On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio faced tough questions from ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos about the Trump administration’s shocking takeover of Venezuela.
The morning after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would “run” Venezuela until a transition of power, Stephanopoulos asked Rubio directly, “Under what legal authority can the United States government control Venezuela?”
Rubio struggled to answer. He spoke about the operation stopping Venezuela from being “the crossroads for many of our adversaries around the world, including Iran and Hezbollah.” Stephanopoulos pressed again.
“Let me ask the question again,” he said. “What is the legal authority for the United States to be running Venezuela?”
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Rubio repeated his earlier points but offered a single justification. “As far as what our legal authority is… it’s very simple, we have court orders!” he said. “I don’t know, is a court not a legal authority? The legal authority is the court orders that we have!”
STEPHANOPOULOS: Trump said the US is going to ‘run Venezuela.’ Under what legal authority?
RUBIO: We want a better future for the people of Venezuela
STEPHANOPOULOS: I’ll ask again — what is the legal authority?
RUBIO: We have court orders pic.twitter.com/WFAQIQGcqK
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 4, 2026
The only court order that exists is the Justice Department’s indictment of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. That order allows the U.S. to bring charges for alleged drug crimes. It does not, however, authorize the U.S. to seize control of a foreign country.
Rubio continued to justify the move by talking about sanctions. He said the United States has “leverage” over Venezuela through blocked oil shipments.
“We have court orders for each one,” he explained. “That will continue to be in place until the people who have control over the levers of power in that country make changes that are not just in the interest of the people of Venezuela but are in the interest of the United States and the things that we care about.”
Despite the long explanation, Rubio’s answers left many viewers unconvinced. Legal experts quickly pointed out that court orders on sanctioned boats do not give the United States the right to run an entire country.
The interview highlighted how the Trump administration’s aggressive approach to Venezuela continues to shock the world.
Trump announced on Saturday that the U.S. would govern Venezuela until new leadership is installed. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in an early-morning raid and flown to New York to face federal charges.
Featured image via X screengrab
