Kristen Welker Tries to Pin Down Marco Rubio On Who Exactly Will Run Venezuela: Is it You?'

"He told Welker that the U.S. was categorically not at war with the country of Venezuela, though the administration's strikes against boats allegedly carrying drugs would continue. There's not a war. I mean, we are at war against drug trafficking organizations. It's not a war against Venezuela, said Rubio. We are enforcing American laws with regards to oil sanctions. We have sanctioned entities. We go to court. We get a warrant. We seize those boats with oil, and that will continue, he said."

"Are you running Venezuela right now? Yeah, I mean, I keep people, you, know, fixating on that, said Rubio. Here's the bottom line on it is we expect to see changes in Venezuela, changes of all kinds, long-term, short-term. We'd love to see all kinds of changes. But the most immediate changes are the ones that are in the national interest of the United States."

"In response, Welker mentioned the president's claims on Saturday that the U.S. would run Venezuela for the time being, asking Rubio who the point people would be before a new leader took charge of Venezuela and pushing him to clarify why the Trump administration was throwing their support behind Maduro's vice president, rather than leaders of his opposition within Venezuela. Read their exchange below: WELKER: But Mr. Secretary, I think there's a lot of questions about who the point people are"

U.S. military action on Friday night resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela and framed operations as targeting drug trafficking organizations and enforcing oil sanctions, including seizing sanctioned oil-carrying boats. Rubio declined to specify who is governing Venezuela and said the U.S. expects changes that serve American national interests. NBC's Kristen Welker pressed Rubio on who is in charge, asked whether he was running Venezuela, and raised the president's Saturday claim that the U.S. would run Venezuela temporarily, questioning support for Maduro's vice president over opposition leaders.

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