<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has suggested that the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/usa" rel="" target="" title="United States"><span>United States</span></a><span> would not govern </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/venezuela" rel="" target="" title="Venezuela "><span>Venezuela</span></a><span> day-to-day other than enforcing an existing “oil quarantine” on the country, a turnaround after President Donald Trump has insisted that the US would be running Venezuela following its ouster of leader Nicolás Maduro.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rubio’s statements seemed designed to temper concerns that the assertive action to achieve regime change in Venezuela might lead the US into another prolonged foreign intervention or failed attempt at nation-building.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They stood in contrast to </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/donald-trump" rel="" target="" title="Trump’s "><span>Trump’s</span></a><span> broad but vague claims that the US would at least temporarily “run” the oil-rich nation, comments that suggested some sort of governing structure under which Caracas would be controlled by Washington.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/venezuela-international-leaders-react-to-donald-trump-capturing-president-nicolas-maduro-and-wife-cilia-flores/ca6ec3ae-3315-45a8-b736-228e674ec155"><strong><span>'World's judge': China responds to US attack on Venezuela</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rubio offered a more nuanced take, saying the US would continue to enforce an </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/oil" rel="" target="" title="oil "><span>oil</span></a><span> quarantine that was already in place on sanctioned tankers before Maduro was removed from power early on Saturday and use that leverage as a means to press policy changes in Venezuela.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“And so that’s the sort of control the president is pointing to when he says that," Rubio said on CBS’ </span><em><span>Face the Nation.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We continue with that quarantine, and we expect to see that there will be changes, not just in the way the oil industry is run for the benefit of the people, but also so that they stop the drug trafficking.”</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/venezuela-rubio-says-us-wont-govern-but-will-press-for-changes-through-oil-blockade/5c5e0dcf-24d7-4e97-9029-b2643fd738f1" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The blockade on sanctioned oil tankers — some of which have been seized by the US — “remains in place, and that’s a tremendous amount of leverage that will continue to be in place until we see changes that not just further the national interest of the United States, which is number one, but also that lead to a better future for the people of Venezuela,” he added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-suggests-military-action-could-be-coming-for-mexico-colombia/df42c933-2e81-41d6-a128-f25a75ed0be3"><strong><span>Trump suggests military action could be coming for Mexico, Colombia</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hours later, interim Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodríguez invited Trump “to collaborate” and said she seeks “respectful relations,” striking a notably more conciliatory tone than in her previous positions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“We invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence,” Rodriguez wrote in an online post.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She had delivered speeches projecting fierce defiance to the Trump administration earlier in the weekend and called for the US to release Maduro.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But her statement in English on her Instagram account marked a dramatic shift in tone.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/venezuela-how-cocaine-and-corruption-led-to-the-indictment-of-maduro/2fa8a5f0-348a-4033-b2b6-eba314ae93c1"><strong><span>How cocaine and corruption led to the indictment of Maduro</span></strong></a></div></div><div><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5), 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px auto;max-width:440px;padding:0;width:99.375%"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DTHIbhkjPSf/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;amp"></a></blockquote></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Even before the operation that nabbed Maduro, experts questioned the legality of aspects of the Trump administration’s pressure campaign on Maduro, including the deadly bombing of boats accused of trafficking drugs that some scholars said stretched the boundaries of international law.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Cuba on Sunday night announced that 32 Cuban security officers were killed in the US operation in Venezuela, which Trump acknowledged: “You know, a lot of Cubans were killed yesterday.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“There was a lot of death on the other side," Trump said aboard Air Force One as he flew back to Washington from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. "No death on our side.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>Trump still says US will ‘run’ Venezuela</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The president's vow, repeated more than half a dozen times at a Florida news conference on Saturday, sparked concerns among some Democrats.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It also drew unease from parts of his own Republican coalition, including an “America First” base that is opposed to foreign interventions, and from observers who recalled past nation-building efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rubio dismissed such criticism, saying Trump’s intent had been misunderstood.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“The whole foreign policy apparatus thinks everything is Libya, everything is Iraq, everything is Afghanistan,” Rubio said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This is not the Middle East. And our mission here is very different. This is the Western Hemisphere.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He also suggested the US would give Maduro’s subordinates now in charge time to govern, saying, “We’re going to judge everything by what they do.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Though he did not rule out boots on the ground in Venezuela, Rubio said the US, which has built up its presence in the region, was already capable of stopping alleged drug boats and sanctioned tankers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A day earlier, </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/donald-trump" rel="" target="" title="Trump "><span>Trump</span></a><span> had </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-says-united-states-will-take-control-of-venezuela-oil-reserves-what-this-means/4eb08a5f-01c8-461b-9b57-5f72945fe56f" rel="" target="" title="told reporters, “We’re going to run the country"><span>told reporters, “We’re going to run the country</span></a><span> until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He later pointed to his national security team with him, including Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and said it would be done for a period of time by “the people that are standing right behind me. We’re gonna be running it, we’re gonna be bringing it back."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Despite Rubio's seeking to tamp down that notion, Trump reiterated on Sunday that the US would control Venezuela, saying, “We’re going to run everything."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“We’re going to run it, fix it,” he said on Sunday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He added, "We’ll have elections at the right time” but didn't say when that might be.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>Maduro due in court on Monday</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A middle-of-the-night operation extracted Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home in a military base in the capital city of Caracas — an act Maduro’s government called “imperialist.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The couple faces US charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The dramatic seizure capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on Venezuela’s autocratic leader and months of secret planning, resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Legal experts raised questions about the lawfulness of the operation, which was done without congressional approval.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rodrígue has called Maduro the country’s rightful leader, even as her nation’s high court named her interim president.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>So did Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, who said the country's armed forces “categorically reject the cowardly kidnapping" and will “maintain internal order and peace.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Asked about Rodríguez comments in which she stands by Maduro, Trump said, “I don’t think it’s pushback" and suggested her calling what occurred a kidnapping of Maduro wasn't "a bad term.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Maduro is due to make his first appearance on Monday in Manhattan's federal court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, and the Justice Department released a new indictment on Saturday of Maduro and his wife that painted his administration as a “corrupt, illegitimate government” fueled by a drug-trafficking operation that flooded the US with cocaine.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The US government does not recognise Maduro as the country’s leader.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>Quiet falls in Venezuela after US operation</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Venezuela’s government kept operating as usual over the weekend as ministers remained in their posts.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The capital was unusually quiet Sunday with few vehicles moving around and convenience stores, gas stations and other businesses closed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Maduro’s son, lawmaker Nicolás Ernesto Guerra, has not appeared in public since the attack. On Saturday, he posted on Instagram a government statement repudiating the capture of his father and stepmother.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The country’s incoming National Assembly is set to be sworn in at the legislative palace in Caracas. The unicameral assembly will remain under control of the ruling party.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Under Venezuelan law, Rodríguez would take over from Maduro. Rodriguez stressed during a Saturday appearance on state television that she did not plan to assume power, before Venezuela’s high court ordered that she assume the interim role.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump told </span><em><span>The Atlantic</span></em><span> in an interview on Sunday that Rodríguez could “pay a very big price” if she doesn’t do what he thinks is right for Venezuela. Speaking to reporters later, Trump said Rodríguez is “cooperating” but reiterated the threat. He said he wanted her to provide “total access,” from major oil operations to basic infrastructure like roads, so all can be rebuilt.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His warning contrasted with his comments about Rodríguez on Saturday when he said Rubio had spoken with her and she was willing to do what the US thinks is needed to improve the standard of living in Venezuela.</span></div></div>