US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the United States will not take on the day-to-day governance of Venezuela following the ouster and capture of President Nicolás Maduro, but will instead continue enforcing an existing “oil quarantine” to pressure policy changes. Rubio’s comments, made during television appearances, marked a shift from President Donald Trump’s statement a day earlier that the US would be “running” the oil-rich South American country after a US military operation removed Maduro from power.
Rubio appeared to temper concerns about a prolonged American intervention, stressing that Washington’s role would be limited to leveraging sanctions already in place. He said the US would maintain restrictions on sanctioned oil tankers that were in effect before Maduro was removed early Saturday, using economic pressure rather than direct governance to influence Venezuela’s future direction, a more measured approach than Trump’s broad remarks suggesting temporary US control of the country.