Venezuela election talk ‘premature’: Rubio says US ready to work with current leaders if they make ‘right decision’

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday (Jan 04) said that talks of holding elections after the ouster of Nicolas Maduro are "premature" at the moment and that Washington remains focused on ensuring that the remaining Venezuelan leadership follows the favourable policy directions of America. Rubio made these remarks a day after the US military's "Operation Absolute Resolve" that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from Caracas. "All of that, I think, is premature at this point," Rubio said in an NBC's "Meet the Press" interview.

"What we are focused on right now is all of the problems we had when Maduro was there. We still have those problems in terms of them needing to be addressed. We are going to give people an opportunity to address those challenges and those problems," he said.

The senior Trump aide described now deposed Maduro as "an illegitimate president" and emphasised that the media should refrain from calling him "President Maduro."

Also Read: UNSC summons emergency session after US military action in Venezuela

"Maduro is not just an indicted drug trafficker; he was an illegitimate president. He was not the head of state. I continue to see these media reports referring to him as 'President Maduro' and the 'head of state.' He was not the head of state," he added.

When asked about Washington's readiness to work with the Venezuelan president post Maduro Rubio said the US is deliberating on the actions of the Caracas leadership "We're going to judge everything by what they do, and we're going to see what they do," Rubio told CBS News' "Face the Nation" program.

Venezuela's military on Sunday recognised Delcy Rodriguez, deputy to ousted president Nicolas Maduro, as the country's acting leader, after US forces extracted the former head of state to face trial.