and extremism in our country.”

The White House has maintained steady pressure on Caracas since Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized in a raid in early January and taken to the United States, where the former president faces criminal charges.

Rodríguez, a former deputy to Maduro, has repeatedly insisted that the United States does not govern Venezuela, while stopping short of directly confronting Washington.

U.S. President Donald Trump initially claimed the United States was “going to run” Venezuela after Maduro’s capture, but later endorsed Rodríguez as the country’s interim leader.

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