Rubio: There’s Not a War in Venezuela, Maduro’s Capture Was ‘Law Enforcement Function’ | 4 Jan 2026 | Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. arrest of Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, was a “law enforcement function.” Rubio said, “There’s not a war. I mean, we are at war against drug trafficking organizations and not a war against Venezuela. We are enforcing American laws with regards to oil sanctions. We have sanction entities. We go to court, we get a warrant and seize those boats with oil and that will continue, and we will continue to reserve the rights to take strikes against the drug boats that are bringing drugs toward the United States that are being operated by transnational criminal organizations including the cartel. Of course, the leader of that cartel is now in U.S. custody and facing U.S. justice in the Southern District of New York and that’s Nicolás Maduro…” He added, “This was, at essence, at its core, a law enforcement function. Okay, the Department of Justice, dating back in the Biden administration that had a $25 million reward for his capture. And so, we have a reward for his capture, but we’re not going to enforce it.”