Secretary of State Marco Rubio has denied concerns that the Trump administration justified Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro after government officials travelled to Caracas in late January.
Fox News host Brian Kilmead asked Rubio about the US envoy for a special mission on Wednesday's radio show Rick Grenell's trip Six Americans returned home in meetings between the country and his dictators.
The Maduro administration has also agreed to reclaim Venezuelans, including Tren de Aragua gang members who illegally entered the United States.
Rubio explained that Venezuela is obligated to accept foreigners who are illegal and illegal in other countries under international law.
Nearly 200 Venezuelan illegal immigrants detained in Guantanamo Bay are back home
“Venezuela wanted to blackmail Joe Biden, so Venezuela stopped migrant flights and deportation. Donald Trump wouldn't be threatened. President Trump wouldn't be threatened by them,” he said on the “Brian Kilmeade Show.”
The US government does not recognize Maduro as a legitimate leader in Venezuela The contested 2024 election I saw the longtime president receive his third six-year term.
The president of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro will deliver the annual address at Teresa Carrenotitro Teresa Carreno on January 15th, 2025 in Caracas, Venezuela. (Photo: Yesvalgas/Getty Images)
Former deputy State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said last year there was “serious concern” about the election, with the results “not reflecting the will and vote of the people of Venezuela.”
Rubio repeats Patel's feelings, saying he believes Maduro is still a “terrifying dictator.”
“He has allowed Iran to operate in Venezuela. He has made sure that Chinese people can leave Venezuela. He is threatening his neighbours in the area.
Listen to Secretary of State Rubio's interview with “The Brian Kilmeade Show”:
Biden urged Maduro to crack down on oil companies doing business with Venezuela after he refused to give power
“Why do we want such people to be there? We are not going to publicly discuss what our work is in that regard. But he remains today the same threat he was two, three, four years ago. That has to be addressed.”
A mug shot of a suspicious member of the violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang appears above a blurred image of the suspect's arrest in Denver.
President Donald Trump It was announced on his true social platform On Wednesday afternoon, the US had terminated Chevron's Venezuelan oil license, which was considered the administration's financial lifeline.
“We are reversing the concessions Joe Biden gave to Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro in the oil trading agreement dated November 26, 2022.
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“And the administration is not transporting violent criminals that they sent to our country (good me 'America) to Venezuela at a rapid pace they agreed to.”
