More than 24 hours after U.S. strikes in Venezuela, the situation remains defined by uncertainty rather than strategy. The administration has offered no coherent plan for what comes next, even as Marco Rubio openly signals Cuba as a potential next target for regime change. At the same time, deep fractures are emerging within the Republican Party over Venezuela’s future, exposing the absence of a unified or credible post-strike vision from Donald Trump.
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In a television interview Sunday morning, Marco Rubio suggested that Cuba may be the next target of U.S. pressure for regime change, accusing Havana of propping up Nicolás Maduro by controlling Venezuela’s internal security and intelligence services. Rubio offered no specifics on future actions but made clear that Washington’s posture toward Cuba is openly hostile.
Rubio characterized the U.S. operation in Venezuela as a limited law enforcement and counternarcotics action rather than a war. Speaking on Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, he argued that no prior congressional authorization was required, even as Donald Trump publicly left open the possibility of deploying ground troops.
That framing drew immediate bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill. Hakeem Jeffries rejected Rubio’s characterization, warning that the administration had failed to demonstrate any imminent threat. Jeffries said the action amounted to an unauthorized act of war rather than a routine counternarcotics mission.
On ABC’s This Week, George Stephanopoulos pressed Rubio repeatedly on the legal authority behind Trump’s declaration that the United States would “run Venezuela.” Rubio declined to cite any statute or authorization, instead referring vaguely to “court orders” while reframing the mission as humanitarian assistance to the Venezuelan people.
When questioned about accountability and precedent, Rubio attempted to deflect scrutiny by contrasting Maduro’s indictment with the jury conviction of Juan Orlando Hernández. He then distanced himself from any discussion of pardons, repeatedly stating that he had not reviewed the matter, was not involved in the decision-making process, and had not had time to assess it.
Confusion also persists over who currently governs Venezuela. Rubio said recent Venezuelan elections had been stolen by Maduro’s allies and described an ongoing power struggle following Maduro’s capture. Trump, however, claimed that Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, had been sworn in and was communicating with U.S. officials. That assertion directly conflicts with Rodríguez’s public statements demanding Maduro’s release and declaring him Venezuela’s only legitimate president.
Rubio rejected calls for an immediate transfer of power to the opposition, including María Corina Machado. He said U.S. officials expected faster cooperation from Rodríguez and described Trump’s statement that the United States would “run” Venezuela as a temporary measure. According to Rubio, Washington’s short-term priorities include curbing drug trafficking, dismantling gangs, and limiting foreign influence from Iran, Russia, Hezbollah, China, and Cuba before pursuing a democratic transition.
Separately, Tom Cotton, the Republican chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he hoped Venezuela’s next leadership would allow opposition figures Edmundo González and Machado to return and would permit new elections that are free and fair.
The operation has also fractured Republican unity. Marjorie Taylor Greene denounced the capture of Maduro as another failed Washington intervention, arguing on Meet the Press that it betrayed the “America First” agenda and diverted attention from domestic priorities. Trump defended the move as necessary for regional stability and U.S. access to Venezuela’s vast energy resources.
Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick offered a blunt rebuke, saying, “The only country that the United States of America should be running is the United States of America.”
A plane believed to be carrying Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, landed in New York on Saturday evening. Maduro was taken into custody by the Drug Enforcement Administration and is believed to be held at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
According to CBS News, Maduro arrived at the detention center at approximately 8:52 p.m. Eastern Time. Video posted by the White House’s official rapid response account showed him handcuffed and escorted by agents in a corridor marked “DEA NYD.” Wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and hat, Maduro can be heard saying “Goodnight” and “Happy New Year.”
A newly unsealed indictment from the U.S. Department of Justice accuses Maduro of leading a corrupt and illegitimate government sustained by a massive drug trafficking enterprise that allegedly funneled thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States.
What began as a tightly framed counternarcotics operation has rapidly expanded into an open-ended assertion of U.S. control over a sovereign nation, with no legal clarity, no defined leadership structure, and no stated endpoint.
As senior officials float new regime change targets and lawmakers warn of escalation, the administration has yet to explain how this intervention avoids the failures of past wars sold on vague authority and shifting goals. Until that question is answered, Venezuela stands not at the start of a transition, but at the center of a dangerous experiment in power without strategy.