Secretary of State Marco Rubio will testify before the Senate on Trump’s capture of Nicolás Maduro, as lawmakers weigh executive power, lethal anti-drug operations and rising foreign policy tensions stretching from Venezuela to Nato.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will step before lawmakers in open session for the first time next week to defend and explain the Trump administration’s dramatic capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a moment expected to sharpen debate over executive power, military action, and Washington’s broader global posture.
Rubio, who also serves as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser is scheduled to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday at 10 am. The appearance marks his first public engagement on Capitol Hill since the administration launched a wave of strikes against suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific in early September.
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The hearing comes amid growing scrutiny of the administration’s foreign policy moves, particularly the unprecedented operation that led to Maduro’s detention and the mounting death toll linked to US anti-narcotics actions at sea.
Explaining a high-risk operation with global ramifications
The capture of Maduro stunned regional leaders and injected fresh volatility into US–Latin America relations. While the Trump administration has insisted there is “no war against Venezuela,” the scale and visibility of the operation have raised questions about whether Washington crossed a threshold from law enforcement into overt military intervention.
Since September 2, US strikes targeting suspected drug boats have reportedly killed more than 100 alleged “narco terrorists,” highlighting the kinetic nature of the campaign. Rubio has argued that these actions are part of a counter-narcotics strategy rather than a conventional conflict, framing them as necessary to disrupt transnational criminal networks tied to the Maduro regime.
Next week’s testimony will test that distinction under public scrutiny. Senators are expected to press Rubio on the legal justification for the operation, the criteria used to authorise lethal force, and whether Congress was adequately informed before such a sweeping action was undertaken.
As both America’s top diplomat and the president’s national security adviser, Rubio occupies an unusually powerful dual r