As Maduro is scheduled to appear in court, Trump issues a warning to the next Venezuelan leader.

Delcy Rodríguez, the next leader of Venezuela, has been warned by Donald Trump that if she “doesn’t do what’s right,” she may “pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.” His remarks to the US publication The Atlantic coincided with Nicolás Maduro, the nation’s overthrown president, scheduled to appear in court in New York on Monday.

Maduro is accused by the US of operating a “narco-terrorist” dictatorship, an allegation he disputes. Maduro is also charged with drug trafficking and weapons offenses. During her first cabinet meeting on Sunday, Rodríguez, Maduro’s vice president, took a conciliatory stance and offered assistance to the United States.

“We invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of co-operation orientated towards shared development within the framework of international law,” she said. She will take the oath of office as president on Monday in Caracas at 8:00 local time (12:00 GMT), supported by the military and the Supreme Court of Venezuela.

Following airstrikes in Caracas on Saturday that resulted in the arrest and transportation of Maduro and his wife to the United States, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has maintained that the United States is not at war with Venezuela. The operation was described as a “act of war” by a few Democratic lawmakers.

In an interview, Trump said of Rodríguez: “If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro. He added that for Venezuela,”Regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now. Can’t get any worse”.

Trump had promised on Saturday that the US would “run” the nation until “a safe and proper and judicious transition” was achievable. Additionally, Trump pledged that US oil firms would relocate to the nation to repair infrastructure “and start making money for the country.”

Maduro’s allies continue to hold power in spite of the US president’s assertions. 32 “brave Cuban combatants” were killed as US forces struck and apprehended Maduro and his wife, according to the Cuban authorities. Maduro’s longtime socialist partner, Cuba, has declared two days of national mourning.

Rubio defended the US military operation in Venezuela in multiple TV interviews on Sunday morning, emphasizing that the action did not imply the US is at war with the South American nation. “We are at war against drug trafficking organisations. That’s not a war against Venezuela,” Rubio told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday morning.

In remarks to reporters on Air Force One, Trump also made threats on Colombia, Venezuela’s neighbor.

He referred to Colombian President Gustavo Petro as “a sick man” and stated that “it sounds good to me” but did not rule out military action against Colombia. In a joint statement, the governments of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and Spain said the US’s military actions “constitute an extremely dangerous precedent for peace and regional security and endanger the civilian population”.