Venezuela’s Delcy Rodriguez says she’s had “enough” of US orders

Venezuela’s interim President, Delcy Rodríguez, says she has had “enough of the orders from Washington” and called on the United States to stop interfering in Venezuelan politics.

Ms Rodriguez, in defiance of the mounting pressure from the Donald Trump administration, asked the US to stop interfering in Venezuela’s internal politics.

In her address to oil workers in the eastern state of Anzoategui, on Sunday, Ms Rodriguez said the country resolves its own internal differences without external pressure.

“Enough orders from Washington on politicians in Venezuela. Let Venezuelan politics resolve our differences and internal conflicts. Enough of foreign powers,” she said, according to AFP.

Ms Rodriguez said her government would take up long-standing disputes with Washington “face to face” through what she termed Bolivarian diplomacy.

She said Venezuela could never have imagined that it would be militarily attacked by a foreign power, referring to the US military’s illegal arrest of the country’s leader, Nicholas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores. They were charged in a US court over allegations of narco-terrorism, corruption, and drug trafficking; allegations that Mr Maduro has repeatedly denied.

The US attack on Caracas, the country’s capital, on 3rd January took the world by surprise and led to a mix of condemnation and support from world leaders.

Mr Trump had earlier disclosed that the US Army used a security weapon called the “Discombobulator” to disable Venezuelan equipment when it captured Mr Maduro.

Ms Rodriguez assumed the acting presidency after Mr Maduro’s capture, with Mr Trump announcing shortly after that she had agreed to work in partnership with the US.

Two weeks ago, Mr Trump declared that Venezuela would turn over between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil to the US. He stated that the oil will be sold at market price and that the proceeds, controlled by the US, will be used to ensure it benefits the people of Venezuela.

Mr Trump also styled himself as the acting president of Venezuela in a mock-up of a Wikipedia page on his Truth Social account.

He also declared that US oil companies are primed to invest billions of dollars to rebuild Venezuela’s infrastructure.