Times Reports Rubio Effectively Controls Venezuela's Finances and Government

The New York Times reported on July 11, 2026, based on interviews with more than a dozen officials and others close to both governments, that Secretary of State Marco Rubio "now effectively controls Venezuela's finances, the distribution of its natural resources and its government." The arrangement is described as having begun after U.S. forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January. According to the report, the U.S. Treasury collects revenue from Venezuelan exports and channels it back through Venezuelan banks on conditions set by Rubio's team, and Rubio stays in close contact with acting president Delcy Rodriguez, including on her public statements and appointments. The Times likened the role to that of Paul Bremer in Iraq after 2003. Rubio has not visited Venezuela.

If accurate, the account describes an American cabinet officer administering another sovereign state without an authorizing statute, treaty, or appropriation for such a role, and without the oversight structures that accompanied formal occupation authorities in the past. It also leaves unclear who in the U.S. government is accountable for decisions taken in Caracas.

The reporting rests substantially on anonymous sources. Neither the State Department nor the Venezuelan government has confirmed the described arrangement, and no congressional inquiry has been announced.