Marco Rubio upbeat on Venezuela cooperation but wields stick

Marco Rubio

• US expects to reopen embassy in Venezuela soon after Maduro's removal
• Rubio says no US military action planned, only Marine guards at embassy
• Senators question motives and criticize interim leader Rodriguez's cooperation

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope Wednesday for cooperation with Venezuela after the US toppling of Nicolas Maduro and expected a reopening soon of the US embassy there, but brandished force if the interim leader is defiant.

In prepared testimony for a Senate hearing, Rubio had written that Delcy Rodriguez, who was vice president and now acting president, "is well aware of the fate of Maduro."

"Make no mistake," read the prepared text, "we are prepared to use force to ensure maximum cooperation if other methods fail."

Asked about his prepared testimony during his appearance, Rubio took a more measured tone.

"I can tell you right now with full certainty we are not postured to, nor do we intend or expect to, have to take any military action in Venezuela," Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"The only military presence you'll see in Venezuela is our Marine guards at an embassy," he said.

Trump has demanded that Venezuela, which has the world's largest proven oil reserves, work to benefit US oil companies.

The State Department last week named a new top diplomat for Venezuela, and earlier sent a mission to assess the embassy in Caracas.

"We think very quickly we'll be able to open a US diplomatic presence on the ground," Rubio said.

The United States shuttered its embassy in 2019 shortly after Washington and other major powers declared Maduro to be illegitimate following an election marred by reports of irregularities.

- 'Tactical and temporary' -

US commandoes raided Caracas on January 3 and seized Maduro, a longtime leftist nemesis of Washington, and his wife, Cilia Flores.

The couple were flown to New York to stand trial on US-issued charges of drug trafficking, which they deny.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the operation cost at least hundreds of millions of dollars "and yet the Maduro regime is essentially still in power."

"Her cooperation appears tactical and temporary, and not a real shift in Venezuela's alignment. In the process, we've traded one dictator for another," Shaheen said.

Senator Chris Van Hollen, another Democrat, pointed to Trump's meetings with oil executives and questioned if he ordered the deadly attack for personal benefit.

"By any measure, this is the most corrupt administration in American history," he said.

Venezuelan officials say more than 100 people died, both Venezuelans and Cubans who unsuccessfully tried to protect Maduro.

- Opposition blasts interim president -

Rubio, a Cuban-American and fervent critic of Latin American leftists, as a senator had championed Venezuela's democratic opposition.

But Trump indicated hours after deposing Maduro that he favored getting his way by pressuring Rodriguez rather than seeking to empower the opposition, dismissing its leader Maria Corina Machado as a "very nice woman" who did not command "respect."

Trump sounded more favorable to Machado after she visited him at the White House and gave him her Nobel Peace Prize, which she won last year despite Trump loudly coveting the prestigious honor.

Rubio later Wednesday met at the State Department with Machado, who said that Rodriguez remained part of a state apparatus that has used violence and forced millions of Venezuelans to flee.

"I think no one has faith in Delcy Rodriguez," Machado told reporters after the meeting.

"This is state terrorism and she's an essential part of it."

Rubio, facing critical questions from senators, insisted that the United States wanted democratic elections in Venezuela but offered no timetable, other than to say that "we need to be much further along" within three months.

"That's the end state that we want -- a free, fair, prosperous and friendly Venezuela. We're not going get there in three weeks."