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After the kidnapping of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would “run” the Latin American country until a transition was completed, but a day later his top diplomat said the United States did not want to govern the country.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that the United States was not at war with Venezuela, while the same day Trump told reporters he could order a second strike if Venezuela did not cooperate with the United States to crack down on drug trafficking and open up its oil industry.
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On Monday, the Justice Department quietly dropped the claim that the Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, was an actual drug trafficking group. Last year, the United States designated it a “terrorist” group. The Trump administration built its case against Maduro, claiming he was its leader.
In December, the United States accused Venezuela of trafficking fentanyl, calling it a “weapon of mass destruction.” However, when the charges against Maduro were announced on Monday, fentanyl was not mentioned.
American Vice President JD Vance again insisted on Sunday that part of the fentanyl did indeed come from Venezuela.
Analysts have pointed to confusing messages from the Trump administration regarding the purpose of the brazen operation and how to move forward. Experts also questioned the legality of the operation which reportedly left at least 40 dead.
The Trump administration insists that Maduro’s kidnapping was legal and that Maduro’s government is not legitimate.
Meanwhile, Maduro’s deputy Delcy Rodriguez, who was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president on Monday, has expressed her desire to collaborate with the United States.
Currently, the question of who will govern Venezuela is up in the air. There are key differences between Trump and Rubio’s remarks.
What did Rubio say?
Rubio spoke to multiple media outlets on Sunday and Monday, as he defended U.S. actions and explained the reasoning behind the operation that was carried out. sentenced by the United Nations Security Council.
In an interview with Kristen Welker of NBC’s Meet the Press, Rubio said, “We’re at war with drug trafficking organizations. It’s not a war with Venezuela.”
Seizures of “drug boats” will continue, he said, referring to dozens of strikes on ships near the Venezuelan coast since September that have left more than 100 dead.
“No more drug trafficking … and no more using the oil industry to enrich all of our adversaries around the world and without benefiting the Venezuelan people or, frankly, benefiting the United States and the region,” Rubio said Sunday on NBC.
Additionally, Rubio told NBC that the United States does not need Venezuelan oil and that it has plenty of its own oil. “What we are not going to 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 be a base of operations for the adversaries, competitors and rivals of the United States, simple as that.”
Rubio told NBC’s Welker that since 2014, about eight million Venezuelans have fled the country, driven by the systematic theft and mismanagement of the country’s oil wealth by Maduro and his entourage, rather than using it to benefit the Venezuelan people. He said migration was “destabilizing” the region.
According to a report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees updated in May 2025, nearly 7.9 million people have left Venezuela. Analysts point out that US sanctions played a significant role in the collapse of the Venezuelan economy, thus worsening the migrant crisis.
Rubio reiterated on Sunday that the United States would continue to enforce the existing “oil quarantine.”
“We are maintaining this quarantine and we hope to see changes, not only in the way the oil industry is managed for the benefit of people, but also for them to put an end to drug trafficking,” Rubio told a local media outlet.
Accusations that Venezuela is the main source of drugs entering the United States are false, experts say.
What did Trump say?
Rubio’s recent statements differ from what Trump has said about Venezuela.
While Rubio said the United States did not want to govern Venezuela and was not interested in its oil, Trump suggested different ideas the day before.
At a press conference on Saturday, Trump said the United States would “lead” Venezuela until a “safe, appropriate and wise transition” could be made.
Trump added that U.S. oil companies would fix Venezuela’s “broken infrastructure” and “start making money for the country.”
So what’s the plan?
Elvira Dominguez-Redondo, professor of international law at Kingston University in the United Kingdom, told Al Jazeera there was no basis to say whether Washington had a coherent plan.
“From the outside, it is impossible to know what the United States’ next steps will be, especially given conflicting public statements from senior officials. »
She added: “What I can say, based on observable facts, is that there is no large-scale military invasion or formal takeover of governmental authority by the United States. What appears to have happened instead is the removal of Maduro while allowing the rest of the government apparatus to remain in place, under conditions that are not publicly known. It is not clear if and how this was negotiated.”
Dominguez-Redondo said the United States cannot legally invade and rule Venezuela because doing so would amount to occupation under international law.
What is the latest political situation in Venezuela?
Inducted Monday as interim leader, Rodriguez, 56, told the National Assembly: “I come with pain following the kidnapping of two heroes who are being held hostage: President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.”
“I swear to work tirelessly to guarantee the peace, spiritual, economic and social tranquility of our people.”
A day earlier, she offered to work with Trump and sought “respectful relationships” in a conciliatory message.
“We invite the U.S. government to collaborate with us on a cooperative program oriented toward shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen sustainable community coexistence,” Rodriguez wrote on social media.
“President Donald Trump, our people and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war. »
On Saturday, Rodriguez appeared on state television alongside her brother, National Assembly leader Jorge Rodriguez, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, declaring that Maduro was still Venezuela’s only legitimate president.
Who are the main leaders of Venezuela’s Chavista government?
Key leaders who will shape Venezuela’s next political chapter include interim President Rodriguez, who was part of Maduro’s inner circle. His brother Jorge is also an important leader.
Other key leaders include Interior Minister Cabello – considered powerful within the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela – and Defense Minister Lopez.
When asked what steps the Venezuelan government and military might take against any U.S. intervention, Kingston University’s Dominguez-Redondo said: “In practical terms, very little.” »
“If the Venezuelan military was capable of responding in a meaningful way, it probably would have done so by now. »
She emphasized that U.S. involvement in Venezuela began not with the kidnapping of Maduro, but with attacks on boats in Venezuelan waters that the United States believed were carrying drugs.
“These were Venezuelan boats, and although they were involved in trafficking, the killings were extrajudicial executions. From a legal perspective, these incidents could have been characterized as an armed attack, potentially triggering Venezuela’s right of self-defense.
“Yet Venezuela did not respond militarily and limited itself to condemnation. The escalation then continued with the seizure of Venezuelan oil, and ultimately, the capture of Maduro. The sequence strongly suggests that the Venezuelan military does not have the capacity to respond effectively.”
Dominguez-Redondo added that other countries are also unlikely to take action against U.S. involvement in Venezuela.
“The only body capable of imposing legally binding sanctions on all states is the United Nations Security Council. However, this body cannot act against the United States as a permanent member with veto power. As a result, there is no credible mechanism capable of constraining the United States in the short term.”
Venezuela also has Colectivos, which are decentralized, pro-government armed civilian groups with multiple individual leaders.
Who are the main opposition leaders?
On Saturday, Trump ruled out the possibility of working with opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, saying Machado does not have enough support in Venezuela.
Machado, seen as the most credible opponent of Maduro’s left-wing government, is a member of Venezuela’s National Assembly and a free-market advocate. She fled the country last month.
Another prominent opposition leader is Edmundo Gonzalezwho ran against Maduro in the 2024 elections after Machado was blocked from running. He is currently based in Spain after fleeing Venezuela in September 2024 following an arrest warrant.
After Maduro, who could be next?
After Maduro’s kidnapping, Trump threat of military action against his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, adding that he believed that the Cuban government too would probably fall soon.
On Sunday, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that Venezuela and Colombia were “very sick” and called Petro “a sick man who likes to make cocaine and sell it to the United States.”
“And he’s not going to do it for very long. Let me tell you.”
Asked if he was talking about a U.S. operation against Colombia, Trump responded, “That sounds good to me.”
Petro responded in a series of messages on X on Sunday, saying he would “take up arms” for his country if necessary.
“I have enormous confidence in my people,” he said. “And that is why I have asked the people to defend the president against any unlawful acts of violence against him.”
