US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday defended the ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, suggesting the regime change would not echo past failures of American interventions across the Middle East.
Mr Rubio said Venezuela's former leader had been given numerous opportunities to leave the country and live in exile but chose not to do so.
Mr Rubio, also interim National Security Adviser, was speaking a day after US special forces seized Mr Maduro and his wife during an hours-long, pre-dawn raid on his compound in Caracas, before sending him to jail in New York City, where he will eventually face several charges including narco-terrorism and drug smuggling.
US military intervention in Venezuela, a country which President Donald Trump says Washington will now run indefinitely, has prompted concerns the US is again becoming embroiled on foreign territory with unpredictable outcomes. Mr Trump is facing criticism from within his own party, particularly the Make America Great Again (Maga) wing, which says he has betrayed his pledge to end overseas conflicts.
Mr Rubi
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