Senator Marco Rubio recently addressed public concerns on television talk shows regarding the potential consequences of aggressive U.S. actions aimed at regime change in Venezuela. His comments seemed intended to alleviate fears of the U.S. becoming entangled in another prolonged foreign intervention or failed nation-building effort.

In contrast to former President Donald Trump’s sweeping and somewhat ambiguous statements about the U.S. temporarily overseeing Venezuela—a notion hinting at a Washington-led governance model in Caracas—Rubio provided a more detailed perspective.

Rubio clarified that the U.S. would persist in enforcing an existing oil blockade on sanctioned tankers, a measure that was in place before Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was ousted on Saturday. This blockade would serve as leverage to encourage policy changes in the South American nation.

During an appearance on CBS’ Face the Nation, Rubio explained, “That’s the type of control the president refers to when he talks about it.”

He further elaborated, “We will maintain the quarantine, and we anticipate changes not only in the management of the oil industry for the benefit of the Venezuelan people but also to curb drug trafficking.”

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.

Trump repeated vow US would ‘run’ Venezuela

Trump’s vow to “run” Venezuela, repeated more than half a dozen times at a news conference in Florida on Saturday, sparked concerns among some Democrats.

It also drew unease from parts of his own Republican coalition, including an “America First” base that is opposed to foreign interventions, and also from observers who recalled past nation-building efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rubio dismissed such criticism, saying that Trump’s intent had been misunderstood by a “foreign policy establishment” that was fixated on the Middle East.

“The whole foreign policy apparatus thinks everything is Libya, everything is Iraq, everything is Afghanistan,” Rubio said.

“This is not the Middle East. And our mission here is very different. This is the Western Hemisphere.”

Rubio also suggested that the US would give Maduro’s subordinates who are now in charge time to govern, saying, “We’re going to judge everything by what they do, and we’re going to see what they do.” And though he did not rule out a US military presence in Venezuela, Rubio said the current US “force posture” was capable of stopping drug boats and sanctioned tankers.

A day earlier, Trump told reporters, “We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”

He later pointed to his national security team with him, including Rubio and Defence 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.”

The White House declined to comment beyond what Trump said Saturday.

Maduro landed late Saturday afternoon at a small airport in New York City’s northern suburbs following the middle-of-the-night operation that extracted him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home in a military base in the capital, Caracas – an act that Maduro’s government called “imperialist.” The couple faces US charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

The dramatic seizure of the Maduros 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. Legal experts raised questions about the lawfulness of the operation, which was done without congressional approval.

Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, meanwhile, demanded that the US free Maduro and called him the country’s rightful leader as her nation’s high court named her interim president.

After arriving at the airport, Maduro was flown by helicopter to Manhattan, where a convoy of law enforcement vehicles, including an armored car, was waiting to whisk him to a nearby US Drug Enforcement Administration office.

A video posted on social media by a White House account showed Maduro, smiling, as he was escorted through that office by two DEA agents grasping his arms.

He is due to make his first appearance Monday in Manhattan’s federal court.

Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, and the Justice Department released a new indictment 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. The US government does not recognise Maduro as the country’s leader.

The Trump administration spent months building up American forces in the region and carrying out attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean for allegedly ferrying drugs.

Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels – the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US campaign began in September.

Quiet falls in Venezuela after US operation

Venezuela’s capital remained unusually quiet Sunday with few vehicles moving around and convenience stores, gas stations and other businesses closed. A road typically filled with runners, cyclists and other fitness enthusiasts on Sundays only had a handful of people working out the day after Maduro was deposed.

The presidential palace was guarded by armed civilians and members of the military. At a nearby plaza, only a street sweeper and a soldier stood, and across the street, a church remained closed for a second day in a row.

Caracas resident David Leal arrived to the lot where he parks vehicles for a living only to quickly realise that he would likely not see any clients for a second day.

“People are still shaken,” said Leal, 77.