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President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while in flight on Air Force One on January 4, 2026. | Photo Credit: Alex Brandon

Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Sunday (January 4, 2026) held her first cabinet meeting since U.S. forces ousted the former President Nicolas Maduro. Hours after Ms. Rodríguez was appointed as interim President of the country, U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday (January 4, 2026) warned that she may have to pay a “bigger price than Maduro” if she does not cooperate with the United States.

Also read: The rise and fall of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, a Timeline

Mr. Maduro is scheduled to appear before a federal judge in New York at noon on Monday (January 5, 2026), to be formally notified about the charges against him. Mr. Trump insisted the United States is “in charge” of Venezuela after the seizure of Nicolas Maduro, but was also dealing with the new interim leadership in Caracas.

Also read: Why Trump bombed Venezuela | Explained

No Venezuela death toll has been announced, but Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said a “large part” of Mr. Maduro’s security team was killed “in cold blood,” as well as military personnel and civilians, after the U.S. strike on Venezuela.

The U.S. campaign against Venezuela is the product of two distinct policy impulses within the Donald Trump administration. The first is the long-held desire of many Republican hawks, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to force regime change in Caracas. They detest Venezuela’s socialist government and see overturning it as an opportunity to appeal to conservative Hispanic voters in the U.S.

The U.S. apprehends Nicolás Maduro to face charges of drug trafficking and narco-terrorism, following months of pressure on Venezuela

After removing President Nicolas Maduro from power, the Trump administration is ‍gambling that it can intimidate the Venezuelan leader’s inner circle into toeing the U.S. line with threats of further military action that could put them at risk of a similar fate, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The United States would consider another military operation in Venezuela if the interim government in the ‌South American nation did not cooperate, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday (January 4).

Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One travelling from Florida to Washington that more military intervention was on the table. “If they don’t behave, we will do a second strike,” he said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Sunday (January 4, 2026) that the United States would not take a day-to-day role in governing Venezuela other than enforcing an existing “oil quarantine” on the country, a turnaround after President Donald Trump announced a day earlier that the U.S. would be running Venezuela following its ouster of leader Nicolas Maduro.

Rubio clarifies U.S. stance on Venezuela, asserting focus on oil blockade instead of direct governance after Maduro's removal.

U.S. President Donald ‌Trump on Sunday (January 4) threatened military action against Colombia’s government, telling reporters that such an operation “sounds good to me.”