Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers this week that the United States is “prepared to use force” to ensure Venezuela’s interim authorities meet American expectations, laying out the Trump administration’s hard-line approach in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This is not saber-rattling for the sake of headlines — it is a clear message that the United States will protect its interests in the Western Hemisphere.
The administration points to the extraordinary law-enforcement operation on January 3 that seized Nicolás Maduro and members of his inner circle, arguing it was a targeted counternarcotics mission and not a traditional occupation. Officials insist there are no U.S. ground forces permanently stationed in Venezuela even as strikes on drug-smuggling vessels and tanker seizures continue to choke the regime’s lifelines.
Conservative Americans should welcome a government that actually acts to defend our security and energy independence instead of lecturing from the sidelines. If blocking Russian, Chinese and Iranian influence in Caracas requires toughness, then so be it — diplomacy must be backed by credible deterrence or it is worthless.
Left-wing critics and hand-wringing liberals in Congress predictably attack any display of American strength, but their fantasy of moral equivalence ignores the reality of criminal narco-regimes exporting chaos and corruption across our hemisphere. Weakness invites aggression; strength secures peace and protects American jobs tied to energy and trade in the region.
Rubio’s warning is also a message to the interim leadership in Caracas — cooperate on stabilizing the country, opening energy markets, and cutting out foreign malign actors, or face consequences. For patriots who have watched Venezuela collapse under socialism for decades, seeing the U.S. move to restore order and sanity is long overdue and should be met with support, not panic.
Make no mistake: America must lead from a position of strength and clarity of purpose, and that means making our adversaries pay a price when they threaten our hemisphere. The Trump administration’s stance, championed by Rubio, is the kind of decisive, America-first policy that will keep our borders safer, our energy secure, and our nation respected abroad.
