US not at war with Venezuela, says Rubio - as Maduro held in New York jail
Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores have been charged with weapon and drug offences in New York.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted the US is not at war with Venezuela, as President Nicolas Maduro is held in a New York jail awaiting prosecution.
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The US launched a series of strikes on Venezuela on Saturday as part of action to capture and remove Maduro.
Maduro and his wife were then flown out of the country to New York where they are due to face prosecution for a number of drug and weapons offences.
President Donald Trump said yesterday that the US will "run" Venezuela until a "proper transition" of power can take place - but he did not give a timeframe for this.
Speaking to NBC News on Sunday, Rubio clarified what their intentions are in the south American country and denied they are actively engaged in a war.
He said: "There's not a war... I mean we are at war against drug trafficking organisations, that's not a war against Venezuela.
"We are enforcing, American laws with regards to oil sanctions. We have sanctioned entities. We go to court, we get a warrant, we seize those boats with oil, and that will continue."
Read more: Handcuffed Maduro 'perp walked' to cell in New York as Trump says US will 'run Venezuela'
Trump has claimed his government is not afraid to launch a second strike or put boots on the ground if necessary, but Rubio clarified that currently there are no forces on the ground in Venezuela.
He said troops were only ground "for about two hours" when they captured Maduro.
Trump announced following the action that no US service personnel were killed, nor did the US lose any military equipment.
On Saturday, Trump also announced the plan for the US to take over Venezuela's oil, which he said "has been a bust for a long time".
"They've not been pumping what they could have been pumping", Trump added.
"Our very large United States Oil companies will go in and fix the bad oil infrastructure and start making money for the country."
Rubio spoke of the need to bar global rivals from accessing the country's resources, saying: "We don't need Venezuela's oil. We have plenty of oil in the United States.
"What we're not going to allow is for the oil industry in Venezuela to be controlled by adversaries of the United States... Why does China need their oil? Why does Russia need their oil? Why does Iran need their oil?"