- Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth and Stephen Miller will be in charge of Venezuela
- The US president rules out a quick call for free elections in the South American country
EFE (via 14ymedio), Washington, January 6, 2026 – US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and the National Security and Migration Advisor Stephen Miller, will be in charge of coordinating the transition in Venezuela, while assuring that the country’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, is “cooperating.”
“I have a feeling that she’s cooperating. They need help. And I have a feeling that (Rodriguez) loves her country and wants her country to survive,” Trump said in a phone interview with NBC News about the woman who was Nicolás Maduro’s vice president before his capture on January 3 by U.S. forces.
The president added that there was no contact from Washington with Rodríguez before the military operation that arrested Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, at their residence in Caracas, where several locations in Venezuelan territory were also bombed. Rodríguez was sworn in as acting president of Venezuela on Monday before her brother, the Chavista Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly (Parliament), which also inaugurated a new legislative session dominated by el oficialismo that same day.
Trump also included his vice president, JD Vance, on the team in charge of Venezuela.
In the same interview with NBC, Trump also included his vice president, JD Vance, on the team in charge of Venezuela, although he has remained in the background since Saturday when a large military and special operations deployment stormed Caracas to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
When asked who in that group would be primarily responsible for making decisions about Venezuela, Trump simply stated that he would have the final say. “It is a group of everyone. They’re all experts in different fields,” the president asserted in the phone interview.
The Washington Post reported on Sunday night that the White House was considering Miller, the architect of the Trump Administration’s anti-immigrant policy, for “a higher role” in managing Venezuela.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained on Sunday that U.S. officials in charge of leading the transition in Venezuela will do so from a “policy” perspective and that it will be a “national security effort.”
Trump outlined a longer-term transition in Venezuela and reiterated that the priority is repairing infrastructure.
On Saturday, Trump said the US would govern Venezuela, and yesterday he asserted that “we are in charge” of the country, while warning Rodríguez, who has gone from Maduro’s vice president to acting president of the country, that she faces a future worse than Maduro’s if she does not “do the right thing.”
In an interview with NBC, the US president ruled out holding elections in Venezuela within the next 30 days, until the country “recovers its health.” Trump outlined a longer-term transition in Venezuela and reiterated that the priority is repairing the country’s infrastructure.
“First we have to fix the country. There can’t be elections. There’s no way people can vote,” Trump said when asked about the possibility of elections within a month. “No, it will take some time. We have to help the country recover,” he concluded.
He also seemed to rule out the possibility of holding elections in Venezuela anytime soon. “I think we’re focusing more on fixing it, on preparing it first, because it’s a disaster. The country is a disaster,” he said.
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