Venezuela transition should be reached ‘quickly’, UK minister says

A peaceful transition of power should be reached “quickly” in Venezuela, a Cabinet minister has said after Donald Trump declared the US would “run” the country until a new government takes over.

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones declined to say whether he thought American strikes on Caracas early on Saturday were legal, insisting it was for “international courts” to judge.

The UK, which has a historically deep intelligence-sharing relationship with the US, was not informed of the operation which saw Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro captured and flown to New York before it was carried out.

“The United Kingdom was not involved in any way,” Mr Jones told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme.

“We were not informed of it beforehand. So it’s not for us to judge whether it’s been a success or not. That’s for the Americans to speak to.”

The minister and close ally of Sir Keir Starmer added: “I think the important thing now, given the events that have unfolded over the last 48 hours, is that we are quickly able to get to a point where we can get to a peaceful transition to a president in Venezuela that has the support of the people of Venezuela.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to dismiss the idea of imminent elections when asked how soon a vote could take place later on Sunday, telling NBC’s Meet The Press show: “I think it’s premature at this point.”

He said “we all wish to see a bright future” including democracy for Venezuela, but that “there’s a lot of work to be done here”.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the US president said Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been indicted on “narco-terrorism” charges in New York, where he was taken into custody.

The US will “run” the country until “a safe, proper and judicious transition” transfer of power can take place, Mr Trump said.

He also revealed his plans to exploit the leadership vacuum to “fix” the nation’s oil infrastructure, and sell “large amounts” of the fuel to other nations.

The action, seen as the most assertive US intervention to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, followed months of pressure from Washington on the country and its autocratic leader.

Speaking to the Atlantic later on Sunday, Mr Trump also appeared to confirm that Venezuela may not be the last country subject to American intervention, saying: “We do need Greenland, absolutely.”

And referring to the interim leader in Caracas, Delcy Rodriguez, Mr Trump said: “If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.”

Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen told the US to “stop the threats” about taking over Greenland.

Mr Jones said the UK Government was “not entirely clear” what Mr Trump meant when he said America would run Venezuela, but insisted it was not for a “third country” to decide on its future government.

“It’s for the Americans now and for Venezuela to set out what happens in the coming days,” he said.

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel suggested the UK should “absolutely” have anticipated what was going to happen and that the political direction of travel had been “pretty clear”.

Sir Keir has resisted calls from within his own party, as well as some opposition critics, to take a tougher stance on the US president, arguing that a close relationship with America is critical for security and defence.

Asked whether he would condemn the military action on Saturday, Sir Keir said he wanted to wait to “establish the facts” and speak to Mr Trump, and later insisted the UK would “shed no tears” over the end of Mr Maduro’s regime.

Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside Kim Johnson questioned whether “we as a country still stand for international law and sovereignty”, while Leeds East Labour MP Richard Burgon described the Prime Minister’s statement as “shameful and reckless”.

Former shadow chancellor and Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington John McDonnell said that “effectively our country has been rendered up as a Trump colony”, accusing the Government of “prevarication”.

In a post on X, Labour MP for Norwich South Clive Lewis said of the US action: “A clear breach of the Nuremberg principles – which the UK helped write.

“Now a (Labour Government) won’t even defend them. This silence isn’t diplomacy. It’s the moral equivalent of a white flag.”

In an interview with the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, the Prime Minister said he “does not agree with President Trump on everything he says and does”, without giving examples.

He said: “We do have differences of views on various things, but on the other hand, I constantly remind myself that 24/7 our defence, our security and our intelligence relationship with the US matters probably more than any other relationship we’ve got in the world, and it would not be in our national interest to weaken that in any way.

“Of course, it doesn’t mean I agree with President Trump on everything he says and does, any more than he would agree with everything that I say or do, and we openly accept that that’s the nature of the relationship we have.

“But we have made the relationship work. We do get along with each other and have the ability to spend time, one-to-one discussion, with world issues, and that is to the benefit of the UK.”