U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio framed Washington’s confrontation with Caracas that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro was a campaign campaign against criminal networks rather than a war with Venezuela itself.
Rubio said the Trump administration’s objective was to dismantle transnational drug trafficking operations, stressing that U.S. military pressure was directed at criminal activity tied to Venezuela’s leadership.
“America is at war ‘against drug trafficking organisations’, not Venezuela,” he said.
Rubio confirmed that the United States would impose a maritime “quarantine” around Venezuela, aimed at blocking the movement of oil tankers subject to American sanctions.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio framed Washington’s confrontation with Caracas that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro was a campaign campaign against criminal networks rather than a war with Venezuela itself.
Rubio said the Trump administration’s objective was to dismantle transnational drug trafficking operations, stressing that U.S. military pressure was directed at criminal activity tied to Venezuela’s leadership.
“America is at war ‘against drug trafficking organisations’, not Venezuela,” he said.
Rubio confirmed that the United States would impose a maritime “quarantine” around Venezuela, aimed at blocking the movement of oil tankers subject to American sanctions.
The move, he said, was designed to apply “leverage” on the country’s leadership following Maduro’s capture.
While Rubio did not rule out the possibility of U.S. troops being deployed on Venezuelan soil, Pentagon officials sought to distance the operation from a broader occupation.
Despite President Donald Trump’s remarks that suggested the United States intended to “run” the country and reclaim American oil interests, defense officials said no U.S. military personnel were operating inside Venezuela.
Maduro’s aides, they added, continued to exercise day-to-day control.
Rubio added that U.S. naval presence assembled in the Caribbean Sea off Venezuela will remain in place until Washington sees meaningful shifts from Caracas.
“The large U.S. naval force amassed in the Caribbean Sea off Venezuela will remain ‘until we see changes, not just to further the national interest of the United States, which is No. 1, but also that lead to a better future for the people of Venezuela,’” the Secretary of State told “Face the Nation” on CBS News.
Maduro and his wife are currently being held in a Brooklyn jail after being indicted on Saturday on federal drug trafficking and weapons charges.
Trump administration officials described the scale of the U.S. military buildup — roughly 15,000 troops, along with aircraft and warships — as a deliberate signal to Venezuelan authorities.
The message, they said, was that cooperation with Washington was expected, or the country could face what Trump termed a “second wave” of attacks.
Echoing Trump’s comments from a day earlier, Rubio also highlighted Venezuela’s oil sector as a potential area of opportunity for American companies, while pressing Venezuelan officials to take action against drug trafficking.
Publicly, however, Venezuelan leaders have responded with defiance.
Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, sworn in Saturday as interim leader, condemned the U.S. raid in a national address and insisted that Maduro remained the country’s legitimate president.
Despite her remarks, U.S. officials said they hoped to engage with Rodríguez.
Rubio declined to clarify who currently holds power in Venezuela following Maduro’s capture.
Although Trump stated at a Saturday press conference that the United States would oversee the country in the interim, Rubio sidestepped similar questions on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Asked directly who was running Venezuela, Rubio offered no definitive answer.
“People keep fixating on that,” he said. “Here’s the bottom line on it… we expect to see changes in Venezuela, changes of all kinds long term, short term.”
THE THIRD FORCE
