{"id":28968,"date":"2026-01-04T18:09:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T18:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=28968"},"modified":"2026-01-04T18:09:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T18:09:14","slug":"rubio-warns-cuba-after-u-s-arrest-of-venezuelas-maduro-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=28968","title":{"rendered":"Rubio Warns Cuba After U.S. Arrest Of Venezuela\u2019s Maduro"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that Cuban leaders should be concerned following the U.S. military operation in Venezuela and the arrest of President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro. Rubio said the operation and subsequent developments could signal a shift in focus toward Cuba under President Donald Trump\u2019s administration, Fox News\u00a0reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Cuba has long maintained a significant presence in Venezuela, including intelligence agents and security personnel, amid close ties between Havana and Caracas.<\/p>\n

Rubio said Venezuela\u2019s intelligence agency was \u201cbasically full of Cubans\u201d and that Maduro\u2019s security detail also included Cuban personnel.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest problems Venezuelans have is they have to declare independence from Cuba,\u201d Rubio said during a news conference detailing the operation.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey tried to basically colonize it from a security standpoint,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Rubio described Cuba as \u201ca disaster\u201d run by leaders he characterized as incompetent.<\/p>\n

The Secretary of State has repeatedly labeled Cuba a dictatorship and a failed state.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf I lived in Havana, and I was in the government, I\u2019d be concerned \u2014 at least a little bit,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n

Trump said Cuba is a topic his administration will eventually address, calling the country \u201ca very badly failing nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cAnd we want to help the people,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very similar in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba, but we also want to help the people who were forced out of Cuba and are living in this country,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken into custody by U.S. forces during the operation and transported aboard the USS Iwo Jima.<\/p>\n

They are expected to be brought to the United States to face federal charges.<\/p>\n

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the couple, along with other Venezuelan officials, face charges including drug trafficking and narco terrorism conspiracies.<\/p>\n

Bondi said the defendants are accused of partnering with drug cartels to traffic narcotics into the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaduro and his wife will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,\u201d Bondi wrote.<\/p>\n

The charges include narco terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States.<\/p>\n

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Deposed Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro was seeking renewed talks with the United States before he was captured overnight in a stunning raid by U.S. military and law enforcement elements. His capture followed months of tanker seizures a recent U.S. strike, and targeting of boats ferrying deadly narcotics out of the country.<\/p>\n

According to Reuters, Maduro offered potential U.S. access to Venezuela\u2019s oil reserves and proposed restarting dialogue on counter-narcotics cooperation. Speaking on state television recently, he suggested reopening the door to investment by Chevron and urged Trump to engage in discussions aimed at cooperating to combat drug trafficking.<\/p>\n

Venezuela has been serving as a hub for drug-smuggling and dangerous cartels such as Tren de Aragua and the Maduro-tied Cartel de los Soles.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the people of the United States I say what I have always said, Venezuela is a brother country\u2026 a friendly government,\u201d Maduro said during his address. \u201cWe must start to speak seriously, with the facts in hand. The U.S. government knows that, because we have said it a lot to their interlocutors, that if they want to speak seriously about the agreement to battle drug trafficking, we are ready to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they want Venezuela\u2019s oil, Venezuela is ready to accept U.S. investments like those of Chevron, when, where and how they want to make them,\u201d Maduro added. Venezuela has the world\u2019s largest proven oil reserves, but the industry has been hit hard during the reigns of Maduro and his socialist dictator predecessor, Hugo Chavez.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n