US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to present the removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro as one of the Trump administration's most consequential foreign policy achievements when he testifies before lawmakers on Tuesday, according to prepared remarks reviewed ahead of the hearing. The testimony, prepared for delivery before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs, represents one of the administration's most detailed public accounts of its Venezuela strategy to date.

Rubio's Core Argument

In his prepared statement, Rubio plans to argue that President Donald Trump's return to the White House marked a decisive shift in US policy toward the Western Hemisphere. The administration, he contends, has prioritised dismantling organised crime networks, curbing illegal migration, and confronting governments it considers hostile to American interests.

'President Trump has taken back control of our hemisphere,' Rubio says in the prepared remarks. 'For too long, allowed hostile regimes, cartels, criminal gangs and foreign adversaries to run rampant in our own backyard.'

Venezuela: The Centrepiece of the Testimony

The most striking portion of Rubio's prepared statement centres on Venezuela. He describes the operation against Maduro as 'one of the most extraordinary feats of lethal precision in military history,' claiming that American Special Forces 'crossed a hemisphere, penetrated one of the most heavily fortified capitals in the region, neutralised the regime's military infrastructure, and removed Nicolas Maduro from power within hours.'

Rubio characterises the Maduro government not merely as an authoritarian administration but as an active regional security threat. 'The Maduro regime was not simply another corrupt dictatorship,' he says in the prepared remarks. 'It was a hub of regional disorder: exporting criminals, empowering cartels, collaborating with hostile powers, and turning mass migration into a weapon aimed northward at the United States.'

He further alleges that Maduro had 'emptied his prisons into our cities' and transformed Venezuela into 'a beachhead for our adversaries.'

Action Against Criminal Networks

Rubio also details what he describes as direct action against transnational criminal organisations, including MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, both of which the administration has designated as terrorist organisations. He claims the US assembled a multinational coalition to confront them.

'That ended on day one of this administration,' Rubio says. 'We confronted MS-13, Tren de Aragua, and the other evil cartels as the terrorist organisations that they are and built a transcontinental coalition to defeat and dismantle them.'

On narcotics trafficking, Rubio says: 'Narco-cartel boats ferrying their poison into our borders were not met with strongly worded letters, but with the full weight of American firepower.'

Broader Latin America Strategy

Beyond Venezuela, Rubio's testimony outlines a wider hemispheric strategy built on economic and diplomatic leverage. According to the prepared remarks, Washington has used 'trade relationships', 'financial leverage', and 'diplomatic standing' to bring governments across Central and South America into alignment with US priorities on migration, organised crime, and security.

'We have made it clear to every government in this hemisphere that America can either be their greatest friend or their most feared enemy — the choice is theirs,' he says.

Context and What Comes Next

The hearing comes as the administration seeks congressional backing for its foreign policy budget. Latin America has remained a central focus of the Trump administration's second term, with migration curbs, disruption of transnational criminal networks, and countering governments viewed as hostile to Washington among its stated priorities. How lawmakers respond to Rubio's characterisation of the Venezuela operation — particularly his use of terms like 'lethal precision' — is expected to shape the subcommittee's budget deliberations.