{"id":673816,"date":"2026-01-04T18:36:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T18:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/673816\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T18:36:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T18:36:18","slug":"venezuela-transition-should-be-reached-quickly-uk-minister-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/673816\/","title":{"rendered":"Venezuela transition should be reached \u2018quickly\u2019, UK minister says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones declined to say whether he thought the American strikes on Caracas were legal, insisting it was for \u201cinternational courts\u201d to judge.<\/p>\n

The UK, which has a historically deep intelligence-sharing relationship with the US, was not informed of the operation, which included the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, before it was carried out on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing to say is it was an American operation. The United Kingdom was not involved in any way,\u201d Mr Jones told Sky News\u2019s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were not informed of it beforehand. So it\u2019s not for us to judge whether it\u2019s been a success or not. That\u2019s for the Americans to speak to.\u201d<\/p>\n

The minister and close ally of Sir Keir Starmer added: \u201cI think the important thing now, given the events that have unfolded over the last 48 hours, is that we are\u00a0quickly\u00a0able 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s Meet The Press show: \u201cI think it\u2019s premature at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said \u201cwe all wish to see a bright future\u201d including democracy for Venezuela, but that \u201cthere\u2019s a lot of work to be done here\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the US president said Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been flown out of Caracas and indicted on \u201cnarco-terrorism\u201d charges in New York, where he was taken into custody.<\/p>\n

\n

“Maduro and his wife will soon face\u00a0the full might of American justice\u00a0and stand trial on American soil.” \u2013 President Donald J. Trump \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 pic.twitter.com\/aFag9QOkpH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The US will \u201crun\u201d the country until \u201ca safe, proper and judicious transition\u201d transfer of power can take place, Mr Trump said.<\/p>\n

He also revealed his plans to exploit the leadership vacuum to \u201cfix\u201d the nation\u2019s oil infrastructure, and sell \u201clarge amounts\u201d of the fuel to other nations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to do it quickly but it takes a period of time, you know, we\u2019re rebuilding, we have to rebuild their whole infrastructure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The action, described as the most assertive US intervention to achieve regime change since the 2003 Iraq invasion, followed months of pressure from Washington on the country and its autocratic leader.<\/p>\n

Mr Trump claimed the American presence in Venezuela was already in place, though there were no immediate signs that the US was running the country, according to the Associated Press.<\/p>\n

\"CabinetDarren Jones said the situation in Venezuela should \u2018quickly\u2019 reach a point where a peaceful transition can be made (Gareth Fuller\/PA)<\/p>\n

Mr Jones said the UK Government was \u201cnot entirely clear\u201d what Mr Trump meant when he said America would run the nation, but insisted it was not for a \u201cthird country\u201d to decide on its future government.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s for the Americans now and for Venezuela to set out what happens in the coming days,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said the UK should \u201cabsolutely\u201d have anticipated what was going to happen and that the political direction of travel had been \u201cpretty clear\u201d.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"SundaySir Keir Starmer has backed a transition of power in Venezuela (Jeff Overs\/BBC\/PA)<\/p>\n

Asked whether he would condemn the military action on Saturday, Sir Keir said he wanted to wait to \u201cestablish the facts\u201d and speak to Mr Trump, and later insisted the UK would \u201cshed no tears\u201d over the end of Mr Maduro\u2019s regime.<\/p>\n

In an interview with the BBC\u2019s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, the Prime Minister said: \u201cWe 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\u2019ve got in the world, and it would not be in our national interest to weaken that in any way.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, it doesn\u2019t 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\u2019s the nature of the relationship we have.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut 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.\u201d<\/p>\n