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Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, has offered to work with the United States, dialing back from the defiant rhetoric she first adopted after the capture of former dictator Nicolás Maduro.

An Announcement of Cooperation

In a statement released late Sunday, Rodríguez declared she had "invited the US government to work together on an agenda of joint work."

Her remarks followed just a short time after ex-President Donald Trump warned that Rodríguez could "face severe consequences, potentially bigger than Maduro" if she did not bend to his wishes.

Transition of Power in the Country

Rodríguez has effectively been running Venezuela since Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were detained over the weekend. The couple were taken to New York and are due to appear at a U.S. court in Manhattan.

She was sworn in as acting president by the supreme court on Saturday. The following day, the military leadership agreed to recognise her authority, while still demanding the prompt liberation of Maduro and his wife.

The Former President's Comments and Approach

Following the surprising apprehension of Maduro, Trump stated that the United States would now "manage" Venezuela "until we can do a orderly and lawful transition." He also mentioned that communication had been made with Rodríguez.

On Sunday, he warned that the US might initiate a second strike if holdouts of the government fail to comply with his efforts to get the country "fixed."

Trump's move have entirely sidelined the nation's political opposition, lead by Nobel laureate María Corina Machado. This tactic has been broadly condemned by analysts who argue that the regime's power structure remains mostly unchanged – just without Maduro at its head.

Rodríguez's Shifting Position

In her initial address after Maduro's detention, Rodríguez initially struck a stance of resistance, proclaiming that Venezuela would "not ever be any other nation's colony."

However, on Sunday night, after chairing her first cabinet meeting, she adopted a markedly more cooperative stance. Rodríguez released a message stating she considered a "stable and mutual relationship" with the United States to be a priority.

"We extend an invitation the government of the US to collaborate on an cooperative agenda, focused on mutual progress, within the confines of global norms, and that promotes enduring peace," she stated.

An Open Appeal to Trump

Addressing the American ex-president directly, she wrote: "Mr. Trump: our peoples and our hemisphere are entitled to peace and dialogue, not war. That has consistently been President Nicolás Maduro’s conviction and it is that of the entire nation at this moment."

"This nation I believe in and to which I have dedicated my life. My dream is for Venezuela to become a significant nation where all decent Venezuelans can come together. Venezuela has the inherent right to peace, development, sovereignty and a future," she added.

Contrasting Messages

Alongside the cooperative language, the administration – and Rodríguez herself, via her social media channel – later paid tribute to several dozen "Cuban combatants" who were part of Maduro’s security detail and who died "due to the criminal and infamous attack carried out by the United States."

Earlier on Sunday, the defence minister, Gen Vladímir Padrino López, had stated that US troops had "summarily executed much of [Maduro’s] security detail, soldiers and innocent civilians," without offering specific details or a confirmed count.