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Global tensions high: Rubio says U.S. will not govern Venezuela

Rubio says U.S. will not govern Venezuela

In this photo released by the White House, President Donald Trump talks with CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth looks at a computer screen as he monitors U.S. military operations in Venezuela, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. AP photo

(AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Sunday that the U.S. would not take a day-to-day role in governing Venezuela, a turnaround after President Donald Trump announced a day earlier that the U.S. would be running Venezuela following its ouster of leader Nicolás Maduro.

Rubio’s statements seemed designed to temper concerns about whether the assertive American action to achieve regime change might again produce a prolonged foreign intervention or failed attempt at nation-building. They stood in contrast to Trump’s broad but vague claims that the U.S. would at least temporarily “run” the oil-rich nation.

Venezuela’s defense minister demanded Maduro’s release, maintaining that he is still the rightful leader of the South American country. The military, which has long acted as the arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela, has thrown its support behind Delcy Rodríguez, who served as vice president under Maduro.

Meanwhile, a tense calm hangs over Venezuela after the U.S. military operation that deposed Maduro, who was brought to New York to face criminal charges.

Maduro and his wife landed late Saturday afternoon at a small airport in New York. The couple face U.S. charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

Delcy assumes role of interim president but what happens next is uncertain

On Saturday, Venezuela’s high court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the role of interim president.

Venezuela’s constitution requires elections must be held within 30 days if a president becomes “permanently unavailable,” but the nation’s loyalist Supreme Court declared Maduro’s absence “temporary,” a scenario where there is no immediate election requirement.

Instead, the vice president, an unelected position, takes over for up to 90 days — a period that can be extended to six months with a vote of the National Assembly.

In handing temporary power to Rodriguez, the Supreme Court made no mention of the 180-day time limit, leading some to speculate she could try to remain in power even longer as she seeks to unite the disparate factions of the ruling socialist party while shielding it from what would certainly be a stiff electoral challenge.

Concern in Cuba after Venezuela operation

Concern simmered in Cuba, one of Venezuela’s most important allies and trading partners, a day after the Trump administration warned it could turn its attention to the Caribbean nation.

“If I lived in Havana and I was in the government I’d be concerned, at least,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday.

Cuban authorities called a rally to support Venezuela’s government and railed against the U.S. military operation, writing in a statement: “All the nations of the region must remain alert, because the threat hangs over all of us.”

On Sunday, Cubans like 55-year-old biochemical laboratory worker Bárbara Rodríguez was among many following developments in Venezuela and worried about what she described as an “aggression against a sovereign state.”

“It can happen in any country, it can happen right here. We have always been in the crosshairs (of the United States),” she said.

More U.S. airlines offer additional flights to and from the Caribbean

Carriers including American, United, Delta and JetBlue say they have added extra flights on top of resuming their scheduled services in the eastern Caribbean after many flights in the region were canceled by the U.S. military action in Venezuela.

American Airlines says it is offering more than two dozen additional flights on Sunday and Monday, including round-trip flights to Antigua, Curacao and Puerto Rico. United Airlines has added at least 14 flights, while Delta Air Lines says it’s adding three additional flights Sunday.

Southwest Airlines announced Saturday that it added more round-trip Puerto Rico flights to its Sunday and Monday schedules, as well as round-trip flights to Aruba on Sunday.

Venezuela’s military leader demands Maduro’s release

Venezuela’s defense minister demanded the release of Maduro, maintaining that he is still the rightful leader of the South American country.

Venezuela’s armed forces “categorically reject the cowardly kidnapping” of Maduro, said General-in-Chief Vladimir Padrino López, flanked by the high military command during a nationwide radio and television broadcast.

Padrino López — without mentioning a death toll — said the capture occurred after “cold-bloodedly murdering a large part of his security team, soldiers, soldiers and innocent civilians.”

He maintained that Venezuela’s military was “united and cohesive in the face of the imperial aggression.”

Much of Maduro’s government who helped keep him in power over years of unrest and crisis remains in place. That includes Venezuela’s new interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who previously served as vice president under Maduro.

The military, which has long acted as the arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela, has thrown its support behind Rodríguez.

Danish ambassador says government expects US to respect territorial integrity of Greenland

The envoy to the U.S. made the statement after Katie Miller, wife of White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, posted on X a map of Greenland colored in stars and stripes and with the written note “SOON”.

“We do need Greenland, absolutely,” Trump himself told The Atlantic in an interview on Sunday.

“Just a friendly reminder about the US and the Kingdom of Denmark,” Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen wrote in his post on X responding to Miller. “We are close allies and should continue to work together as such. US security is also Greenland’s and Denmark’s security. Greenland is already part of NATO.”

Trump called repeatedly for U.S. jurisdiction over Greenland during his presidential transition and in the early months of his second term, causing anxiety in both Denmark and Greenland.

Greenland possesses natural resources that include oil, gas, and rare earth elements. Denmark is responsible for the autonomous territory’s foreign affairs and defense.

Venezuelan immigrants in the US likely won’t get back deportation protections after Maduro’s capture

Last year, the Trump administration removed Temporary Protected Status for some 600,000 Venezuelan immigrants in the U.S. which had allowed them to work and stay in the country for a period.

When asked whether TPS would be reinstated for Venezuelans on Fox News Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the decision to revoke it.

Without TPS, those Venezuelans can be deported back to their home country, which is now reeling from the military operation and Maduro’s capture.

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