The United States is not at war with Venezuela, but against the drug trafficking organisation, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Saturday. Rubio is speaking to several US media outlets after the US launched an operation and removed the oil-rich country’s president, Nicolas Maduro. He has been on NBC, where he was asked if the US is at war with Venezuela.“That’s not a war,” he said.“I mean we are at war against drug trafficking organisations. That’s not a war against Venezuela.”He says the seizing of boats “bringing drugs toward the United States” will continue.

‘Expect to see changes in Venezuela’

At the interview, he was also asked that who will be in charge of Venezuela and if he’s running the country.The secretary said that the US “expect to see changes in Venezuela”, with the “most immediate” being those “in national interest in US”.He describes a country where “people in charge of military and police are openly co-operating with drug trafficking organisations”.Rubio says these are threats to the US that his government intended “to use every element of leverage” to address.

‘US ready to work with Venezuela,’ says Rubio but with condition

Meanwhile, at the CBS interview, Rubio said that the US is ready to work with Venezuela’s remaining leaders if they make “the right decision.” “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.”“I do know this: that if they don’t make the right decision, that the United States will retain multiple levers of leverage.”