Marco Rubio said the US will not handle Venezuela’s daily governance, limiting its role to enforcing an existing oil quarantine.
He said Washington will use sanctions and maritime enforcement to push changes in Venezuela’s oil sector and curb drug trafficking.
Rubio’s comments sought to soften President Trump’s assertion that the US would “run” Venezuela during a transition period.
US Will Enforce Oil Quarantine, Not Run Venezuela: Rubio
Secretary of State seeks to clarify Trump’s remarks on US role after Maduro’s capture
Summary
Following President Donald Trump's announcement on Monday that the United States would be running Venezuela after leader Nicolás Maduro was captured, Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested on Sunday that the United States would not play a role in the country's daily governance other than enforcing an existing "oil quarantine."
Rubio's remarks on CBS News's Face the Nation appeared to be intended to ease worries about whether the assertive American action to achieve regime change might again produce a prolonged foreign intervention or failed attempt at nation-building.
Clarifying if there was currently a US occupation the the South American country, he said, "The President always retains optionality on anything and all these matters. He certainly has the ability and the right under the Constitution of the United States to act against an imminent and urgent threat against the country."
Rubio offered a more nuanced take, saying the U.S. would continue to enforce an oil quarantine that was already in place on sanctioned tankers before Maduro was removed from power early Saturday and using that leverage as a means to press policy changes in Venezuela.
"And so that's the sort of control the president is pointing to when he says that," Rubio said. "We 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," he added.
Rubio said Washington would assess the conduct of those now running Venezuela. "We're going to judge everything by what they do, and we're going to see what they do," he said, while noting that the current US "force posture" was sufficient to interdict drug boats and sanctioned tankers. He did not rule out a US military presence.
His statements contrasted with Trump's general but ambiguous assertions that the United States would at least temporarily "run" the oil-rich country, remarks that implied a sort of system of government under which Washington would be in charge of Caracas.
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Trump had previously claimed that, "We're going to run the country until such time we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition."
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