Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s hearing on the Hill had barely begun when a heckler interrupted to accuse him of “war crimes.”
The interruption came as Rubio faced lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday to defend the Trump administration’s controversial Venezuela policy following a U.S. military operation that ousted and detained then-President Nicolás Maduro.
Rubia was responding to questions when a camera captured a man over his right shoulder, holding up a sign that read “Hands off Venezuela.”
At one point, the man could be heard saying “that’s a war crime,” as Rubio pointed his thumb over his shoulder, stopped talking, and plastered a grimace on his face. “All right, here we go,” Chairman Jim Risch said. ”Suspend! You know the drill. Off to jail.”
He continued, “That’s a one-year ban from the committee. Anyone who is a persistent violator will be banned for three years. So don’t know whether the guy falls in that category, looks like it. I hope after three years you’ll find a more productive means of employment.”
He then joked, “Secretary Rubio, we have two hearings in here a week, you know. You seem to have a more robust following than most of our witnesses that come before us.”
Little Marco, who received the mocking nickname from his now-boss Donald Trump during a Republican primary, was unfazed by the interruption, saying with resignation and a smile, “There’ll be a couple more, thank you for stopping the clock.”
During the grilling, Rubio refused to rule out the possibility of further military action if the current regime, now led by Maduro’s former number two, Delcy Rodríguez, didn’t allow the U.S. to freely seize and sell her country’s oil.
“The president does reserve the option in self-defense to eliminate that threat,” Rubio said.
He added, “I can tell you right now with full certainty, we are not postured to, nor do we intend or expect to have to take any military action in Venezuela at any time.”
At one point, Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy told him that the Trump administration’s plan is “destined for failure,” arguing, “You are taking their oil at gunpoint. You are holding and selling that oil.”
