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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration is prepared to use force to ensure that Venezuela\u2019s acting President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez cooperates with the US, while hoping that self-interest will motivate her to advance key American objectives.<\/p>\n
Rodr\u00edguez has committed to opening Venezuela\u2019s energy sector to US companies, providing preferential access to oil production and using money from oil sales to buy American goods, Rubio said in remarks prepared for delivery at a hearing with lawmakers on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The hearing is Rubio\u2019s first public appearance before Congress since the US raid that led to the capture of her predecessor, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, on January 3.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are prepared to use force to ensure maximum cooperation if other methods fail,\u201d Rubio said in the statement for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. \u201cIt is our hope that this will not prove necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maduro had been indicted by the US Justice Department on charges that included narco-terrorism, and Rubio praised the operation as a law enforcement effort accomplished without the loss of life among American forces. Maduro, now in a New York jail, has pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n
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Democrats have called the raid an illegal act of war that circumvented Congress and now risks entangling the US in an extended commitment to rebuild Venezuela.<\/p>\n
New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the committee, criticized the Trump administration for leaving Rodr\u00edguez in power. She spent more than seven years as Maduro\u2019s vice president, and Shaheen said that she hasn\u2019t moved to reduce the influence of Iran, China or Russia.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer cooperation appears tactical and temporary, not a real shift in Venezuela\u2019s alignment,\u201d Shaheen said in her prepared remarks. \u201cIn the process, we\u2019ve traded one dictator for another.\u201d<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump deployed a fleet of military vessels to the Caribbean Sea in the second half of last year and has blown up boats allegedly tied to drug cartels. Since mid-December, he has pivoted attention to Venezuela\u2019s oil industry, accusing the socialist government of stealing US assets and touting a post-Maduro agreement to send as much as 50 million barrels of oil to the US.<\/p>\n
The US has also interdicted at least seven tankers used to export Venezuelan oil, continuing to crack down on a global shadow fleet used to ship sanctioned petroleum.<\/p>\n
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Rodr\u00edguez said earlier this week that Venezuela \u201chad enough\u201d of US interference as the government faces growing discontent from public-sector groups and leftist parties over plans to overhaul the oil industry.<\/p>\n
Trump announced hours after Maduro\u2019s capture that the US planned to work with Rodr\u00edguez, who spent more than seven years as the deposed leader\u2019s vice president, rather than popular opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. Rubio plans to meet with Machado at the State Department later on Wednesday, after the Senate hearing.<\/p>\n
Senator James Risch, the Idaho Republican who chairs the committee, said in his prepared remarks that Maduro\u2019s capture has made America safer, and that ordering the mission to remove him was consistent with Trump\u2019s authority under the Constitution.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Nicolas Maduro out of power, the United States has the opportunity to better protect America by bringing stability to Venezuela,\u201d Risch said.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n
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