U.S. intelligence reports have cast doubt about whether Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodriguez is willing to cave to a key U.S. demand: cutting ties with Washington’s largest foes on the global stage.
Reuters recalled that U.S. officials have publicly said that they want Venezuela to sever diplomatic ties with Iran, China and Russia, including expelling their officials from the South American country.
Senior officials told the outlet that Trump “continues to exert maximum leverage” over the country’s leadership and expects “this cooperation to continue.”
In this context, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to say that the administration is ready to “use force” to ensure that Venezuela’s interim regime cooperates.
He will make the remarks on Wednesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noting that while it is the administration’s “hope that this will not prove necessary,” it will “never shy away from our duty to the American people and our mission in this Hemisphere.”
Rodriguez has recently called on the U.S. to stop interfering in its internal affairs. “Enough with the orders,” she said during a public appearance during the weekend.
The most recent developments stand in contrast with different reports noting that Rodriguez and other top regime officials agreed to cooperate with the Trump administration to remain in power.
The Guardian reported last week that Rodriguez and her brother Jorge secretly pledged to work with the U.S. if Nicolas Maduro was removed.
They added that his removal would be a welcome outcome. “She said, ‘I’ll work with whatever is the aftermath,'” a source detailed.
Trump quickly announced that Delcy Rodriguez would be Venezuela’s interim president after the operation. He has since said the administrations are “getting along very well” and that she is “giving us everything that we feel is necessary.”
In fact, the U.S. is set to lift some sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry, according to another report.
The goal is facilitating a $2 billion supply deal between Caracas and Washington, as well as a $100 billion reconstruction plan, according to Reuters. Several partners and companies of Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA have applied for individual licenses to expand their output and exports, the outlet noted.
Originally published on Latin Times
