Rubio to warn Venezuela leader of Maduro's fate if defiant

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Marco Rubio was expected to warn Wednesday that oil-rich Venezuela’s leader will suffer the fate of US-deposed predecessor Nicolas Maduro if she fails to comply with US wishes.

Delcy Rodriguez, who was vice president and now acting president, “is well aware of the fate of Maduro,” Rubio would tell the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to prepared testimony.

“It is our belief that her own self-interest aligns with advancing our key objectives,” Rubio was to say.

“Make no mistake, as the president has stated, we are prepared to use force to ensure maximum cooperation if other methods fail,” he said in the prepared testimony, referring to President Donald Trump.

Rubio, a former senator, agreed to testify before the committee after weeks of Democrats accusing the Trump administration of both deceiving lawmakers and exceeding its authority by using force.

US commandoes raided Caracas on January 3 and seized Maduro, a longtime leftist nemesis of Washington, and his wife, Cilia Flores.

The couple were flown to New York to stand trial on US-issued charges of drug trafficking, which they deny.

Rubio in his prepared testimony staunchly defended the operation, claiming the United States “arrested two narcotraffickers” and called Maduro “an indicted drug trafficker, not a legal head of state.”

“All of this was accomplished without the loss of a single American life, or an ongoing military occupation,” Rubio said.

“History features few examples where so much was achieved at so little cost.”

Venezuelan officials say more than 100 people died, both Venezuelans and Cubans who unsuccessfully tried to protect Maduro.

Trump has demanded that Rodriguez work to benefit US oil companies.

Trump indicated hours after deposing Maduro that he favored working by pressuring Rodriguez rather than seeking to empower Venezuela’s democratic opposition, dismissing its leader Maria Corina Machado as a “very nice woman” who did not command “respect.”

But Trump sounded more favorable to Machado after she visited him at the White House and presented him with her Nobel Peace Prize, which she won last year despite Trump loudly coveting the prestigious honor.

Rubio, after his appearance in Congress, will hold a closed-door meeting Wednesday with Machado, the State Department said.

Rubio — a Cuban-American and fervent critic of Latin American leftists — had, as a senator, championed Machado’s opposition forces.

Rodriguez insisted Sunday that she has had enough of orders from Washington. But she has also worked to encourage US oil investment and said Tuesday that the United States was unblocking sanctioned Venezuela funds.