Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US will judge Venezuela’s remaining leadership by their actions, offering cooperation if they make the “right decision” following Maduro’s removal.
WASHINGTON: The United States is prepared to work with Venezuela’s remaining leaders if they make “the right decision,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday.
His comments followed an audacious US operation that removed the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro.
“We’re going to judge everything by what they do, and we’re going to see what they do,” Rubio told CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
He added that Washington would retain “multiple levers of leverage” if the correct choices were not made.
Rubio’s remarks signalled a potential willingness to engage with Maduro’s vice president and now acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, and the rest of the ousted leader’s cabinet.
“We are going to see what happens moving forward,” he said.
The assessment would be based on actions, not past behaviour or public statements in the interim, he clarified.
This stance appeared to soften President Donald Trump’s earlier extraordinary statements.
Trump had said the US would “run” Venezuela and would not be afraid to put military “boots on the ground.”
Rubio gave no indication the administration would now support opposition figures previously hailed by Washington as legitimate leaders.
When asked about backing opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, Rubio expressed admiration but avoided demands for her or her party’s 2024 candidate to become interim leaders.
He said the US wanted to avoid getting mired in nation-building.
“This is not the Middle East. And our mission here is very different,” Rubio said, contrasting the situation with previous US interventions in Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan.
He emphasised that US pressure would remain through a large naval presence in the Caribbean and an oil export embargo.
This leverage would allow the US to exert significant influence over what happens next, he stated.
US commandos captured Maduro from a compound in Caracas on Saturday.
He is now in a New York detention cell awaiting a court appearance on federal narcotrafficking and weapons charges.
