Yuri Kobzar19:06, 04.01.26

According to insiders, there is a person in the Trump administration who wanted to overthrow the Maduro regime perhaps more than anyone else.

Washington has unequivocally stated its intention to “lead” Venezuela during the transition of the country’s political regime. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will likely become the country’s de facto leader, The Washington Post reported, citing informed sources among US officials.

According to sources, it was the head of the State Department, who has Cuban roots and hates the communist regimes of Cuba and Venezuela, who played a key role in organizing the special operation to eliminate Nicolás Maduro.

“Rubio and the president are working closely on this,” and the two of them “have really been driving this,” said one person close to the Trump administration who has known Rubio for years.

Now he must form a new government for Venezuela and deal with its oil assets.

“The task ahead of him is daunting,” said one unnamed senior official.

Rubio’s fluency in Spanish and his familiarity with Latin American leaders, particularly the Venezuelan opposition, make him ideally suited to transform Venezuela.

Rubio also faces the challenge of restoring trust in the White House in the US Congress, which, to put it mildly, was not thrilled with the military operation, which the parliament did not approve.

Following the operation in Venezuela, Rubio openly hinted to reporters that the communist regime in Cuba, from which his parents once fled, could also potentially become the target of a new US military operation. Even if no preparations are currently in sight, pressure on Cuba will be intensified precisely by severing its previously strong ties with Venezuela.

“I think one of the first demands that we as the United States have of whoever is in charge in Venezuela is that any support for Cuba must cease, because it will destabilize that regime and lead to a better outcome,” said Kevin Whitaker, who served as U.S. ambassador to Colombia during the first Trump administration.

Analysts believe that “governance” of Venezuela is unlikely to resemble the American military administration in Iraq or Afghanistan, as it would require sending thousands of American officials and tens of thousands of troops directly to Venezuela. Trump clearly wants to avoid this.

A former Senate staffer who maintains contact with Rubio said the White House will likely simply hand Caracas a list of demands for local officials to implement on their own.

“We’ll tell them, ‘Hey, this is what you need to do to prevent another attack. This is how [Trump] sees running the country,'” the official said.

Analysts say the Trump administration hopes the Maduro kidnapping operation has scared Venezuelan elites enough to make them compliant.

(C)unian 2026