U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that the United States does not plan to govern Venezuela after the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. He said Washington will instead use policy pressure and economic leverage to force changes.
Appearing on NBC News’ Meet the Press, Rubio rejected the idea of U.S. rule. “Well, it’s not running,” he said. “It’s running policy, the policy.”
He said the goal is to push Venezuela in a direction that benefits the United States. He added that U.S. officials also believe those changes would help the Venezuelan people.
Rubio said American leverage comes from economic pressure and military positioning. The United States has imposed an oil quarantine and reinforced its presence in the Caribbean.
“What’s going to happen here is we have a quarantine on their oil,” Rubio said earlier on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos. “That means their economy will not be able to move forward until the conditions that are in the national interest of the United States and the interests of the Venezuelan people are met.”
He said that leverage remains in place. He said the administration expects it to produce results.
Trump said Saturday that the U.S. would “run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.” The remark sparked criticism and warnings about nation-building.
Rubio moved to narrow Trump’s statement. He said the administration is managing policy, not governing the country directly.
“This is a team effort by the entire national security apparatus,” Rubio said. He said the priority is securing outcomes that benefit the United States.
Rubio also said the U.S. operation was not an act of war against Venezuela. “There’s not a war,” he said on Meet the Press. “We are at war against drug trafficking organizations, not a war against Venezuela.”
He described the mission as a law-enforcement and national security action. He said the top goal is stopping drug flows into the United States.
Trump addressed the military aspect on Saturday. “We’re not afraid of boots on the ground,” he said. He added that no U.S. ground forces are currently operating inside Venezuela.
Rubio dismissed concerns that Congress needed to approve the operation beforehand. “This is not an operation that required congressional approval,” he told NBC News. He said similar missions have been carried out by many presidents.
The Secretary of State said elections in Venezuela are not an immediate priority. “Elections should have happened a long time ago,” Rubio said. He said past votes were not properly counted and cannot be the focus right now.
Rubio outlined several U.S. demands. These include stopping drug trafficking routes and curbing mass migration. He also said Venezuela must end cooperation with U.S. adversaries.
“You can’t flood this country with drugs,” Rubio said. “You can’t turn Venezuela into the operating hub for Iran, for Russia, for China.”
Rubio also addressed Venezuela’s oil industry. He said the U.S. does not need Venezuelan oil. “We have plenty of oil in the United States,” he said.
He said the real goal is to block adversaries from controlling Venezuela’s energy sector. “This is not about securing the oil fields,” Rubio said. He said sanctioned oil will remain blocked until governance changes occur.
Trump said Saturday that major U.S. oil companies could eventually help rebuild Venezuela’s broken infrastructure. He said the industry needs billions of dollars in repairs.
Rubio said Western companies would likely show interest if U.S. conditions are met. He said Washington will not allow hostile foreign powers to gain a foothold in the Western Hemisphere.
“This is where we live,” Rubio said. “We’re not going to allow it to become a base of operations for our adversaries.”