U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the situation in Venezuela is now much better than before the capture of President Nicolás Maduro on January 3rd. He said that although many countries did not like the operation, it was a success he is proud of. Rubio assured that with these results, there is still much work to be done, but he affirmed that the South American country now has better conditions than a few weeks ago. 'There is still a long way to go, there is a lot of work to be done. It was necessary because that man was a narco-terrorist; we made him several offers and he decided to reject them,' he stated. The Secretary of State declared that, beyond opinions, 'now everyone can agree that Venezuela has an opportunity for a new future that did not exist six weeks ago.' 'But I can tell you that Venezuela is much better today than it was six weeks ago,' the head of U.S. diplomacy said at a press conference in Bratislava alongside Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, broadcast by the Department of State. Rubio reacted this way to a question to Fico, who had previously condemned the capture of Maduro on Venezuelan soil by U.S. troops. The Prime Minister then described the operation, which included the bombing of military bases, as a 'sign of the breakdown of the world order created after World War II.' Rubio stated that he is aware that there are close U.S. allies who 'did not like' that operation on Venezuelan soil. On this matter, he said that these discrepancies do not mean that one cannot be partners, as countries express their opinions all the time. 'But I tell you one thing: it was a success. We are proud of it.'
