{"id":497,"date":"2026-07-28T13:42:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T13:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=497"},"modified":"2026-07-28T13:42:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T13:42:01","slug":"maddowblog-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=497","title":{"rendered":"MaddowBlog"},"content":{"rendered":"
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There have been jokes for months about the number of jobs Marco Rubio has held during Donald Trump\u2019s second term, and for good reason: The president has tapped the former senator to serve as the secretary of state, the acting White House national security adviser, the acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as the acting archivist for the National Archives.<\/p>\n

Read more Lindsey Graham didn\u2019t just flatter Trump. He smooth-talked him.<\/a><\/p>\n

It led The New York Times to describe the Florida Republican as the \u201cSecretary of Everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s generated less attention is a far more provocative part of Rubio\u2019s portfolio: The United States\u2019 chief diplomat is also helping oversee day-to-day operations in Venezuela, a South American country that\u2019s more than 1,000 miles away from American soil.<\/p>\n

Six months after a brief U.S. military operation led to the detention of then-Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, followed closely by Trump\u2019s curious boast that he and his administration were \u201cin charge\u201d of the foreign country, The New York Times published a striking report earlier this month, noting that Rubio is, for all intents and purposes, \u201crunning\u201d Venezuela, serving as the country\u2019s \u201cde facto viceroy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Times\u2019 report added, \u201cThe U.S. Treasury receives the revenue from most of Venezuela\u2019s exports, then disburses it to Venezuela through the country\u2019s banking system, a relationship akin to parents handing out allowances to children. Mr. Rubio and his team set the conditions on what that money can be spent on, and by whom.\u201d<\/p>\n

For his part, Trump appears quite proud of all this. Indeed, the American president, who bragged last week that his familiarity with Venezuela is rooted in his previous ownership of the Miss Universe pageant, has repeatedly spoken publicly about having \u201ctaken over\u201d the South American country and seizing control of its oil resources \u2014 \u201cWe\u2019re taking a lot,\u201d the Republican claimed \u2014 which he\u2019s said the United States is \u201centitled\u201d to.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, the Financial Times recently reported that the U.S. administration has taken in roughly $13 billion of Venezuelan oil money, though there\u2019s something of a mystery surrounding what exactly Trump and his team have done with the money.<\/p>\n

On Monday afternoon, a reporter pressed the American president on this issue for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s some reports that the United States has taken in $13 billion from Venezuela,\u201d a reporter asked during an Air Force One Q&A. \u201cWhere is that money going?\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump tried to make an example of Rosie O\u2019Donnell. It backfired.<\/a><\/p>\n

Instead of answering directly, Trump responded that the total is actually \u201ceven more\u201d than $13 billion.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut where\u2019s that money going?\u201d the reporter followed up.<\/p>\n

Trump again ignored the question, explaining that there was \u201ca cost\u201d to the U.S. military offensive in January (he recently began referring to the operation as a \u201cwar,\u201d which continues to be a stretch), and his seizure of Venezuelan resources has covered that cost \u201cmany, many times over.\u201d<\/p>\n

The back-and-forth continued. \u201cBut where is the money going?\u201d the reporter asked, trying to get a straight answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt goes toward running the country,\u201d Trump responded.<\/p>\n

Asked once again<\/em> where the money is going, the Republican again replied, \u201cTowards running the country. It can go to the military. Congress has to approve it. \u2026 We\u2019re taking in a lot of money. Billions and billions of dollars from Venezuela.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, Trump attacked a foreign country, detained its leader, took control of the country\u2019s day-to-day governance and seized its resources, but he doesn\u2019t want to say what he\u2019s doing with the profits.<\/p>\n

Presumably, the officials elected by the Venezuelan people to represent their interests might have some concerns about all of this, but Trump declared late last week that, as far as he\u2019s concerned, Venezuela is \u201cnot really ready\u201d for elections, leaving his administration in charge of the country until the president decides otherwise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the U.S. is doing to Venezuela counts as nothing but colonization,\u201d MS NOW\u2019s Zeeshan Aleem recently wrote. The White House and its allies might balk at the characterization, but I\u2019m hard-pressed to imagine a more appropriate choice of words.<\/p>\n

Read more MAGA\u2019s backup plan to end birthright citizenship relies on a racist legal relic<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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