Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez said on Sunday that she is inviting the US government to work with her country following a raid by American forces in which President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were “captured” and brought to the United States to face criminal charges.
"We invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence," she said in a statement posted on the US social media platform Instagram.
"We prioritise moving towards balanced and respectful international relations between the United States and Venezuela, and between Venezuela and other countries in the region, premised on sovereign equality and non-interference," she wrote.
"President Donald Trump, our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war," Rodriguez said, adding: "This has always been President Nicolas Maduro’s message, and it is the message of all of Venezuela right now."
Earlier on Sunday, Trump, when asked about Rodriguez, responded by saying that she is "cooperating,” while also warning that she "will face a situation probably worse than Maduro" if she does not do so.
"We need total access. We need access to the oil and to other things in their country that allow us to rebuild their country," he said when asked what he needs from Rodriguez.
Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores landed in New York late on Saturday and are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. They face US federal charges tied to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as ‘terrorist organisations’.
Maduro has denied the accusations, and officials in Venezuela’s capital Caracas have called for the couple’s release.
