{"id":388601,"date":"2026-01-05T05:19:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T05:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/388601\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T05:19:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T05:19:09","slug":"trump-insists-us-in-charge-in-venezuela-and-rubio-points-to-oil-leverage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/388601\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump insists US ‘in charge’ in Venezuela and Rubio points to oil leverage"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Secretary of State Marco Rubio<\/a> suggested Sunday that the United States would not govern Venezuela day-to-day other than enforcing an existing \u201coil quarantine\u201d on the country<\/a>, even as President Donald Trump again insisted that the U.S. would be in control following its ouster of leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rubio\u2019s statements seemed designed to temper concerns<\/a> that the assertive action to achieve regime change in Venezuela might lead the U.S. into another prolonged foreign intervention or failed attempt at nation-building. <\/p>\n

They stood in contrast to Trump\u2019s broad but vague claims that the U.S. would at least temporarily \u201crun\u201d the oil-rich nation, comments that suggested some sort of governing structure under which Caracas would be controlled by Washington. <\/p>\n

Still, Trump reiterated Sunday night that \u201cwe\u2019re in charge,\u201d while interim Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodr\u00edguez<\/a> invited the Republican president \u201cto collaborate\u201d in a newly conciliatory stance. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to run it, fix it,\u201d he said of Venezuela while aboard Air Force One en route to Washington from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.<\/p>\n

Hours earlier, Rubio offered a more nuanced take, saying the U.S. would enforce an oil quarantine<\/a> that was already in place on sanctioned tankers before Maduro was removed from power early Saturday and use that leverage to press policy changes in Venezuela.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so that\u2019s the sort of control the president is pointing to when he says that,\u201d Rubio said on CBS\u2019 \u201cFace the Nation.\u201d \u201cWe continue with that quarantine, and we expect to see that there will be changes, not just in the way the oil industry is run for the benefit of the people, but also so that they stop the drug trafficking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodr\u00edguez changes her tone <\/p>\n

President Donald Trump said the U.S. will \u201cbe running\u201d Venezuela until it can \u201cbe put back on track,\u201d but provided few details or a timeline for how that will work. Trump also said opposition leader Mar\u00eda Corina Machado lacks the \u201csupport\u201d or \u201crespect\u201d to run the country.<\/p>\n

Venezuela\u2019s interim president said she seeks \u201crespectful relations\u201d with the U.S., in a shift from a previously defiant tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence,\u201d Rodr\u00edguez wrote in an online post.<\/p>\n

After the U.S. operation, she called Maduro the country\u2019s rightful leader<\/a> and urged the U.S. to release him, declaring the actions an \u201catrocity\u201d and saying \u201chistory and justice will make the extremists who promoted this armed aggression pay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her conciliatory message came after Trump threatened that she could \u201cpay a very big price\u201d if she didn\u2019t fall in line with U.S. demands. <\/p>\n

Trump told reporters Sunday night that Rodr\u00edguez is \u201ccooperating\u201d but reiterated the threat from an earlier interview with The Atlantic. <\/p>\n

He told reporters on Air Force One that he wanted her to provide \u201ctotal access\u201d to aspects of the country large and small \u2014 from major oil operations to basic infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\"Smoke<\/p>\n

\n Smoke rises from Fort Tiuna, the main military garrison in Caracas, Venezuela, after multiple explosions were heard and aircraft swept through the area, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)\n <\/p>\n

Smoke rises from Fort Tiuna, the main military garrison in Caracas, Venezuela, after multiple explosions were heard and aircraft swept through the area, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)<\/p>\n

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\"Men<\/p>\n

\n Men watch smoke rising from a dock after explosions were heard at La Guaira port, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)\n <\/p>\n

Men watch smoke rising from a dock after explosions were heard at La Guaira port, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe need access to the oil and to other things in their country that allow us to rebuild their country,\u201d Trump said. <\/p>\n

Venezuela\u2019s Supreme Court ruled Rodr\u00edguez would be acting president<\/a> earlier Sunday.<\/p>\n

Cuba, meanwhile, announced that 32 Cuban security officers were killed<\/a> in the U.S. operation in Venezuela, which Trump acknowledged: \u201cYou know, a lot of Cubans<\/a> were killed yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"National<\/p>\n

National Guard armored vehicles block an avenue leading to Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Cristian Hernandez)<\/p>\n

National Guard armored vehicles block an avenue leading to Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Cristian Hernandez)<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere was a lot of death on the other side,\u201d Trump said. \u201cNo death on our side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump still says US will \u2018run\u2019 Venezuela<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s vowing that the U.S. will run Venezuela has sparked concerns among some Democrats and drawn unease from parts of his own Republican coalition, including an \u201cAmerica First\u201d base that is opposed to foreign interventions, and from observers who recalled past nation-building efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. <\/p>\n

Rubio dismissed such criticism, saying Trump\u2019s intent had been misunderstood.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Supporters<\/p>\n

Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro embrace in downtown Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. (AP Photo\/Cristian Hernandez)<\/p>\n

Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro embrace in downtown Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. (AP Photo\/Cristian Hernandez)<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe whole foreign policy apparatus thinks everything is Libya, everything is Iraq, everything is Afghanistan,\u201d Rubio said. \u201cThis is not the Middle East. And our mission here is very different. This is the Western Hemisphere.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also suggested the U.S. would give Maduro\u2019s subordinates now in charge time to govern, saying, \u201cWe\u2019re going to judge everything by what they do.\u201d <\/p>\n

Though he did not rule out boots on the ground in Venezuela, Rubio said the U.S., which has built up its presence<\/a> in the region, was already capable of stopping alleged drug boats and sanctioned oil tankers.<\/p>\n

The blockade on sanctioned oil tankers \u2014 some of which have been seized by the U.S.<\/a> \u2014 \u201cremains in place, and that\u2019s a tremendous amount of leverage that will continue to be in place until we see changes that not just further the national interest of the United States, which is number one, but also that lead to a better future for the people of Venezuela,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Even before the operation that nabbed Maduro, experts questioned the legality of aspects of the Trump administration\u2019s pressure campaign on his government, including the deadly bombing of boats<\/a> accused of trafficking drugs that some scholars said stretched the boundaries of international law.<\/p>\n

Maduro due in court Monday<\/p>\n

A middle-of-the-night operation extracted Maduro and his wife<\/a>, Cilia Flores, from their home in a military base in the capital city of Caracas \u2014 an act Maduro\u2019s government called \u201cimperialist.\u201d The couple faces U.S. charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy. <\/p>\n

The dramatic seizure capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign<\/a> on Venezuela\u2019s autocratic leader and months of secret planning, resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Legal experts raised questions<\/a> about the lawfulness of the operation, which was done without congressional approval. <\/p>\n

Maduro is due to make his first appearance Monday in Manhattan\u2019s federal court. <\/p>\n

He and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, and the Justice Department released a new indictment<\/a> Saturday of Maduro and his wife that painted his administration as a \u201ccorrupt, illegitimate government\u201d fueled by a drug-trafficking operation that flooded the U.S with cocaine. The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as the country\u2019s leader.<\/p>\n

Quiet falls in Venezuela<\/p>\n

Venezuela\u2019s government kept operating as usual over the weekend as ministers remained in their posts.<\/p>\n

The capital was unusually quiet<\/a> Sunday with few vehicles moving around and convenience stores, gas stations and other businesses closed. <\/p>\n

Maduro\u2019s son, lawmaker Nicol\u00e1s Ernesto Guerra, has not appeared in public since the attack. On Saturday, he posted on Instagram a government statement repudiating the capture of his father and stepmother.<\/p>\n

The country\u2019s incoming National Assembly is set to be sworn in at the legislative palace in Caracas. The unicameral assembly will remain under control of the ruling party.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela. Associated Press writers Darlene Superville aboard Air Force One, Jorge Rueda in Caracas, Venezuela, and Isabel Debre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Sunday that the United States would not govern Venezuela…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":388602,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,83190,14271,90848,2302,12,22048,109,3321,793,3073,3140,2221,643,2005,3,18231,188801,111,3776,18598,24265,795,21,792,19,22,20,25,24,18232,18597,800,965],"class_list":["post-388601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-caracas","tag-central-america","tag-cilia-flores","tag-courts","tag-donald-trump","tag-drug-crimes","tag-economic-policy","tag-energy-industry","tag-general-news","tag-indictments","tag-latin-america","tag-legal-proceedings","tag-marco-rubio","tag-new-york","tag-news","tag-nicolas-maduro","tag-nicols-ernesto-guerra","tag-politics","tag-sanctions-and-embargoes","tag-south-america","tag-terrorism","tag-u-s-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-government","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-venezuela","tag-venezuela-government","tag-washington-news","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388601\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}