14:08Secretary of State Marco Rubio converses with ABC News during his appearance on This Week, Jan. 4, 2026.ABC News
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Sunday that the U.S. was overseeing the developments in Venezuela following the arrest and ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces early Saturday morning.
"President Trump was quite explicit yesterday. He indicated that the United States intends to manage Venezuela. Under what legal basis?" queried ABC News' "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos.
"First and foremost, what will transpire is that we will impose a quarantine on their oil. This signifies that their economy will be unable to progress until the conditions aligning with the national interests of the United States and the Venezuelan populace are fulfilled," Rubio remarked.
However, when asked if the U.S. was currently in control of the nation, Rubio clarified that what the U.S. was "managing" was the trajectory of the situation.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio converses with ABC News during his appearance on This Week, Jan. 4, 2026.ABC News
"What we are steering is the direction in which this is set to progress moving ahead. And that is we possess leverage," Rubio stated.
"The leverage we have in this case is the leverage of the quarantine. Therefore, this is a Department of War operation, carrying out, in certain instances, law enforcement roles with the Coast Guard concerning the confiscation of these vessels," Rubio explained.
Rubio emphasized that Maduro was an individual the U.S. "simply couldn't collaborate with," and asserted that the administration was not acknowledging Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as the legitimate leader at present.
"We do not consider this regime to be legitimate through an election," Rubio declared.
"Ultimately, the legitimacy for their governmental system will emerge through a transition period and genuine elections, which they have yet to conduct," he added.
Rubio noted that the administration was keeping "all the options we had prior to this raid" available.
"If you are a sanctioned vessel heading towards Venezuela, you will be seized either on your way in or out, with a court order obtained from judges in the United States," he stated.
In response to inquiries regarding the legality of the operation against Maduro without Congressional approval, Rubio asserted that Congressional consent was not required because "this is not an invasion."
"Clearly, this was not a friendly territory," Rubio remarked. "Thus, to arrest [Maduro], we had to request the Department of War to engage in this operation."
Rubio mentioned that concerns about leaks also played a role in the decision-making.
"You cannot notify Congress about something like this for two reasons. Firstly, it will leak. It's that straightforward. And secondly, it's an urgent situation. It's an emergent matter," he stated.
Rubio also mentioned that he was not part of Trump's decision to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted of drug trafficking in the U.S. — facing charges analogous to those of Maduro now.
"Well, the president possesses the pardon authority. He's the one who reviewed the file with the individuals at the White House to make these pardon decisions," Rubio said.
"Do you support it?" Stepanopoulos in
Sourse: abcnews.go.com