Who governs Venezuela and how?
The confusion continued Monday amid seemingly contradictory messages from President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio about how the United States is dealing with the country after U.S. forces captured dictator Nicolás Maduro over the weekend.
On Sunday night, Trump doubled down on his claim that the United States was “in charge” of the South American nation, after first proclaiming on Saturday that the United States would “govern the country until such time as we can make a safe, proper and judicious transition.”
“We’re dealing with people. We’re dealing with people who just took the oath of office. And don’t ask me who’s in charge, because I’ll give you an answer and it’s going to be very controversial,” Trump told reporters Sunday as he flew back to Washington from Florida.
“What does that mean?” a journalist asked him.
“It means we’re in charge,” Trump said. who talked about extracting oil wealth and potentially putting boots on the ground.
President Donald Trump speaks to the media aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, January 4, 2026.
Alex Brandon/AP
The president’s comments seem to be disagreeing with the less definitive characterization that Secretary of State Marco Rubio made Sunday during an interview on ABC’s “This Week.” Rubio is one of the Cabinet officials Trump said would “lead” the country.
While Trump clearly stated that his administration was in charge and running things in Venezuela, Rubio was more circumspect and suggested that the United States would use its economic influence to impose its will.
“What we are following is the direction in which this is going to move. And we have influence. We are using this influence. And we intend to use it. We have already begun to use it,” Rubio told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, referring to the US quarantine on sanctioned oil tankers.
Rubio, on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, said the Trump administration’s control plan is related to policy changes.
“But he is executing this policy. And the goal of the policy is to see changes in Venezuela that are beneficial to the United States first and foremost, because that is what we work for, but we also believe that they are beneficial to the people of Venezuela who have suffered tremendously. We want a better future for Venezuela,” Rubio said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens as President Donald Trump addresses the media during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago club on January 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz echoed Rubio on Monday, telling the U.N. Security Council that the United States is “not occupying a country.”
“As Secretary Rubio has said, there is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying a country. This was a police operation to advance legal accusations that have existed for decades. The United States arrested a drug trafficker who will now be tried in the United States under the rule of law for the crimes he has committed against our people for 15 years,” Waltz said.
Waltz and other administration officials have described Maduro’s capture as a police operation facilitated by the US military.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz speaks during a U.N. Security Council meeting on the U.S. strikes and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in New York City, Jan. 5, 2026.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by US forces early Saturday in the capital of Caracas.
Trump, speaking in depth about the operation from his Mar-a-Lago club that morning, said the United States would “make Venezuela great again.” American companies will soon begin selling the country’s vast oil reserves, he said.
But when asked who exactly would govern Venezuela, Trump said it was some of the people “behind him,” who also included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
On Saturday, a U.S. official gave more details about what a U.S.-ruled Venezuela would look like, saying senior administration officials would “continue to engage diplomatically with those who remain in the Venezuelan government” and also hold talks with oil executives as they begin to expand the industry there.
Maduro and his wife made their initial appearance in Manhattan federal court on Monday to face federal charges, including narcoterrorism conspiracy and conspiracy to import cocaine. They pleaded not guilty. Maduro declared that he is “innocent” and “remains president.”
Meanwhile, in Venezuela, the country’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, was sworn in as interim president on Monday.
Trump said on Saturday that Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, did not have the “respect” to govern the country.
She had also said that Rodríguez was cooperating with the United States, a claim she appeared to question in a speech to Venezuelans when she called for Maduro’s immediate release.
Asked Sunday night to clarify his position on Rodriguez, Trump said, “I don’t have to tell him. “I’m just saying that she will face a situation probably worse than Maduro, because, you know, Maduro surrendered immediately.”
In a more conciliatory message on Sunday night, Rodríguez said he would “prioritize moving toward balanced and respectful international relations between the United States and Venezuela, and between Venezuela and other countries in the region, based on sovereign equality and non-interference.”
“President Donald Trump, our people and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war. This has always been the message of President Nicolás Maduro, and it is the message of all of Venezuela at this moment. This is the Venezuela in which I believe and to which I have dedicated my life,” Rodríguez wrote in a post on social media.
ABC News’ Mike Pappano and Brianna Sanchez contributed to this report.
