{"id":2529692,"date":"2026-01-04T19:36:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T00:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-cannot-run-venezuela-former-trump-envoy-says\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T19:37:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T00:37:08","slug":"us-cannot-run-venezuela-former-trump-envoy-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-cannot-run-venezuela-former-trump-envoy-says\/","title":{"rendered":"US &#8216;cannot run&#8217; Venezuela, former Trump envoy says"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fus-cannot-run-venezuela-former-trump-envoy-says%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2529692&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Elliott Abrams,a former Trump governance special envoy for Venezuela,warned that the United States cannot &#8220;run&#8221; Venezuela following the weekend capture of Nicol\u00e1s maduro. His comments came after President Trump suggested the U.S. would control the country until a &#8220;safe, proper and judicious transition,&#8221; a statement later clarified by officials as referring too U.S. policy rather than direct governance. With Delcy Rodr\u00edguez &#8211; a Maduro loyalist &#8211; now effectively running the country and no elections imminent, Abrams rejected any plan to leave regime remnants in place, saying that would simply be the Maduro regime without Maduro. He urged Washington to back Edmundo Gonz\u00e1lez Urrutia, whom the U.S. recognizes as the disputed 2024 election winner, and to support the emergence of a genuinely democratic, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >popular government alongside allied democracies<\/a>. The article also notes trump has questioned opposition leader Mar\u00eda Corina Machado&#8217;s viability, named Gonz\u00e1lez as her replacement, and warned Rodr\u00edguez she would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-ready-to-turn-the-page-on-hunter-biden-saga-but-gop-keeps-hunting\/\" title=\"White House moves on from Hunter Biden saga, GOP persists in pursuit.\">face harsher consequences<\/a> if she resists U.S. demands.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">US &lsquo;cannot run&rsquo; Venezuela, former Trump envoy says<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2462593\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Elliott Abrams, a former special envoy for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/venezuela\">Venezuela<\/a> in the first Trump administration, poured cold water on any U.S. plans to &ldquo;run&rdquo; the South American country after the capture of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nicolas-maduro\">Nicolas Maduro<\/a> over the weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Trump suggested on Saturday that the United States would control Venezuela until there is a &ldquo;safe, proper and judicious transition&rdquo; to new leadership after the dramatic fall of the Maduro regime. U.S. officials have sought to clarify that statement since, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4406128\/rubio-run-venezuela-policy-maduro\/\">saying<\/a> Trump meant &ldquo;the policy&rdquo; of the country, rather than the nation itself.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4406264\/us-no-right-annex-greenland-danish-pm\/\">US has &#8216;no right&#8217; to annex Greenland, Danish PM says, urging end to threats<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4406268\/george-santos-venezuela-trip-be-part-of-solution\/\">George Santos announces Venezuela trip to be &lsquo;part of the solution&rsquo;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4406218\/us-forces-kill-maduro-security-team\/\">US forces killed &#8216;large part&#8217; of Maduro&#8217;s security team during capture, defense minister says<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Still, with no elections in sight and Delcy Rodriguez, a remnant of the Maduro regime who has signaled wariness about cooperating with Trump, now running the country, there is significant uncertainty about what the near future looks like for Venezuela.<\/p>\n<p>In a CNN appearance on Sunday, Abrams rejected any idea of either the Trump administration or Rodriguez, who was Maduro&rsquo;s vice president, running the country.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The United States cannot run Venezuela. The worst thing that we could do &mdash; and we may be doing it actually &mdash; is to make some kind of deal with the regime&rsquo;s remnants, with the vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, and leave her and the regime in place except for maybe a change on oil policy. That&rsquo;s conceivable. But that&rsquo;s not our running Venezuela, that&rsquo;s the Maduro regime running Venezuela without Maduro,&rdquo; Abrams said.<\/p>\n<p>The former Trump envoy instead called for the Trump administration to rally behind Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who is recognized by the U.S. as the winner of the widely disputed 2024 election against Maduro, but somehow avoid any confrontation with Rodriguez.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What we should be looking for is a popular government, a democratic, elected government that can begin to rehabilitate the country with our support and the support of the other democracies that surround Venezuela. That&rsquo;s possible. But the notion that we&rsquo;re going to run it from Washington I think is implausible, and it&rsquo;s just not going to work,&rdquo; Abrams added.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4406194\/trump-venezuela-delcy-rodriguez-bigger-price-maduro\/\">TRUMP SAYS NEW VENEZUELAN LEADER WILL PAY &lsquo;BIGGER&rsquo; PRICE THAN MADURO IF SHE RESISTS US<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Trump has already indicated Venezuela&rsquo;s opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, lacks the support to take over as president. Machado, who was barred from running in 2024, picked Gonzales as her replacement for that election.<\/p>\n<p>He has also not been shy of threatening Rodriguez if she does not comply with U.S. demands. Trump told the <em>Atlantic<\/em> in an interview that if she doesn&rsquo;t cooperate, she&rsquo;ll pay a &ldquo;bigger&rdquo; price than Maduro did.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former envoy Abrams: US cannot run Venezuela<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3359,"featured_media":2529693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/elliott-abrams-us-cannot-run-venezuela.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[3817,54108,32405,50813],"class_list":["post-2529692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-diplomacy","tag-trump-envoy","tag-united-states","tag-venezuela-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/elliott-abrams-us-cannot-run-venezuela.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3359"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2529692"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2529696,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529692\/revisions\/2529696"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2529693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2529692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2529692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2529692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}