Rubio to CBS’s Brennan: Your Question Is Absurd — You Actually Think We Should Have Simultaneously Arrested Five Other People?
CBS “Face The Nation” host Margaret Brennan asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday why the U.S. did not also arrest other wanted members of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s regime while they were there on Saturday.
MARGARET BRENNAN, CBS NEWS: Well, he also said the U.S. is ready to stage a second and much larger attack, if we need to do so. But I’m curious, because you just described the regime as still in place, essentially. I mean, I’m curious why the Trump administration decided to leave it intact and only arrest Nicolas Maduro and his wife. The person who controls the police, the chief thug, Diosdado Cabellos, is the interior minister. He’s been indicted by the United States. He was in that indictment that the Administration released. He’s a narco-terrorist. There’s a $ 25 million price on his head. He’s still in place. The defense minister, who has deep ties to Russia, $ 15 million price on his head. He is still in place. I’m confused. Are they still wanted by the United States? Why didn’t you arrest them if you are taking out the narco terrorist regime? SECRETARY RUBIO: You’re confused? I don’t know why that’s confusing to you. MARGARET BRENNAN: They’re still in power. SECRETARY RUBIO: I mean, it’s very simple. You’re not going to go in and wrap up. You’re going to go in and then grab up– but yeah, but can’t go in and suck up five people. They’re already complaining about this one operation. Imagine the howls we would have from everybody else if we actually had to go and stay there four days to capture four other people. We got the top priority. The number one person on the list was the guy who claimed to be the president of the country that he was not, and he was arrested along with his wife, who was also indicted. And that was a pretty sophisticated and frankly, complicated operation. MARGARET BRENNAN: It was. SECRETARY RUBIO: It is not easy to land helicopters in the middle of the largest military base in the country, the guy lived on a military base, land within three minutes, kick down his door, grab him, put him in handcuffs, read him his rights, put him in a helicopter and leave the country without losing any American or any American assets. That’s not an easy mission. And you’re asking me, why didn’t we do that in five other places at the same time? I mean, that’s absurd. I do think this is one of the most, you know, daring, you know, complicated, sophisticated missions this country has carried out in a very long time. Tremendous credit to the U.S. military personnel who did it. It was unbelievable and a tremendous success. And today, an indicted drug trafficker who was not the legitimate president of Venezuela–who we don’t recognize, the Biden administration didn’t recognize, 60-something countries don’t recognize, the European Union doesn’t recognize, and many countries in Latin America don’t recognize. He was a convicted- he was an indicted drug trafficker. He was arrested. His wife was arrested also– MARGARET BRENNAN: Right, but the others– SECRETARY RUBIO: –and they are now facing justice in the American system of courts. MARGARET BRENNAN: The others who were also indicted are still in place. So that’s the point of my questioning there. But you talked about not being the legitimate president– SECRETARY RUBIO: So you wanted us to land in five other military bases? MARGARET BRENNAN: No, I’m asking why you chose that this was the limit of the military operation. But to your point that you just made that Maduro was not the legitimate president– SECRETARY RUBIO: He was the guy who was claiming to be the president. He was the top target.
