Secretary of State Marco Rubio says U.S. capture of Maduro is not a war against Venezuela

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said that the goal of the U.S. operation in Venezuela that led to the capture Nicolás Maduro was primarily to halt drug trafficking into the U.S.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday emphasized that the goal of the U.S. military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of the nation’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, on Saturday was primarily to halt drug trafficking into the U.S. and that holding elections in Venezuela would be “premature at this point.”

"We care about elections, we care about democracy, we care about all of that, but the number one thing we care about is the safety, security, wellbeing and prosperity of the United States. And that's what we're going to focus on first and foremost here," Rubio told NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday, one day after President Donald Trump announced that U.S. military forces had captured the nation's leader and his wife.

Earlier in the interview, Rubio pointed to recent elections, which Maduro claimed he won despite widespread evidence that he lost.

"Elections did happen. They lost them, and they didn't count the votes. Or, they refused to count the votes, and everyone knows it. So all of that, I think, is premature at this point," the secretary of state said.

On Saturday, Trump announced that the U.S. would "run" Venezuela until the nation could conduct its own peaceful transfer of power, but Rubio on Sunday clarified that the president meant "running policy" in Venezuela that is "good for the people of Venezuela" and is "in our national interest."