Rubio doesn’t rule out working with current Venezuelan leaders if they make ‘right decisions’

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the Trump administration is maintaining an oil quarantine on Venezuela as a central tool of pressure in an interview on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” In the same interview, he also outlined broader US objectives for the country’s future. Rubio's comments come after a US operation that resulted in the arrest of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Rubio said the oil quarantine remains in place and provides “a tremendous amount of leverage” until the Venezuelan regime stops drug trafficking, ends gang influence, and cuts ties with groups like Hezbollah and Iran. He explained that the quarantine targets sanctioned oil shipments and said naval forces can intercept vessels under sanction. “There’s a quarantine right now in which sanctioned oil shipments… that remains in place, and that’s a tremendous amount of leverage,” he said. 

Asked whether the United States plans to occupy Venezuela, Rubio said President Trump retains constitutional options to act against imminent and urgent threats but described the current posture primarily in terms of the oil quarantine and sanctions. He said the US naval deployment in the region is “one of the largest naval deployments in modern history… and it is capable of stopping… any of these sanctioned boats.”

Rubio defended the Maduro arrest operation, describing it as a “sophisticated” mission that successfully captured an indicted drug trafficker without US losses. He said Maduro was not recognized as legitimate by numerous countries and is now facing justice in the American legal system. “We arrested a narco trafficker… that was the top target,” Rubio said.

Rubio was also asked about Venezuela’s interim leadership following Maduro’s arrest and whether the figure now running the country is someone Washington can work with. He said the administration will not base its approach on public statements or past actions. “We are going to make our assessment on the basis of what they do, not what they say publicly in the interim,” Rubio said. He added that the U.S. does not yet know what decisions will be made, stressing that Washington will judge actions moving forward. “If they don’t make the right decisions, the United States will retain multiple levers of leverage to ensure that our interests are protected, and that includes the oil quarantine that’s in place, among other things,” Rubio said.

Rubio reiterated US goals for Venezuela include ending drug trafficking, reducing gang presence, and limiting malign influence in the Western Hemisphere. He said future leaders will be judged based on actions taken to achieve these objectives and that the United States will retain multiple levers of leverage, including the oil quarantine, to protect US interests.

The secretary did not provide a timeline for political transition or future elections in Venezuela but said structural change will be assessed based on actions by future leaders. He also discussed the need for investment in Venezuela’s oil industry to benefit the country’s people, saying the industry is “completely destroyed” and must be rebuilt.