U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to warn that the Trump administration could take additional military action if Venezuela’s transitional government fails to meet U.S. expectations.
According to The Associated Press, Rubio said in prepared remarks released by the State Department ahead of a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Venezuela scheduled for Tuesday that the United States is “prepared to use force to secure maximum cooperation if other methods fail.”
“I hope it won’t be necessary, but we will never turn away from our responsibility to the American people and our mission in this hemisphere,” he said.
Rubio is expected to strongly defend President Donald Trump’s Venezuela-related actions, including an operation to capture Nicolas Maduro and military strikes on drug-smuggling vessels.
“There was no war with Venezuela, and we did not occupy any country,” Rubio said in the prepared text. “U.S. forces were not stationed on the ground. This operation was to support law enforcement.”
Rubio also suggested Venezuela’s transitional government, led by interim President Delcy Rodriguez, will ultimately comply with Trump’s demands. “Rodriguez knows Maduro’s fate well,” he said. “We believe Rodriguez’s personal interests align with our core objectives.”
The AP reported Rubio is expected to cite U.S. core goals as opening Venezuela’s energy sector, giving U.S. companies preferential access to Venezuelan oil production facilities, and using oil revenue to buy U.S.-made products.
Rodriguez said earlier that Venezuela and the United States have “established a channel of communication based on mutual respect” and are working with Trump and Rubio to set a practical agenda.
After capturing Maduro earlier this month and transferring him to the United States, the United States has been directly leading the sale and management of Venezuelan crude, citing the normalization of Venezuela’s oil industry. It has also sent State Department personnel focused on Venezuela to the country and begun steps toward normalizing relations, including preparations to reopen the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported, citing sources, that U.S. officials are working to soon issue a “general license” that would lift some sanctions on Venezuela’s energy sector.
The report said partners and customers of Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA — including Chevron, Repsol, Italy’s Eni and India’s Reliance Industries — have in recent weeks applied for individual licenses to expand Venezuela’s crude production and exports.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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