Rubio Spells It Out: U.S. Plans to Squeeze, Not Govern, Venezuela

The Coercion Doctrine

Washington—Senator Marco Rubio strode to the microphones on Capitol Hill this week and, in a few blunt sentences, clarified what President Trump meant when he mused that the United States could “run” Venezuela.

"We’re not talking about occupying Caracas," Rubio said. "We’re talking about making life so uncomfortable for the regime that it has no choice but to yield."

From Rhetoric to Roadmap

For months, administration officials have danced around the word “intervention.” Rubio’s remarks mark the first time a senior Republican has openly framed the strategy as coercive diplomacy rather than regime change.

"Sanctions are a scalpel, not a sledgehammer. The goal is to bleed the government’s cash flow until the generals rethink their loyalty."
—Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

What Coercion Looks Like

• Financial strangulation: New Treasury rules target Venezuela’s Central Bank reserves held in third-country banks.
• Oil embargo lite: Refiners importing Venezuelan crude must now place payments in escrow accounts reachable only by a future “democratic” government.
• Diplomatic heat: The State Department is lobbying EU capitals to revoke visas of Venezuelan officials’ relatives studying or living abroad.

Inside the Situation Room

Two officials present at last month’s National Security Council meeting told The Courier that Trump pressed aides for options that would “hurt but not break” the Venezuelan economy. The phrase, scribbled on a whiteboard, has since become an informal test for every new sanctions package.

Caracas Responds—With Sarcasm

Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez dismissed Rubio’s comments as “the tantrum of a man who couldn’t even win Florida in 2016.” Yet state-run PDVSA has quietly begun rerouting oil shipments through intermediaries in Dubai and Singapore, a move analysts see as proof the pressure is biting.

Humanitarian Fallout

NGOs warn that tightening the financial noose could worsen medicine shortages. The U.N. estimates 7 million Venezuelans already need aid. “Sanctions architects insist they’ve carved out humanitarian exemptions, but banks still over-comply,” said Susana Raffalli, a Caracas-based nutritionist.

2024 Wildcard

With the U.S. presidential race heating up, Florida’s anti-Maduro electorate is again a prized voting bloc. Rubio, widely seen as a potential running mate, gains stature every time he talks tough on Venezuela. Critics argue the policy is morphing into a campaign prop rather than a sober calculus of national interest.

Bottom Line

Trump’s offhand remark about “running” Venezuela is no longer a stray headline; it is now a codified strategy of coercion. Whether it topples Maduro or merely deepens the misery of ordinary Venezuelans remains an open—and high-stakes—question.