World News
Rubio Walks Back ‘Run Venezuela’ Remark, Says Donald Trump ‘Always Retains Optionality’
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday sought to soften President Donald Trump’s statement about the United States “running” Venezuela, saying the president had merely underscored that he “always retains optionality” in responding to national security threats.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday sought to soften President Donald Trump’s statement about the United States “running” Venezuela, saying the president had merely underscored that he “always retains optionality” in responding to national security threats.
Speaking to CBS News’ Face the Nation, Rubio was asked to clarify whether the US was currently occupying Venezuela following a dramatic military operation in Caracas that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
“The president always retains optionality on anything and on all these matters,” Rubio said. “He certainly has the ability and the right under the Constitution of the United States to act against imminent and urgent threats against the country.”
Rubio emphasised that Washington’s current approach was not one of direct occupation, but rather focused on economic and strategic pressure, including an oil quarantine and a massive naval deployment.
“I think what he’s pointing to is this obsession people have about boots on the ground,” Rubio said, adding that Trump was unwilling to publicly rule out any options, even if they were not being pursued at present.
“What you’re seeing right now is an oil quarantine that allows us to exert tremendous leverage over what happens next,” he said.
Rubio also highlighted the scale of US military presence in the region. “What you see as a force posture was one of the largest naval deployments in modern history, certainly in the Western Hemisphere. It is capable of stopping not just drug boats, but sanctioned vessels as well, effectively paralysing a major source of revenue for the regime,” he said.
The remarks follow Washington’s “large-scale strike against Venezuela” on Saturday, during which Maduro and Flores were captured and flown out of the country.
A day earlier, Trump had told reporters at a press conference in Palm Beach, Florida, that the US would run Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” a comment that sparked global debate over Washington’s intentions and the legality of the operation.
