U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on Tuesday that the United States could launch a new military operation if the Venezuelan government does not cooperate satisfactorily with Washington, just weeks after a dramatic operation that led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
“Make no mistake, as the President (U.S. President Donald Trump) has stated, we are prepared to use force to ensure maximum cooperation if other methods fail,” Rubio told a Senate committee, according to excerpts of his prepared remarks released in advance on Tuesday.
Referring to Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, with whom the Trump administration quickly reached agreements, Rubio said that she “knows what happened to Maduro.”
“We believe that her interests align with the achievement of our core objectives in Venezuela,” the Secretary of State said. The warning is not subtle, as Rodríguez herself remains subject to U.S. sanctions.
Socialist President Nicolás Maduro was captured along with his wife on January 3, during a dramatic U.S. military operation in Caracas. He was transferred to New York, where U.S. authorities intend to prosecute him on drug trafficking charges.
The Democratic opposition has accused the Republican Trump administration of overstepping its authority, arguing that the operation against Venezuela was carried out without congressional approval.
Maduro’s former vice president was sworn in as interim president on February 5, after President Trump stated that Washington intended to “dictate” decisions taken in Venezuela “until further notice.”
Rodríguez said on Sunday that she had received Washington’s instructions “very clearly.”
Under U.S. pressure, Delcy Rodríguez signed oil agreements with the United States, advanced legislative initiatives in parliament—particularly on hydrocarbon exploitation—released detainees described by the opposition and NGOs as political prisoners, and called for negotiations with the opposition.
Last week, the White House announced plans to invite Rodríguez to the United States, without specifying a date. The announcement followed a conversation between Trump and Rodríguez, as well as a series of favorable remarks by the U.S. president toward his interim counterpart.
Defending the military operation, Rubio is expected to say that a “war against Venezuela” was never declared and that “we did not invade the country.”
“There are few examples in history where so much was achieved at such a low cost,” he is expected to say.
Approximately 100 people, mostly members of Venezuelan and Cuban security forces, were killed during the U.S. military operation, according to authorities in Caracas.
