Marco Rubio 'playing Trump' on Venezuela with 'behind the scenes' influence

Donald Trump has wasted no opportunity to put himself at the center of the recent military incursion into Venezuela, but according to a new breakdown from The Guardian, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is the one who had been pushing for the move "behind the scenes," and might in some manner be "playing Trump."

Only a few days into the new year, the US military conducted a raid in Caracas, Venezuela, capturing President Nicolás Maduro and bringing him to New York City to stand trial on "narco-terrorism" charges. There has been chaos in the aftermath, with Trump insisting that the US will take control of the country's vast oil fields despite skepticism from US energy companies, and uncertainty mounting about who the US will support as Venezuela's new leader.

During an appearance on The Guardian's "Today in Focus" podcast with host Nosheen Iqbal, political correspondent Lauren Gambino explained that Rubio was the "driving force" behind the ouster of Maduro, citing his long-held fixation on authoritarian regimes in Central and South America. She also argued that the attack on Caracas would not have happened without the secretary of state's considerable influence over Trump.

"He's the driving force," Gambino said. I don't think Trump would have gone in and captured Nicolás Maduro with US forces if it hadn't been for Marco Rubio pushing him behind the scenes. Going all the way back to Hugo Chávez, he has wanted regime change in Venezuela, and that has been part of his political identity and his political beliefs for more than a decade. And so no one has become more influential, I think, to the president on foreign policy than Marco Rubio.”

Gambino added that Rubio has emerged as an "unexpectedly" powerful figure in the second Trump administration, given that he was "once a fierce critic of all things Trump." Despite the controversial moves made under his watch as secretary of state, Gambino described him as a bridge between the Trump administration and the non-MAGA Washington, including "conventional Republicans" and Democrats.

“I say unexpectedly because he's certainly considered more of an establishment figure. He has good relationships with a lot of more conventional Republicans," Gambino added. "He is someone who was confirmed by the US Senate unanimously, meaning all Democrats said, OK, we are fine with Marco Rubio being the ecretary of state because everybody else Trump is nominating is so problematic and controversial. But he's also made his way and figured out how to sort of carve out his own space in the MAGA world.”