Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Jan 4: Following an overnight US military operation in Caracas to detain Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a sharp warning to Cuba’s leadership, accusing Havana of propping up the Venezuelan regime.

Addressing a press conference on December 3, Rubio described Cuba’s leaders as “incompetent, senile men” and suggested they should be concerned in the wake of the US action. President Donald Trump, flanked by Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at a briefing, called Cuba a “failing nation,” saying the Cuban people both inside the country and abroad needed help.

“Cuba is a disaster. It has no economy. It’s in total collapse,” Rubio said, alleging that Cuban intelligence personnel form the backbone of Maduro’s security apparatus.

Cuban officials strongly condemned the US operation, calling it an act of state terrorism. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez demanded the immediate release of Maduro and Flores and urged other nations not to allow the United States to carry out such actions against a UN member state without consequences.

Rubio said Congress was not notified in advance of the mission due to its sensitive, trigger-based nature, warning that prior disclosure could have jeopardised the operation. Trump echoed the concern, saying Congress had a tendency to leak information.
Trump announced that the United States would temporarily take control of Venezuela until a peaceful transition of power is completed, with Rubio and Hegseth tasked with overseeing the process.

Venezuelans living abroad welcomed the development, with several expressing relief and hope after years under what they described as a brutal dictatorship. Maduro and Flores face multiple charges in the United States, including narco-terrorism conspiracy and weapons offences. They were flown from Caracas aboard the USS Iwo Jima before being transported to New York, where they could be arraigned as early as Monday.