National Security

Trump Threatens Venezuela’s New Leader With a Fate Worse Than Maduro’s

The president told The Atlantic that Delcy Rodríguez needs to comply with U.S. wishes—or else.

First published in The Atlantic on January 4, 2026.

by Michael Scherer, The Atlantic

January 8, 2026 | reading time: 4 Min.

In a telephone interview this morning, President Donald Trump issued a not-so-veiled threat against the new Venezuelan leader, Delcy Rodríguez, saying that “if she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” referring to Nicolás Maduro, now residing in a New York City jail cell. Trump made clear that he would not stand for Rodríguez’s defiant rejection of the armed U.S. intervention that resulted in Maduro’s capture.