By Anietie Anii-bassey
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to deliver a firm warning on Wednesday that the Trump administration remains prepared to use military force against Venezuela if the country’s interim leadership fails to meet U.S. expectations.
Rubio, appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will emphasize that while the United States is not at war with Venezuela, it retains the option of taking decisive action if diplomatic and political measures prove insufficient.
In prepared testimony obtained ahead of the hearing, Rubio states that the U.S. operation earlier this month aimed at capturing former President Nicolás Maduro was limited in scope and intended to support law enforcement rather than signal a broader military engagement.
“We are prepared to use force to ensure maximum cooperation if other methods fail,” Rubio is set to say. “It is our hope that this will not prove necessary, but we will never shy away from our duty to the American people and our mission in this hemisphere.”
Rubio, a former Florida senator and a key figure in shaping the Trump administration’s foreign policy in Latin America, will seek to defend some of the most controversial aspects of the president’s approach toward the region. These include the removal of Maduro to face drug trafficking charges in U.S. courts, ongoing military strikes against suspected drug-smuggling vessels, and the seizure of Venezuelan oil tankers subject to U.S. sanctions.
“There is no war against Venezuela, and we did not occupy a country,” Rubio will assert. “There are no U.S. troops on the ground. This was an operation to aid law enforcement.”
Despite these assurances, Maduro has defiantly maintained his claim as the legitimate president of Venezuela, insisting he remains in power and rejecting U.S. demands.
Congressional reaction to the Trump administration’s actions has been sharply divided. Democrats have argued that the president exceeded the constitutional authority of the executive branch, while most Republicans have defended the operations as legitimate exercises of presidential power.
Idaho Republican Senator Jim Risch, who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, is expected to open Wednesday’s hearing by praising Rubio and the president for taking action to safeguard American interests.
“These actions were limited in scope, short in duration, and done to protect U.S. interests and citizens,” Risch’s prepared remarks indicate. “What President Trump has done in Venezuela is the definition of the president’s Article II constitutional authorities as commander-in-chief.”
Democrats, however, remain skeptical. New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the committee’s top Democrat, questions whether the effort to remove Maduro has achieved meaningful results, noting that key figures from his administration continue to wield power.
“The U.S. naval blockade around Venezuela and the raid have already cost American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars … and yet the Maduro regime is still in power,” Shaheen will argue.
While Congress narrowly rejected a resolution under the War Powers Act that would have required U.S. forces to withdraw from Venezuela, legal challenges have begun to emerge.
Families of two Trinidadian nationals killed during a U.S. military strike on suspected drug-smuggling vessels have filed what is believed to be the first wrongful-death lawsuit stemming from the campaign. Since September, roughly three dozen such strikes in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific have killed at least 126 people.
At the same time, the administration has signaled a willingness to normalize relations with Venezuela’s interim government under acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who previously served as vice president under Maduro.
Rubio’s testimony will stress that Rodríguez’s compliance with U.S. objectives—including opening Venezuela’s energy sector to American companies, redirecting oil revenue toward U.S. goods, and ending subsidized oil shipments to Cuba—is critical. “Rodríguez is well aware of the fate of Maduro; it is our belief that her own self-interest aligns with advancing our key objectives,” Rubio will state.
Rodríguez herself has emphasized the establishment of “respectful and courteous channels of communication” with the United States, and her government has taken steps in line with Trump’s demands, including releasing political prisoners.
Since January 8, 266 individuals previously detained under Maduro and Chávez have been freed, prompting praise from Trump, who described the releases as a “powerful humanitarian gesture.”
In a further signal of renewed diplomatic engagement, the State Department has informed Congress of plans to deploy additional personnel to Caracas in preparation for potentially reopening the U.S. Embassy, which has remained closed since 2019. Full normalization of relations, however, would require revoking the 2015 U.S. recognition of Venezuela’s parliament as the country’s legitimate government.
Rubio also intends to meet later Wednesday with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who reemerged publicly in December after a period in hiding following Maduro’s contested re-election in 2024. Machado, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway, previously presented the award to Trump during a visit to Washington, symbolizing her support for U.S. engagement even as Maduro maintained a defiant stance.
As the Trump administration balances the threat of force with cautious steps toward diplomacy, Rubio’s testimony is expected to reinforce the message that the U.S. is fully prepared to act if necessary, while simultaneously encouraging cooperation from Venezuela’s interim leadership.
The situation remains fluid, with both military and political developments likely to shape U.S.-Venezuelan relations in the months ahead.
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