US President Donald Trump has said that his Secretary of State Marco Rubio has spoken to Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to make the Latin American country "great again," even as there has been no word from the Venezuelan government.
Hours after US bombed capital Caracas, "captured" Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, and flew them out of the country, Trump told media on Saturday that Rodriguez promised Rubio that she is willing to cooperate with Washington.
Asked if US was in touch with opposition’s Maria Corina Machado, Trump said the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner "doesn't have the support or the respect" to run Venezuela.
When asked if US could work with Rodriguez, Trump said she just took the oath and was picked by Maduro and that Rubio is "working on that directly."
Trump claimed Rodriguez is "essentially willing to do what we think is necessary for Venezuela to be great again."
Rubio, Hegseth part of team to run Venezuela
Trump also stated that he would allow American oil companies to head into Venezuela to tap its massive crude reserves.
"We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country," Trump told a press conference.
Trump also said "the embargo on all Venezuelan oil remains in full effect."
As part of a weeks-long military pressure campaign against Venezuela in the run-up to the raid, US forces seized at least two oil tankers that Washington said were subject to US sanctions.
Trump also warned other political and military figures in Venezuela, saying that "what happened to Maduro can happen to them."
Venezuela has been under US oil sanctions since 2019. It produces about a million barrels of crude per day. It sells most on the black market at steep discounts.
Trump claims Caracas is using oil money to finance "drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping" — charge Venezuela’s government denies.
Maduro and his wife, taken overnight from their home on a military base, were aboard a US warship on their way to New York, where they were to face criminal charges, Trump said.
Trump said Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth are part of the team that will administer Venezuela until a transition of power can take place.
He claimed the American presence was already in place, though there were no immediate signs that the US was in control of the country.
