<\/p>\n
The communications minister holds a phone up to a microphone before a gathering of regime-friendly influencers.<\/p>\n
On speakerphone is Venezuela\u2019s acting president, Delcy Rodr\u00edguez<\/a>, who claims that when US forces captured the dictator Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a>, she and other members of his cabinet were given 15 minutes to decide whether to comply with Washington\u2019s demands \u2013 \u201cor they would kill us.\u201d<\/p>\n Rodr\u00edguez, the former vice-president who assumed power after the US attack \u2013 and has since been praised<\/a> by Donald Trump for playing along with his demands \u2013 says she was doing so only because the \u201cthreats and blackmail are constant\u201d. She also concedes that her priority was\u201cto preserve political power\u201d.<\/p>\n Her remarks appear in a leaked recording of the nearly two-hour meeting, which was held in Venezuela<\/a> seven days after the US attack.<\/p>\n The video, first reported by the local journalism collective La Hora de Venezuela<\/a>, gives a rare glimpse into the workings of Venezuela\u2019s Chavista regime, and reveals how the country\u2019s rulers rushed to regain control of the narrative after Washington removed its figurehead.<\/p>\n