Top officials from the Trump administration have outlined their approach to governing Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. Over the weekend, Maduro was taken into U.S. custody, and the remaining Venezuelan government is now under pressure to comply with American demands regarding oil access and drug enforcement. The administration has indicated that further military action could occur if its conditions are not met.
The stated goal is to maintain much of the existing government in Caracas, currently led by interim president Delcy Rodríguez, while ensuring it aligns with U.S. interests after years of strained relations between the two countries. This strategy does not appear to offer a clear path for Venezuela’s democratic opposition, which international observers recognize as having won the last national election.
President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem discussed their intentions in interviews on Sunday. Trump said he would attempt to work with Rodríguez “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” but did not specify when elections might be held.
“If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” Trump told the Atlantic about Rodríguez. “Rebuilding there and regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now. Can’t get any worse.”
Rubio stated that a U.S. naval blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers will remain until Rodríguez cooperates with U.S. policies: “That’s the sort of control the president is pointing to when he says that,” Rubio told CBS News. “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.”
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, explained on CNN that he had communicated with administration officials after Maduro’s capture: “means the new leaders of Venezuela need to meet our demands.” He added: “Delcy Rodríguez, and the other ministers in Venezuela, understand now what the U.S. military is capable of,” but noted they are not considered legitimate leaders by Washington.
“What we want is a future Venezuelan government that will be pro-American, that will contribute to stability, order and prosperity, not only in Venezuela but in our own backyard. That probably needs to include new elections,” Cotton said.
Whether Rodríguez will cooperate remains uncertain. Trump claimed she seemed open during talks with Rubio but hours later Rodríguez demanded Maduro’s return and rejected foreign intervention in her speech.
Opposition figures Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia expressed concern over recent developments. Machado received criticism from Trump at his Saturday news conference: “a very nice woman,” but “doesn’t have the respect within the country” to lead.
Elliott Abrams, former special envoy to Venezuela under Trump’s first term, questioned this assessment: “The insult to Machado was bizarre, unfair – and simply ignorant,” Abrams told The Times. “Who told him that there was no respect for her?”
Maduro has been transferred to federal custody in New York at Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn where he awaits arraignment on charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy.
Some Democratic lawmakers criticized these actions as potential violations of international law and another example of regime change policy by a Republican administration. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) commented: “The invasion of Venezuela has nothing to do with American security. Venezuela is not a security threat to the U.S… Trump’s foreign policy – the Middle East, Russia, Venezuela – is fundamentally corrupt.”
Trump and Rubio have said their actions aim partly at reasserting U.S influence in Latin America amid increased activity by China and Russia in the region.
On Sunday morning an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting was called—not by permanent members like Russia or China—but by Colombia after less than a week as a non-permanent member—to address concerns over whether international law was breached during these operations.
