Donald Trump has warned the new Venezuelan interim leader could pay a "very big price" if she doesn't collaborate with the US. On Saturday, hours after it emerged the US military had launched strikes on Caracas and captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Mr Trump said Delcy Rodriguez was "essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again". 

However, Ms Rodriguez, who stepped into the role of interim leader of Venezuela on the afternoon of January 3, didn't appear willing to allow the US to "run" Venezuela for the time being, as suggested by Mr Trump. Chairing a National Defense Council session yesterday, Ms Rodriguez demanded the "immediate release" of the Maduros.

She also claimed the US attack violated international law, calling it an "atrocity". She added: “There is only one president in Venezuela and his name is Nicolás Maduro.”

Hours after Ms Rodriguez' stern response to the military operation, Mr Trump appeared more critical of the current acting Venezuelan leader, saying that “if she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro".

During a press conference held on Saturday, Mr Trump had already warned the US military was ready to launch a second wave of strikes if needed.

Speaking to the Atlantic, the US President also fuelled speculation Washington may target other territories in the future.

Renewing threats against Greenland, which is part of Denmark a NATO country, he said: “We do need Greenland, absolutely."

He went on to claim the territory is "surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships".

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told ABC earlier today Washington's next steps in Venezuela will depend on how Ms Rodriguez reacts to what the Trump administration wants from her country.

He said: "We’re not going to judge moving forward based simply on what’s said in press conferences. We want to see action here at the end of the day. There’s a lot of different reasons why people go on TV and say certain things in these countries, especially 15 hours or 12 hours after the person who used to be in charge of the regime is now in handcuffs and on his way to New York.”

After being captured by the US military, Mr Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were taken to New York. Tomorrow, they are expected to appear in a federal Manhattan court at 5pm GMT, according to a CBS News reports.

On Saturday, Mr Maduro was indicted on four counts: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

Over the past weeks, Mr Maduro and his government had denied allegations made by the US.