Marco Rubio struggled to give a straight answer Sunday about whether he’ll be taking the reins of Venezuela after the U.S “captured” Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
“Yeah, I mean, I keep—people fixating on that. Here’s the bottom line on it... We expect to see changes in Venezuela,” the secretary of state told host Kristen Welker when asked on NBC’s Meet the Press whether he was “running” the country.
Rubio, 54, continued: “Changes of all kinds, long-term, short-term, we’d love to see all kinds of changes. But the most immediate changes are the one that are in the national interest to the United States.”
Rubio added that the U.S. intended to use “crippling leverage” against Venezuela “until we see the changes that we need to see that are of benefit to the American people, and by the way, we believe to the people of Venezuela as well.”
Welker seemed dissatisfied by the unclear answer and asked again: “President Trump said ‘We’re going to run the country.’ So, is it you? Is it Secretary Hegseth? Who are those people who will be running the country, specifically?”
“Well it’s not running the—it’s running policy. Policy with regards to this. We want Venezuela to move in a certain direction, because not only do we think that it’s good for the people of Venezuela, it’s in our national interest,” Rubio responded.
“It either touches on something that’s a threat to our national security, or it touches on something that’s either beneficial or harmful—”
Welker then interrupted to ask for a third time whether Rubio would be at the helm. “And are you involved in that transition, Secretary?” she questioned.
“Obviously I’m very involved in this,” Rubio said. As Welker nodded, he defensively added: “Well of course, I think everyone knows I’m pretty involved on politics in this hemisphere. Obviously, as Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, I’m very involved in all these elements.”
Rubio then suggested that he was just one of many overlooking Venezuela. “The Department of War plays a very important role here along with the Department of Justice, for example, because they’re the ones that have to go to court,” he said.
“So this is a team effort by the entire national security apparatus of our country.””
While Rubio didn’t seem keen to take up the mantle of leader, sources told the Washington Post—who dubbed Rubio the “Viceroy of Venezuela”—that he was President Donald Trump’s right-hand man in the country thanks to Rubio’s own family experiences in Cuba, his ability to speak Spanish, and his hard-line attitude on Latin America.
One insider told the outlet: “Rubio and the president are working hand in glove on this,” adding that the duo “were really running this thing.”
The president said at a press conference Saturday that the U.S. would “run” Venezuela for now and seize control of its oil. Meanwhile, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez condemned the U.S. for its “illegal and illegitimate kidnapping” of Maduro and vowed that the Venezuelan people would “never again be slaves.
