Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Sunday criticized what she described as pressure from Washington, saying the country should resolve its political disputes without U.S. direction.
Speaking to oil workers in the coastal city of Puerto La Cruz, Rodríguez said she was fed up with instructions from the United States, remarks broadcast on state television and reported by CNN.
“Enough already of Washington’s orders over politicians in Venezuela,” Rodríguez said. “Let Venezuelan politics resolve our differences and our internal conflicts.”
Her comments came weeks after President Donald Trump announced the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military operation in Caracas. Trump has since said the United States would take control of Venezuela’s oil industry and issue directives to the government.
Trump has allowed Rodríguez to remain in her post following Maduro’s transfer to New York to face drug trafficking charges. He has publicly praised her leadership and said she was cooperating with Washington on oil production.
“We’re working with them and they’ll get some of that, and we’re going to get some of that,” Trump told reporters last week aboard Air Force One, referring to Venezuelan oil exports.
Rodríguez said Venezuela has paid a “very high price” from internal conflict and foreign pressure, adding that national politics should be handled domestically.
Trump has also recently met with opposition leader María Corina Machado, signaling shifting U.S. engagement with Venezuela’s political future.
