US secretary of state (AP)
Secretary of state Marco Rubio on Sunday slammed Kamala Harris and other Democrats for condemning the US operation that led to the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, arguing the Biden administration had long sought his capture but failed to act despite offering a multimillion-dollar reward for his arrest.After Maduro and his wife were captured early Saturday during a US special forces raid dubbed Operation Absolute Reserve, Harris quickly denounced the operation after news of the arrest broke.“That Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator does not change the fact that this action was both unlawful and unwise,” Harris wrote on X. “We’ve seen this movie before. Wars for regime change or oil that are sold as strength but turn into chaos, and American families pay the price.”She further alleged the mission was driven by “oil” and “Donald Trump’s desire to play the regional strongman.”Rubio rejected those claims during appearances on Sunday news programs, saying the United States does not need Venezuela’s oil but wants to ensure its vast reserves do not fall under the control of US adversaries.He pointed to the Biden administration’s $25 million reward for Maduro’s capture, which dates back to 2020 after Maduro was indicted on charges including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking. “In the Biden administration, they had a $25 million reward for [Maduro’s] capture,” Rubio told NBC News, as quoted by The New York Post.“So, we have a reward for his capture, but we’re not going to enforce it?” he said, adding, “That’s the difference between President Trump and everybody else … President Trump did something about it.”Trump on Saturday said US troops breached the defenses “in a matter of seconds.” Maduro, 63, and Flores were flown to the United States and are now being held at the Brooklyn Detention Center, where they await federal narco-terrorism charges.Past remarks from former President Joe Biden resurfaced after Maduro’s arrest. In a 2020 post on X, Biden wrote, “Trump talks tough on Venezuela, but admires thugs and dictators like Nicolas Maduro. As President, I will stand with the Venezuelan people and for democracy.”Maduro rose to power in 2013 following the death of Hugo Chavez. He declared victory in a disputed 2018 presidential election, and in 2019 Venezuela’s National Assembly declared his presidency illegitimate.
