Who’s In Charge Of Venezuela? Trump’s Big Claim, Rubio’s Step Back And The Oil Debate

Last Updated:January 05, 2026, 09:47 IST

As the US asserts sweeping control following Maduro’s capture, Trump and Rubio offer contrasting signals about who governs Venezuela, with oil ambitions shaping the path ahead.

A US military operation carried out under President Donald Trump’s watch captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, plunging the country into a new phase of uncertainty, not just about its leadership but also about the level of control the United States intends to exercise.

What began with Trump declaring that the US would “run” Venezuela quickly shifted as his own secretary of state attempted to soften the message. By Sunday night, however, Trump had doubled down again, demanding “total access” to Venezuela’s oil reserves and openly asserting that Washington was “in charge.”

As the region grapples with the aftermath of a US-led operation that captured Maduro and brought him to New York for trial, the question of who is governing Venezuela has become increasingly complex. The struggle is unfolding against the backdrop of the world’s largest oil reserves, a gutted energy infrastructure and competing political claims that reflect both internal fragility and American assertiveness.

Below is a detailed breakdown of how the narrative shifted over the weekend, and why oil lies at the heart of it.

What Trump Said On Saturday At Mar-a-Lago

The weekend began with Trump making his most sweeping declaration yet about Venezuela’s political future. Speaking at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Saturday, hours after explosions rocked Caracas—Venezuela’s capital—Trump announced that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been captured during a US military strike. They were being brought to New York on the USS Iwo Jima for trial on narco-terrorism charges.

From the outset, Trump framed the post-Maduro phase as a period of direct American control. “We’re there now, but we’re going to stay until such time as the proper transition can take place,” he told reporters. “So we’re going to stay until such time as we’re going to run it, essentially, until such time as a proper transition can take place.”

He said the US was acting in its own interest, arguing that America needed “good neighbours” and “stability” in the region. To run Venezuela “properly,” Trump said he expected a group including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to take charge. He repeatedly emphasised that the US was “not afraid of boots on the ground” and said US military personnel had been deployed “at a very high level” the previous night.

Oil featured prominently in his remarks. Trump said the US would take control of Venezuela’s oil reserves and intended to sell seized production. “We’re going to be taking out a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground,” he said, adding that revenue would flow to Venezuela, the Venezuelan diaspora and also to the US as reimbursement for the “damages caused us by that country.”

He said American oil companies would move into Venezuela with military backing, rebuild the “badly broken” oil infrastructure, and begin producing at scale. Trump also warned that the US was ready to launch “a second and much larger attack” if necessary to secure this plan.

At this stage, Trump did not specify who would formally lead Venezuela. He said Rubio had spoken to Delcy Rodríguez, then Venezuela’s vice president, and indicated that designations were being made. But the broad message remained that the US would be “running it.”

Rubio’s Sunday Attempt To Reframe The US Role

By Sunday morning, Rubio was fielding questions about whether the United States was taking over governance of Venezuela. Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Presshe tried to scale back Trump’s claim, saying the US would not run Venezuela “day to day.” Instead, he said the administration would be “running policy,” with the “entire national security apparatus” involved in shaping the post-Maduro transition.

Rubio dismissed the idea of quick elections, telling CBS’ Face the Nation that hopes for an immediate vote were “absurd” after more than a decade of Chavismo entrenched in the political system. He also said Trump did not want to rule out deploying troops because the president wanted to maintain leverage.

On the question of oil, Rubio disputed suggestions that the Maduro operation had been designed to grant American companies easier access to reserves. Yet on ABC’s This Week he simultaneously predicted “dramatic interest from Western companies” in refurbishing Venezuela’s gutted oil infrastructure, echoing Trump’s economic forecast from the previous day.

Rubio also said Delcy Rodríguez, now acting president following the military’s support for her, would be judged on how she cooperated. While he praised opposition leader María Corina Machado, he argued that much of the opposition had left the country and that “short-term things” had to be addressed immediately. He also acknowledged that the US had captured only Maduro during the operation because “we got the top priority.”

Meanwhile, Venezuela’s defence minister maintained that Maduro remained the rightful leader, demanding his release. Tensions in Caracas grew, but the military’s support for Rodríguez signalled a shift in internal power even as questions remained about her autonomy.

By late afternoon on Sunday, Maduro and Cilia Flores had landed in New York for their first court appearance scheduled for Monday.

Trump Doubles Down On Sunday Night

Despite Rubio’s efforts to recalibrate expectations, Trump reversed the moderation that had emerged in Washington’s messaging. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night as he flew from Florida to Washington, he was bluntly asked who was in charge of Venezuela.

“Don’t ask me who’s in charge, because I’ll give you an answer, and it’ll be very controversial,” he said. When pressed, he responded: “It means we’re in charge. We’re in charge.”

Trump said he had not yet spoken to acting president Delcy Rodríguez but would do so “at the right time.” He claimed Rodríguez was “cooperating” with the US following Maduro’s extraction.

He escalated his demands, saying the US needed “total access” to the country. “We need total access. We need access to the oil and to other things in their country that allow us to rebuild their country,” he said. He warned that Rodríguez would face a “situation probably worse than Maduro” if she failed to “do the right thing,” though he declined to elaborate.

The message marked a return to the sweeping claims made on Saturday, and a clear departure from Rubio’s attempt at recalibration.

Delcy Rodríguez’s Response And Noticeable Tone Shift

Amid Washington’s increasingly forceful rhetoric, Rodríguez issued a public statement addressing the United States directly. She said she had invited the US government to collaborate on an “agenda of cooperation” aimed at “shared development, within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence.”

She said Venezuela would prioritise “balanced and respectful international relations” with the US and the wider region. Speaking directly to Trump, she said: “Our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war. This has always been President Nicolás Maduro’s message, and it is a message of all Venezuela right now.”

She also asserted that “Venezuela has the right to peace, to development, to sovereignty and to a future.”

These remarks contrasted sharply with her earlier condemnation of the “brutal use of force” employed by the United States to seize Maduro.

Why Oil Sits At The Heart Of The Power Struggle

Oil underpins every element of this unfolding crisis. Venezuela holds an estimated 303 billion barrels of proven crude, the largest reserve in the world, accounting for about 20 per cent of global supply. Yet its current output stands at roughly one million barrels per day, less than half its production when Maduro took office in 2013 and far below the 3.5 million barrels per day it pumped before the rise of Hugo Chávez.

Years of sanctions, economic collapse and mismanagement have decimated the sector. PDVSA, the state-owned company, has pipelines that have not been modernised in 50 years. Restoring the system to peak capacity would cost about $58 billion. Heavy, sour crude — the type Venezuela is known for — requires specialised refining techniques that US companies already possess. Many American refineries were originally built to process Venezuelan oil, making the country’s reserves uniquely compatible with US industrial needs.

Trump has repeatedly argued that a US-led reconstruction of Venezuela’s oil sector could be transformative. Speaking on Saturday, he said American companies would “fix the badly broken infrastructure” and begin generating profits for both Venezuela and the US.

Energy analysts have described the potential impact as significant but long-term. Oil of this kind takes years to bring back online, even with major investment. Experts told CNN that immediate price shocks were unlikely unless unrest escalated further. They warned that expectations might outpace reality, noting that Venezuela’s oil “can be a huge deal but not for 5 to 10 years.” Others said the success of any revival would depend on whether Venezuela defies the poor outcomes of previous US-led regime change efforts.

Nonetheless, Trump’s remarks have tied the future of Venezuela’s governance directly to control of its resources. His demand for “total access” underscores how central oil is to the administration’s strategy, and why Washington is determined to influence the post-Maduro transition.

So Who Is Actually In Charge?

Three days after the US operation, Venezuela remains in a politically ambiguous state. Trump has repeatedly claimed the United States is “in charge,” framing control as necessary for rebuilding the country and reasserting regional stability. Rubio, in contrast, maintains that the US is directing policy, not governing the nation day to day. Venezuela’s military has endorsed Delcy Rodríguez as acting president, while Rodríguez herself is publicly signalling cooperation with the US in order to stabilise the situation.

Maduro’s detention and imminent court appearance in New York have also reshaped internal dynamics, but the absence of a clear succession plan has fuelled confusion. The immediate future will depend on how firmly the United States asserts operational control, how much autonomy Rodríguez can exercise, and whether Venezuela’s institutions, heavily weakened over years, can manage a transition under strong external pressure.

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