Rubio clarifies US role in Venezuela following Maduro capture

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on January 4 that Washington would control the direction of events in Venezuela rather than directly govern the country, seeking to clarify President Donald Trump's assertion that America would "run" the oil-rich nation following the dramatic ouster of President Nicolás Maduro.

Through multiple television appearances, Rubio outlined how the United States plans to employ an oil export quarantine as its primary tool for influencing Venezuela's political future, whilst signalling openness to engagement with Caracas's current leadership should they comply with Washington's conditions.

The secretary of state's television interviews sought to ease worries that regime change in Venezuela could lead to a protracted American presence or a repeat of troubled and deeply unpopular reconstruction efforts such as those seen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"What we are running is the direction that this is going to move moving forward. And that is we have leverage," Rubio told ABC News' "This Week", when pressed on Trump's statement that the United States would govern Venezuela.

Venezuela's military leadership moved to establish continuity on January 4, with Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino López endorsing Vice President Delcy Rodríguez for a 90-day tenure as acting president under a Supreme Court decision.

The top US diplomat's comments marked a notable moderation of Trump's sweeping January 3 statements that America would "run" Venezuela and maintain military "boots on the ground" to secure access to the world's largest proven oil reserves.

In an NBC interview, Rubio framed the operation as counter-narcotics enforcement rather than military intervention, telling "Meet the Press" the focus was combating drug traffickers, "not a war against Venezuela". He indicated readiness to engage with Rodríguez and other officials in Maduro's former cabinet depending on their future conduct.

"We're going to make an assessment on the basis of what they do, not what they say publicly in the interim," Rubio told CBS News' "Face the Nation".

He characterised the deposed Venezuelan leader as an impossible negotiating partner, stating the United States "simply couldn't work with" Maduro, and said Washington would not recognise the previous government as legitimate, citing disputed elections.

The oil embargo predates the military action, Rubio noted, and will serve as Washington's main tool for shaping outcomes in Caracas. In his CBS interview, he described the measure against sanctioned vessels - including those already confiscated by American forces - as providing considerable influence that would persist until the United States observes policy shifts serving both its strategic priorities and Venezuelan citizens' welfare.

"If you are a sanctioned boat and you are headed towards Venezuela, you will be seized either on the way in or on the way out with a court order that we get from judges in the United States," he said.

When questioned on conducting the operation without congressional approval, Rubio defended the decision by arguing "this is not an invasion". He cited worries about potential information leaks and characterised the situation as requiring immediate action.

"You can't congressionally notify something like this for two reasons. Number one, it will leak. It's as simple as that. And number two, it's an exigent circumstance. It's an emergent thing," he said.

Kristi Noem, head of the US Department of Homeland Security, told Fox News that Trump was having "very matter-of-fact and very clear" conversations with Rodríguez about Venezuela's governance.

"You can lead or you can get out of the way. We're not going to allow you to continue to subvert our American influence," Noem said.

Despite longstanding US backing for opposition figures including Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, Rubio told NBC it was "premature" to discuss new elections. Whilst expressing "admiration" for Machado, he observed that significant portions of her political organisation had departed Venezuela.

Rubio rejected comparisons between the Venezuela action and American military campaigns in the Middle East, contending that officials focused on Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan were viewing Trump's strategy through an inappropriate framework.

"The whole foreign policy apparatus thinks everything is Libya, everything is Iraq, everything is Afghanistan," he said. "This is not the Middle East. And our mission here is very different."

Rubio confirmed US forces operated inside Venezuela for roughly two hours whilst executing the capture mission and stressed that no American military personnel remained on Venezuelan territory. He indicated that existing military assets positioned in the region were sufficient for stopping drug-running boats and embargo-violating tankers.

The unprecedented action represented the culmination of a sustained White House effort involving covert preparations over several months and the positioning of additional forces throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. Since September, American military units have targeted maritime traffic suspected of narcotics smuggling across the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific waters.

Caracas saw subdued activity on Sunday, with numerous shops shuttered whilst residents formed lines at select food stores and chemists. Padrino urged the population to return to their regular routines, declaring that "the homeland must follow its constitutional course".

Following the extraction, Maduro reached a suburban New York airfield late in the afternoon, then travelled by helicopter into Manhattan, authorities said. The 63-year-old was being held in a detention facility ahead of an expected January 5 court appearance on federal narco-trafficking charges.

Federal prosecutors have issued fresh charges against Maduro and Flores, accusing the Venezuelan government as sustaining itself through cocaine trafficking networks.