JD Vance Signals Conditional U.S. Support for Venezuela: 'Whoever the Leader of That Country Is, Is Going to Have to Play Ball'

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Washington's future relationship with Venezuela will hinge on cooperation with U.S. priorities regardless of who ultimately leads the country following the capture of authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro.

Speaking to the Salem News Channel, Vance said the administration wants stability and prosperity for Venezuelans but stressed that U.S. interests will take precedence. "We want what's best for the Venezuelan people," he said. "But more importantly than that by a factor of a hundred, we want what's best for the American people — and whoever the leader of that country is, is going to have to play ball with the United States."

Vance argued that prior Venezuelan governments had allowed U.S. rivals to gain access to cheap energy and had used oil revenues to finance activities Washington describes as narco-terrorism. He said the operation ordered by Donald Trump was designed to cut off those funding streams:

"I think it's going to save lives, it's going to mean cheaper gas and energy prices for Americans, and maybe most importantly, it's going to mean that we have more control over the energy resources that exist in the world"

Asked about the mission that led to Maduro's capture, Vance said he had initially doubted such a targeted operation could succeed. "It was a very important operation," he said. "It was carried out flawlessly ... I think it will create great benefits for the American people."

Vance's remarks expanded on comments he made on the day of the operation, when he defended the action as lawful and necessary. In a social media post on Saturday, he said Maduro faced multiple U.S. indictments for narco-terrorism and could not "avoid justice for drug trafficking ... because you live in a palace in Caracas."

He added that the administration had offered "multiple off ramps" but insisted that drug trafficking stop and that what he called "stolen oil" be returned, reflecting the administration's view that Venezuela unlawfully nationalized U.S. oil assets.