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Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday strongly defended President Donald Trump’s military operation to capture then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, telling lawmakers the brief raid removed a major national security threat and has left the United States safer, while insisting the administration has no plans for additional military action in Venezuela.
Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio delivered his first public remarks on the Jan. 3 operation, which he said targeted a destabilizing force in the Western Hemisphere and created an opening for political and economic stabilization.
“We’re not going to have this thing turn around overnight, but I think we’re making good and decent progress,” Rubio said. “We are certainly better off today in Venezuela than we were four weeks ago, and I think and hope and expect that we’ll be better off in three months and six months and nine months than we would have been had Maduro still been there.”
Rubio said Washington is working with Venezuela’s interim authorities and emphasized that the administration does not anticipate further military action.
“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,” he said, adding that such a move would require the emergence of an imminent threat.
Under the administration’s plan, Rubio said Venezuela will soon be allowed to sell oil currently restricted by U.S. sanctions, with proceeds placed in a Treasury-controlled account. The funds would be released monthly, subject to U.S. approval, to pay for basic services such as policing and health care.
Rubio also addressed tensions within NATO over Greenland as talks continue.
“I think we’re going to get something positive done,” Rubio said of discussions surrounding Greenland, while reiterating U.S. calls for NATO members to increase defense spending. “I just think this president complains about it louder than other presidents.”
Rubio said the administration’s ultimate goal is a democratic Venezuela, including free and fair elections, and confirmed the State Department plans to send additional diplomatic and support staff to prepare for a potential reopening of the U.S. Embassy.
