US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will ask the interim president of Latin America's oil-rich country, Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, to meet Washington's demands, warning that if the demands are not met, he too will face the consequences of ousted President Nicolas Maduro.
Marco Rubio will appear before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. A draft of his statement obtained by AFP includes the US Secretary of State's warning to Delcy Rodriguez.
"Delcy Rodriguez, who was previously the vice president (of Venezuela) and is currently the acting president, knows very well the consequences of Maduro," Marco Rubio is going to tell the committee.
"We believe his personal interests are consistent with advancing our core goals," Rubio said.
Citing US President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Rubio added, "Make no mistake—as the President (Trump) has said, we are prepared to use force if necessary to ensure maximum cooperation when all other strategies fail."
"As the President (Trump) has said, we are prepared to use force if necessary to ensure maximum cooperation when all other strategies fail."
Rubio, himself a former senator, agreed to testify before a Senate committee after weeks of Democrats' allegations that the Trump administration misled U.S. lawmakers and used excessive force to launch a military operation in Venezuela.
US forces carried out a deadly military operation in the Venezuelan capital Caracas on January 3 to capture the country's leftist President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. They were taken from Caracas to New York, USA.
The Maduro couple are being held in a New York detention center awaiting trial. The United States has charged them with drug trafficking, although they deny the charges.
In prepared remarks, the US Secretary of State strongly defended the military operation in Caracas. Marco Rubio said the US had "arrested two drug traffickers". He called Maduro "not a legitimate head of state, but an accused drug trafficker".
The operation was completed "without any loss of American life or military occupation," Rubio added. "There are few examples in history where such great success has been achieved with such a small investment," he added.
Venezuelan officials say more than 100 people, including Venezuelans and Cubans, have been killed trying to protect President Maduro during a US military operation.
The United States and most Western countries have not recognized Nicolas Maduro as the legitimate head of state due to allegations of widespread irregularities by international observers in Venezuela's elections.
After Maduro was ousted, Delcy Rodriguez, who was vice president in Maduro's government, took over as acting president of Venezuela. Donald Trump wants Delcy Rodriguez to work to protect the interests of US oil companies.
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