Elliott Abrams, a former special envoy for Venezuela in the first Trump administration, poured cold water on any U.S. plans to “run” the South American country after the capture of Nicolas Maduro over the weekend.
Trump suggested on Saturday that the United States would control Venezuela until there is a “safe, proper and judicious transition” to new leadership after the dramatic fall of the Maduro regime. U.S. officials have sought to clarify that statement since, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying Trump meant “the policy” of the country, rather than the nation itself.
Still, with no elections in sight and Delcy Rodriguez, a remnant of the Maduro regime who has signaled wariness about cooperating with Trump, now running the country, there is significant uncertainty about what the near future looks like for Venezuela.
In a CNN appearance on Sunday, Abrams rejected any idea of either the Trump administration or Rodriguez, who was Maduro’s vice president, running the country.
“The United States cannot run Venezuela. The worst thing that we could do — and we may be doing it actually — is to make some kind of deal with the regime’s remnants, with the vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, and leave her and the regime in place except for maybe a change on oil policy. That’s conceivable. But that’s not our running Venezuela, that’s the Maduro regime running Venezuela without Maduro,” Abrams said.
The former Trump envoy instead called for the Trump administration to rally behind Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who is recognized by the U.S. as the winner of the widely disputed 2024 election against Maduro, but somehow avoid any confrontation with Rodriguez.
“What we should be looking for is a popular government, a democratic, elected government that can begin to rehabilitate the country with our support and the support of the other democracies that surround Venezuela. That’s possible. But the notion that we’re going to run it from Washington I think is implausible, and it’s just not going to work,” Abrams added.
TRUMP SAYS NEW VENEZUELAN LEADER WILL PAY ‘BIGGER’ PRICE THAN MADURO IF SHE RESISTS US
Trump has already indicated Venezuela’s opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, lacks the support to take over as president. Machado, who was barred from running in 2024, picked Gonzales as her replacement for that election.
He has also not been shy of threatening Rodriguez if she does not comply with U.S. demands. Trump told the Atlantic in an interview that if she doesn’t cooperate, she’ll pay a “bigger” price than Maduro did.