Rubio steps back from Trump's claim of US direct Venezuela rule

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Sunday that Washington would not govern Venezuela day-to-day other than enforcing an existing "oil quarantine" on the country, a turnaround after President Donald Trump has insisted that the US would be running Venezuela following its ouster of leader Nicolás Maduro.

Rubio's statements seemed designed to temper concerns that the assertive action to achieve regime change in Venezuela might lead the U.S. into another prolonged foreign intervention or failed attempt at nation-building. 

They stood in contrast to Trump's broad but vague claims that the US would at least temporarily "run" the oil-rich nation, comments that suggested some sort of governing structure under which Caracas would be controlled by Washington. 

Rubio offered a more nuanced take, saying the US would continue to enforce an oil quarantine that was already in place on sanctioned tankers before Maduro was seized early Saturday and use that leverage as a means to press policy changes in Venezuela.

"And so that's the sort of control the president is pointing to when he says that," Rubio said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "We continue with that quarantine, and we expect to see that there will be changes, not just in the way the oil industry is run for the benefit of the people, but also so that they stop the drug trafficking."

The blockade on sanctioned oil tankers - some of which have been seized by the US - "remains in place, and that's a tremendous amount of leverage that will continue to be in place until we see changes that not just further the national interest of the United States, which is number one, but also that lead to a better future for the people of Venezuela," he added.

Leaders in Venezuela have so far pushed back, calling on the Trump administration to release Maduro.

Even before the operation that nabbed Maduro, experts questioned the legality of aspects of the Trump administration's pressure campaign on Maduro, including the deadly bombing of boats accused of trafficking drugs that some scholars said stretched the boundaries of international law.

The legality of the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President will be under the spotlight at the United Nations on Monday, but Washington is unlikely to face strong criticism from allies over its military operation in the Latin American state.

The 15-member U.N. Security Council will meet on Monday after US Special Forces seized Maduro, knocked out power in parts of Caracas and struck military installations. Venezuelan authorities also said it was deadly.

Maduro is now in detention in New York awaiting a court
appearance on Monday on drug charges.

Russia, China and other Venezuelan allies have accused the
United States of violating international law, but U.S. allies -
many of whom opposed Maduro - have been less vocal about any concerns over the use of military force.