Nicolas Maduro's cabinet given 15-minute ultimatum by US, claims Venezuela's acting President

Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, claimed that the US gave a 15-minute ultimatum to former President Nicolas Maduro's Cabinet after an alleged kidnapping. In a leaked video recording of a 2-hour meeting held in Venezuela, seven days after the US attack, Rodriguez alleged that US forces threatened to kill them if they didn't comply with America's demands. 

"The threats began from the very first minute they kidnapped the president. They gave Diosdado [Cabello, the interior minister], Jorge [Rodriguez, the acting president's brother and congressional president,] and me 15 minutes to respond, or they would kill us", she said in the video, which was obtained by the local journalism collective La Hora de Venezuela.  The clip also shows how the remaining members of the regime are trying to reclaim control after the US removed Maduro. 

Reportedly, Rodriguez and her brother Jorge told US forces they were willing to cooperate after Nicolas Maduro's capture, but the remaining regime members were concerned about being seen as traitors. In the recording, Rodriguez said it "hurt ... to have to assume responsibilities in these circumstances". She revealed US forces claimed Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores "had been assassinated, not kidnapped", but she, her brother, and Diosdado Cabello "were ready to share the same fate."

Earlier, Rodriguez called the US operation a "stain on relations" between the two countries and said it must be resolved through diplomacy.

The US launched strikes on Venezuela's capital, Caracas and captured Maduro. On January 3, the US launched a "large-scale strike" in the South American country, which led to the capture of its leader, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Maduro and Flores were flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement. They were indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York and are currently facing trial.