US Defends Maduro Arrest as Law Enforcement Action, Not War with Venezuela

Washington, Jan 2026 :The Trump administration on Sunday moved to counter mounting criticism over its dramatic operation in Venezuela, insisting that the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro was a narrowly focused law-enforcement action and not the beginning of a war, military occupation, or regime-change campaign.

Senior officials stressed across multiple US television appearances that the operation was conducted under existing legal authorities and aimed at enforcing criminal indictments and sanctions, rather than launching a broader military conflict. Secretary of State Marco Rubio firmly rejected claims that the United States is now at war with Venezuela.

“There’s not a war,” Rubio said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “We are at war against drug trafficking organizations — not at war against Venezuela.” He emphasized that the target of the operation was an individual already indicted under US law, not the Venezuelan state or its people.

Rubio described the mission as a limited law-enforcement effort carried out with precision and restraint. “This was not an invasion,” he said. “This was a law enforcement operation.” Appearing separately on ABC’s This Week, Rubio added that US forces were on the ground only for a brief period to execute the arrest and then withdrew immediately, underscoring that there was no prolonged military presence.

According to Rubio, the operation relied on court-issued warrants and sanctions enforcement authorities rather than any new congressional authorization for the use of force. He sought to draw a clear distinction between combat operations and what he called a lawful effort to apprehend an indicted narco-trafficker.

With the arrest complete, Rubio said the administration’s strategy has shifted back to sustained economic and diplomatic pressure. Speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation, he explained that Washington is continuing to enforce an oil “quarantine” on Venezuela through court orders that allow for the seizure of sanctioned shipments at sea.

“That leverage remains,” Rubio told CBS News, noting that the pressure campaign would stay in place until changes occur that advance US security interests and improve conditions for Venezuelans. He added that sanctions and maritime enforcement remain key tools in shaping Caracas’s behavior.

Rubio also pushed back against repeated questions about who is now “running” Venezuela. On NBC, he made clear that Washington is not administering the country or seeking to govern it directly. “What we are running is policy,” he said, referring to US efforts to curb drug trafficking, dismantle transnational criminal gangs, and counter the presence of foreign militant groups in the region.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz reinforced that message during an appearance on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures. Waltz argued that the operation was justified under international law and framed it as an act of self-defence. “This is our hemisphere,” he said. “We are not going to allow it to become a base of operation for adversaries.”

Waltz cited alleged links between Maduro’s government and China, Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, asserting that decisive action was necessary to safeguard US and regional security.

While Rubio did not rule out future measures, he reiterated that there are currently no US troops stationed in Venezuela. “We don’t have US forces on the ground,” he told NBC. Addressing questions about elections and political transition, Rubio urged patience. “These things take time,” he said. “There’s a process.”

The administration said it will judge Venezuela’s next steps by concrete actions rather than promises, maintaining pressure until its security concerns are addressed.

(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)