US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that Venezuela must cut ties with Iran and Hezbollah, halt drug trafficking and ensure its oil industry does not serve Washington’s adversaries, a day after US forces captured President Nicolas Maduro.

Speaking to US television networks, Rubio said Maduro had repeatedly been offered the chance to leave Venezuela and live in exile but had refused, leaving Washington with no alternative.

Maduro was seized along with his wife during a pre-dawn raid on his Caracas compound and flown to New York, where he is expected to face charges including narco-terrorism and drug smuggling.

Rubio, who is also serving as interim national security adviser, defended the operation amid criticism that it lacked clear legal authorisation and risked entangling the US in another overseas conflict.

He argued that the situation in Venezuela should not be compared to failed Western interventions in the Middle East.

“This is not the Middle East. This is the Western Hemisphere,” Rubio told CBS News, dismissing comparisons to Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan.

He said Venezuela had “cosied up” to Iran, Hezbollah and drug trafficking networks, and warned that this would no longer be tolerated.

In a separate interview with NBC News, Rubio said Washington’s demands were straightforward: an end to drug trafficking, the removal of Iranian and Hezbollah influence, and reforms to ensure Venezuela’s oil wealth no longer benefits US adversaries.

While he said the US favoured a transition to democracy, Rubio cautioned against expectations of immediate elections, noting the country had been under the socialist “Chavista” system for more than a decade.

President Donald Trump has said the US will oversee Venezuela’s administration for the time being, fuelling concerns at home and abroad about an open-ended American presence.

Trump has faced criticism from both Democrats and members of his own Republican Party, including figures aligned with the Make America Great Again movement, who say the intervention contradicts his pledge to end foreign wars.

Rubio said the operation followed months of planning and came after Maduro rejected what he described as “generous” exile offers, including a reported proposal to relocate to Turkey.