Following the abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, US President Donald Trump said Washington would “govern” the Latin American country until the transition is complete, but a day after Trump’s top diplomat said the US had no intention of governing the country.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that the United States is not at war with Venezuela, but on the same day President Trump told reporters he could order a second attack if Venezuela does not cooperate with the United States in cracking down on drug trafficking and opening up its oil industry.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
The Justice Department on Monday quietly dropped its claim that the Cartel de los Soles (Sunshine Cartel) was an actual drug-trafficking organization. Last year, the United States designated it a “terrorist” group. The Trump administration has advanced its case against Maduro, claiming he is the leader.
In December, the United States accused Venezuela of trafficking fentanyl, calling it a “weapon of mass destruction.” But fentanyl was not mentioned when the charges against Maduro were announced on Monday.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance continued to insist Sunday that some of the fentanyl did come from Venezuela.
Analysts point to confusing messages from the Trump administration regarding the purpose behind this brazen operation and how to proceed. Experts also question the legality of the operation, which reportedly killed at least 40 people.
The Trump administration maintains that Maduro’s abduction was legal and that the Maduro regime is illegitimate.
Meanwhile, Maduro’s deputy Delcy Rodriguez, who was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president on Monday, expressed willingness to cooperate with the United States.
At the moment, the question of who will govern Venezuela is a delicate situation. There are some important differences between Mr. Trump’s and Mr. Rubio’s statements.
What did Rubio say?
Mr. Rubio gave interviews to multiple news outlets on Sunday and Monday, defending the U.S. action and detailing the reasoning behind the operation, which was condemned by the United Nations Security Council.
“We’re at war with drug lords. It’s not a war against Venezuela,” Rubio said in an interview with Kristen Welker on NBC’s Meet the Press.
He cited dozens of attacks on ships near the Venezuelan coast since September, killing more than 100 people, and said seizures of “drug ships” would continue.
“No more drug trafficking…and no more using the oil industry to enrich our adversaries around the world, which is not in the interests of the Venezuelan people and frankly not in the interests of the United States and the region,” Rubio told NBC on Sunday.
Additionally, Rubio told NBC that the United States does not need Venezuelan oil and has plenty of its own oil. “What we will not allow is for Venezuela’s oil industry to be controlled by adversaries of the United States,” he said, citing Russia, Iran and China.
“This is the Western Hemisphere. This is where we live. And we are not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to become a base of operations for our adversaries, our competitors, our rivals. It’s as simple as that.”
Mr. Rubio told NBC’s Welker that since 2014, the systematic theft and mismanagement of the country’s oil resources by Mr. Maduro and his allies has resulted in approximately 8 million Venezuelans fleeing the country, rather than the oil being used for the benefit of the Venezuelan people. He said migrants were “destabilizing” the region.
According to a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, updated in May 2025, approximately 7.9 million people have left Venezuela. Analysts note that US punitive sanctions played a key role in the collapse of Venezuela’s economy, which exacerbated the migrant crisis.
Rubio reiterated Sunday that the U.S. will continue to enforce existing “oil quarantines.”
“We continue to sequester and hope that there will be changes not only in the way the oil industry operates for the benefit of our people, but also to stop drug trafficking,” Rubio told local news outlets.
Accusations that Venezuela is a major source of drugs entering the United States are false, experts say.
What did Trump say?
Mr. Rubio’s recent statements differ from what Mr. Trump has said about Venezuela.
Rubio said the United States doesn’t want to rule Venezuela and has no interest in Venezuelan oil, but Trump suggested otherwise the day before.
At a press conference on Saturday, President Trump said the United States would “manage” Venezuela until a “safe, adequate and wise transition” is implemented.
President Trump added that U.S. oil companies would repair Venezuela’s “broken infrastructure” and “start making money for the country.”
So what’s the plan?
Elvira Dominguez-Redondo, a professor of international law at Kingston University in the UK, told Al Jazeera there was no basis for commenting on whether Washington had a coherent plan.
“From the outside looking in, it is impossible to know what the United States’ next steps will be, especially given contradictory public statements from senior officials.”
It added: “Based on observable facts, we can say that there will be no full-scale military invasion or formal assumption of government authority by the United States. What appears to have happened instead is the removal of Mr. Maduro and the retention of the rest of the governing body under conditions not publicly known. It is unclear whether and how this was negotiated.”
Dominguez-Redondo said the United States cannot legally invade and rule Venezuela because this amounts to occupation under international law.
What is the latest political situation in Venezuela?
The 56-year-old Rodriguez, who was sworn in as interim leader on Monday, told Congress: “I am saddened by the kidnapping of two heroes, President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, who are being held hostage.”
“I pledge to work tirelessly to ensure the peace, spiritual, economic and social tranquility of our people.”
A day earlier, she had offered to work with Trump and called for a “respectful relationship” in a conciliatory message.
“I call on the US government to work together on the agenda of cooperation for common development within the framework of international law, in order to strengthen the lasting coexistence of our communities,” Rodriguez wrote on social media.
“President Donald Trump, our people, and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war.”
On Saturday, Mr. Rodriguez appeared on state television with his brother, National Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodriguez, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, to declare that Mr. Maduro remains Venezuela’s only legitimate president.
Who are the key leaders of Venezuela’s Chavista government?
Key leaders shaping Venezuela’s next political chapter include acting President Rodríguez, who was part of President Maduro’s inner circle. Her brother Jorge is also an important leader.
Other key leaders include Interior Minister Cabello and Defense Minister López, who are considered powerful members of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela.
Asked what action the Venezuelan government and military could take in response to U.S. intervention, Dominguez Redondo, a professor at Kingston University, said there was “very little realistically”.
“If the Venezuelan military could have responded meaningfully, it probably would have done so already.”
He noted that U.S. involvement in Venezuela began not with Maduro’s abduction, but with an attack on a ship in Venezuelan waters that the U.S. claimed was carrying drugs.
“These were Venezuelan vessels, and even though they were engaged in human trafficking, the killings were extrajudicial executions. From a legal perspective, these incidents could be characterized as armed attacks and there was a possibility of an invocation of self-defense by Venezuela.”
“However, Venezuela did not respond militarily, only condemning. The escalation continued, culminating in the seizure of Venezuelan oil and, ultimately, Mr. Maduro’s capture. This sequence of events strongly suggests that the Venezuelan military lacks the ability to respond effectively.”
Dominguez-Redondo added that it was unlikely that other countries would take action against U.S. involvement in Venezuela.
“The only body that can impose legally binding sanctions on all countries is the Security Council. However, as a permanent member with veto power, this body cannot counter the United States. As a result, there is no reliable mechanism that can restrain the United States in the short term.”
Venezuela also has colectivos, decentralized pro-government armed civilian groups with multiple individual leaders.
Who are the main opposition leaders?
On Saturday, President Trump ruled out working with opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Colina Machado, saying Machado did not have enough support in Venezuela.
Machado, considered Maduro’s leftist government’s most reliable opponent, is a member of Venezuela’s parliament and a champion of free markets. She fled the country last month.
Another prominent opposition leader is Edmundo Gonzalez, who ran against Maduro in the 2024 elections after Machado was barred from running. He fled Venezuela in September 2024 pursuant to an arrest warrant and is currently based in Spain.
Who will be next after Maduro?
After Maduro’s abduction, Trump threatened military action against Colombia’s Gustavo Petro, adding that he believed Cuba’s government would soon collapse as well.
On Sunday, President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that Venezuela and Colombia are “very sick” and called Petro “a sick man who likes to make cocaine and sell it to the United States.”
“And he won’t last long. I’m telling you.”
Asked if he meant a U.S. operation against Colombia, Trump said, “I think that’s a good thing.”
Petro fired back in a series of posts on Sunday’s X show, saying he would “take up arms” for the country if necessary.
“I have tremendous confidence in my guys,” he said. “That’s why I called on the people to protect the president from unlawful acts of violence against him.”
