Secretary of State Marco Rubio was certainly busy on Sunday, hitting all the Sunday shows to talk about the action that the U.S. took in Venezuela on Saturday to capture the illegitimate dictator Nicolas Maduro. Despite likely being up most of the night the day before because of the actions, Rubio was a beast, apprising the media on what was what.
Watch As SecState Marco Rubio Lays It Out Regarding Venezuela
Rubio really lit it up on Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, where he destroyed the Democratic narrative that Trump was doing it for the oil. Rubio flipped the script.
🚨 HOLY SMOKES. In an incredible moment, Sec. Marco Rubio declares the Western Hemisphere is OURS, Russia, China and Iran must GET OUT
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 4, 2026
WELKER: Why does the US need Venezuelan oil?!
RUBIO: "Why does CHINA need their oil? Russia? Iran? This is the West, THIS IS WHERE WE LIVE."🔥… pic.twitter.com/ZJU6L2BkNo
He replied that we didn't need Venezuela's oil. But what we're not going to allow is for the oil industry in Venezuela to be controlled by adversaries of the United States. "Why does China need their oil? Why does Russia need their oil? Why does Iran need their oil?" He said they weren't going to allow a base of operations for enemies of the United States in our hemisphere.
Rubio said they wanted to see the oil proceeds benefit the people of Venezuela, that it hadn't in some time because of the illegitimate Maduro regime, which was why more than eight million people had fled the country, many to the U.S. He said they weren't going to let countries from outside our hemisphere come in and destabilize the region.
Kamala Harris criticized the action, claiming it was illegal, and about regime change or oil.
But Rubio mocked the Biden-Harris administration, noting how they put out a $25 million reward for Maduro's capture, but then failed to act. Now Harris wants to act like there wasn't a legal cause to take him in?
.@SecRubio: "In the Biden Administration, they had a $25 million reward for [Maduro's] capture — so we have a reward for his capture but we're not going to enforce it? That's the difference between President Trump and everybody else... President Trump did something about it." 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zdgFQSxjwG
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 4, 2026
“In the Biden administration, they had a $25 million reward for [Maduro’s] capture,” Rubio told NBC News’ Kristen Welker Sunday.
“So, we have a reward for his capture, but we’re not going to enforce it?” the secretary asked, incredulously.
Other people talk, Trump acts, Rubio declared.
As I pointed out, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were just about words.
READ MORE: Kamala Condemns Trump for ‘Unlawful and Unwise’ Take Down of Maduro, Gets Hit by Inconvenient Fact
White House Drops a Big 'Find Out' Video on Maduro, Shows Sharp Contrast With Biden Failure
They were hoodwinked by Maduro, agreeing to relieve sanctions because Maduro promised to hold free and fair elections. How did that work out? Maduro went back on the promise and then refused to leave power. Did Kamala ever figure out those root causes of migration to the United States? Hint: The terrible conditions in Venezuela were one big cause.
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