Conflicting Signals from Trump and Rubio Over Who Controls Venezuela

Who is running Venezuela — and how?

Confusion persisted Monday after seemingly conflicting statements from President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the U.S. approach to Venezuela following the weekend capture of President Nicolás Maduro by American forces.

On Sunday night, Trump reiterated his claim that the United States was now “in charge” of the South American nation, reinforcing remarks he first made Saturday when he said the U.S. would “run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.”

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from Florida, Trump suggested U.S. control was already in effect. “We’re dealing with the people. We’re dealing with the people that just got sworn in,” he said. “And don’t ask me who’s in charge, because I’ll give you an answer, and it’ll be very controversial.”

When pressed on what he meant, Trump was blunt. “It means we’re in charge,” he said, going on to discuss Venezuela’s oil resources and raising the possibility of deploying U.S. troops on the ground.

The president’s remarks appeared to conflict with a more cautious description offered earlier Sunday by Rubio during an interview on ABC’s This Week. Rubio is among the Cabinet officials Trump said would help “run” the country.

While Trump asserted unequivocally that his administration was in charge of Venezuela’s affairs, Rubio stopped short of describing direct control, instead framing the U.S. role as one of influence exercised through economic pressure.

“What we are running is the direction this is going to take going forward,” Rubio told Hawk 24news’s George Stephanopoulos. “We have leverage, and we are using that leverage — and intend to continue using it.” He pointed to the U.S. quarantine of sanctioned oil tankers as evidence that the strategy was already underway.

The president’s remarks appeared to clash with a more measured account offered earlier Sunday by Rubio during an interview on hawk 24news This Week. Rubio is among the Cabinet officials Trump has said would help “run” Venezuela.

Where Trump spoke unequivocally about U.S. control, Rubio framed Washington’s role in more limited terms, emphasizing influence rather than direct governance and pointing to economic pressure as the primary tool.

“What we are running is the direction this is going to take moving forward,” Rubio told hawk 24news George Stephanopoulos. “We have leverage, and we are using that leverage — and intend to continue using it.” He cited the U.S. quarantine of sanctioned oil tankers as evidence the strategy was already underway.

That interpretation was echoed Monday by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, who told the Security Council that the United States was “not occupying a country.”

“As Secretary Rubio has said, there is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying a country,” Waltz said. “This was a law enforcement operation carried out in furtherance of longstanding, lawful indictments. The United States arrested a narco-trafficker who will now stand trial in accordance with the rule of law for crimes committed against our people over 15 years.”

Waltz and other administration officials have consistently described the capture of Maduro as a law enforcement action supported by the U.S. military. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken into custody early Saturday in Caracas.

Speaking at length about the operation from his Mar-a-Lago club later that morning, Trump said the U.S. would “make Venezuela great again” and predicted American companies would soon begin marketing the country’s vast oil reserves.

Pressed on who would actually govern Venezuela, Trump said the responsibility would fall to people “behind” him, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

A U.S. official on Saturday offered additional detail, saying senior administration officials would continue diplomatic engagement with remaining Venezuelan government figures while also working with oil executives as production expands.

Maduro and Flores appeared Monday in Manhattan federal court on charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy and conspiracy to import cocaine. Both pleaded not guilty. Maduro declared himself “innocent” and insisted he remains president.

Inside Venezuela, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in Monday as interim president.

Trump has dismissed opposition leader María Corina Machado — the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate — saying she lacked the “respect” needed to govern. He has also claimed Rodríguez was cooperating with the U.S., an assertion she appeared to reject in a televised address calling for Maduro’s immediate release.

Asked Sunday night to clarify his position on Rodríguez, Trump was blunt. “I don’t have to tell you,” he said. “I just say that she will face a situation probably worse than Maduro, because Maduro gave up immediately.”

Later Sunday, Rodríguez struck a more conciliatory tone, saying she would prioritize “balanced and respectful international relations” between Venezuela and the United States, as well as with regional neighbors, based on sovereignty and non-interference.

“President Donald Trump, our peoples, and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war,” Rodríguez wrote in a social media post. “This has always been President Nicolás Maduro’s message, and it is the message of all of Venezuela right now. This is the Venezuela I believe in and have dedicated my life to.”