US may not govern day-to-day after Maduro ouster, despite Trump’s saying so
Venezuelan Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino stated that most of Maduro’s security team was killed in the US raid and that armed forces were mobilized across the country to guarantee sovereignty.
Rubio, meanwhile, appeared on U.S. TV talk shows to ostensibly ease concerns about whether dramatic action to bring about regime change in Venezuela would lead to renewed protracted foreign intervention or a failed attempt at nation-building.
Marco Rubio is monitoring the progress of the operation.Credit: access point
His remarks contrasted with Trump’s earlier broad but vague assertions that the United States would “rule” the oil-rich country at least temporarily; These were comments that suggested some kind of governance structure in which Caracas would be controlled by Washington.
Rubio took a more nuanced approach, saying the United States would continue to enforce the oil quarantine on sanctioned tankers before Maduro was ousted from power on Saturday and use that pressure as a tool to make policy changes in Venezuela.
“That’s the kind of control the President was pointing to when he said that,” Rubio said on CBS. Face the Nation.
“We are continuing the lockdown and expect to see changes not only in the management of the oil industry for the benefit of the public, but also in stopping drug trafficking.”
“The blockade of sanctioned oil tankers — some of which have been seized by the United States — is still in effect, and that is a tremendous amount of pressure that will remain in place until we see changes that not only advance the national interests of the United States, No. 1, but also lead to a better future for the Venezuelan people,” he added.
Trump reiterates his promise that the US will ‘rule’ Venezuela
Trump’s promise to “manage” Venezuela, which he repeated more than half a dozen times at a news conference in Florida on Saturday, raised concerns among some Democrats.
It also drew unease from some segments of his own Republican coalition, including the “America First” base that opposes foreign intervention, as well as observers who recall past nation-building efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A damaged apartment complex that neighbors said was hit during U.S. offensives to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Saturday.Credit: access point
Rubio rejected such criticism, saying Trump’s intentions were misunderstood by a “foreign policy establishment” focused on the Middle East.
“The entire foreign policy apparatus thinks everything is Libya, everything is Iraq, everything is Afghanistan,” Rubio said. “This is not the Middle East. Our mission here is also very different. This is the Western Hemisphere.”
Rubio also claimed that the United States would give Maduro’s subordinates, who are currently in office, time to govern the country and said, “We will evaluate everything according to what they have done and see what they will do.”
While he did not rule out a US military presence in Venezuela, Rubio said the US’s current “force posture” is capable of stopping drug ships and sanctioned tankers.
A soldier stands on top of an armored vehicle heading towards Caracas on Sunday.Credit: access point
A day earlier, Trump had told reporters: “We will govern until we can make a safe, appropriate and sensible transition.”
He then pointed to his national security team, including Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and said it would be done for a while by “the people right behind me. We’ll make it work, we’ll bring it back.”
The White House declined to comment beyond what Trump said on Saturday.
Maduro’s arrival
Maduro landed at a small airport in New York City’s northern suburbs on Saturday afternoon (Sunday AEDT) following a midnight operation that removed him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home on a military base in Caracas; this was an action that Maduro’s government called “imperialist.” The couple is accused of participating in a US narco-terrorist plot.
Nicolas Maduro was “criminally run” by Drug Enforcement Administration officers in New York.Credit: X@PaulDMauro
Maduro’s dramatic takeover capped the Trump administration’s intense pressure campaign against Venezuela’s autocratic leader and months of secret planning, culminating in America’s most ambitious action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Legal experts raised questions about the legality of the operation carried out without congressional approval.
After arriving at the airport, Maduro flew to Manhattan by helicopter; There, a convoy of law enforcement vehicles, including an armored vehicle, was waiting to take him to the nearby U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office.
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In the video shared on social media by a White House account, Maduro was seen smiling as two DEA agents held his arms and escorted him to the office.
He will make his first appearance in Manhattan federal court on Monday.
Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges in 2020, and the Justice Department on Saturday unsealed a new indictment against Maduro and his wife, painting his administration as a “corrupt, illegitimate government” fueled by a drug trafficking operation that flooded the United States with cocaine. The US government does not recognize Maduro as the country’s leader.
The Trump administration spent months establishing American forces in the region and launching attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean allegedly carrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike on a docking area believed to be used by Venezuelan drug cartels; This was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the start of the US offensive in September.
Silence fell in Venezuela after the US operation
Venezuela’s capital remained unusually quiet on Sunday; Few vehicles were moving and grocery stores, gas stations and other businesses were closed. While the road is usually packed with runners, cyclists and other fitness enthusiasts on Sundays, only a handful of people were exercising the day after Maduro was dethroned.
A supporter of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro stands on a median strip in Caracas on Saturday, waving the national flag.Credit: access point
The presidential palace was guarded by armed civilians and soldiers. Only a garbage collector and a soldier stood in a nearby square, and across the street a church remained nearby for the second day in a row.
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When David Leal, who lives in Caracas, arrived at the parking lot where he worked, he realized he probably wouldn’t see any customers for the second day.
“People are still shaken,” Leal said.
AP, Reuters
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