Rubio Warns Venezuela’s Acting Leader Against Maduro-like Fate

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was expected to tell the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that oil-rich Venezuela’s interim leader will face the same fate as her predecessor, Nicolás Maduro, unless she complies with US demands, according to prepared testimony.

Rubio said Delcy Rodríguez, who was vice president under Maduro and is now acting president, “is well aware of the fate of Maduro” and that, in Washington’s view, her self-interest aligns with advancing US objectives in Caracas.

“Make no mistake,” Rubio said in his prepared remarks referring to President Donald Trump, “we are prepared to use force to ensure maximum cooperation if other methods fail.”

The hearing in Congress came after weeks of criticism from Democrats who alleged that the Trump administration both misled lawmakers and exceeded its authority with the Venezuela operation.

Rubio defended the operation in his testimony, calling Maduro “an indicted drug trafficker, not a legal head of state,” and insisted the mission was carried out “without the loss of a single American life or an ongoing military occupation.”

US intelligence has reported doubts about how fully Rodríguez was cooperating with Washington on goals such as ending oil support to Cuba and restructuring Venezuela’s energy sector — talk that is central to US commercial and strategic interests.

Outside Congress, Rodríguez has said Washington and Caracas have established “respectful and courteous” communication channels, and the US has begun unblocking some sanctioned Venezuelan funds, a sign of tentative rapprochement even as tensions persist.

Rubio is also scheduled to hold a closed-door meeting with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado after his testimony.