EU calls for calm as Trump threatens Venezuela’s Rodríguez

Washington (dpa) – The European Union called “for calm and restraint by all actors” on Sunday as uncertainty deepens over Venezuela’s political future following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro by US forces.

“The European Union calls for calm and restraint by all actors, to avoid escalation and to ensure a peaceful solution to the crisis,” a statement from EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. The statement was supported by all EU member states except Hungary.

The right of the Venezuelan people to determine their future must be respected, the statement said.

The EU had repeatedly said Maduro “lacks the legitimacy of a democratically elected president” and had advocated for a Venezuelan-led peaceful transition to democracy.

“Respecting the will of the Venezuelan people remains the only way for Venezuela to restore democracy and resolve the current crisis,” the statement said.

Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured and taken out of the country by US special forces early on Saturday. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has assumed the role of acting president on the orders of the Supreme Court until new elections.

Maduro expected in New York court

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump threatened Rodríguez, according to a media report. “If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” he said in a phone call with the magazine The Atlantic.

The publication did not release the exact question to which this was a response, nor did it clarify whether Trump had specified what he meant by “right.”

The military, the decisive power factor in Venezuela, has already backed Rodríguez. Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino said armed forces and police units nationwide had been activated to repel what he described as “imperialist aggression” by the US.

In a video address on Sunday, he described Maduro’s capture as a “cowardly kidnapping,” alleging that US special forces had killed the president’s bodyguards, soldiers and civilians during the operation, which also involved large-scale airstrikes in the Caracas area.

Maduro is expected to appear in court for the first time on Monday, with a New York federal court hearing scheduled for noon (1700 GMT). (5 January)