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Venezuela's interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, has expressed a willingness to collaborate with the United States, marking a shift from the defiant rhetoric she initially displayed after the apprehension of former dictator Nicolás Maduro.

An Announcement of Collaboration

In a statement released late Sunday, Rodríguez stated she had "invited the US government to work together on an agenda of cooperation."

Her comments came just hours after former President Donald Trump threatened that Rodríguez could "face severe consequences, potentially bigger than Maduro" if she did not bend to his wishes.

Transition of Power in Venezuela

Rodríguez has effectively been running Venezuela since Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were detained on Saturday. The pair were transported to New York and are due to appear at a federal court in Manhattan.

She was sworn in as president by the constitutional tribunal on Saturday. The next day, the military leadership agreed to recognise her leadership, while simultaneously calling for the immediate release of Maduro and his wife.

The Former President's Comments and Approach

Following the surprising apprehension of Maduro, Trump claimed that the United States would now "manage" Venezuela "until such time as we can execute 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 "back on track."

Trump's move have entirely sidelined the country's democratic opposition, lead by Nobel prizewinner María Corina Machado. This strategy has been broadly condemned by analysts who contend that the regime's power structure remains mostly unchanged – just without Maduro at its head.

The Leader's Evolving Position

In her initial address after Maduro's capture, Rodríguez initially struck a stance of resistance, proclaiming that Venezuela would "never again be any other nation's colony."

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

"We invite the government of the US to work jointly on an cooperative agenda, aimed at mutual progress, within the framework of international law, and that promotes lasting peaceful coexistence," she stated.

A Direct Appeal to Trump

Addressing the former US president directly, she wrote: "Mr. Trump: our peoples and our region are entitled to peace and dialogue, not war. That has consistently been President Nicolás Maduro’s conviction and it is that of all Venezuela at this moment."

"This is the Venezuela I believe in and to which I have dedicated my life. My dream is for Venezuela to become a great power where all decent Venezuelans can come together. Venezuela has the right to sovereignty, development, peace, and a prosperous future," she added.

Contrasting Messages

Despite the conciliatory tone, the administration – and Rodríguez herself, via her social media channel – later honored several dozen "Cuban security personnel" who were part of Maduro’s security detail and who perished "as a consequence of the criminal and infamous attack carried out by the US government."

Previously that day, the defence minister, Gen Vladímir Padrino López, had said in a statement that US troops had "cold-bloodedly assassinated much of [Maduro’s] security detail, soldiers and non-combatants," without providing names or a death toll.