WASHINGTON, January 28. /TASS/. The United States does not yet know when elections could be held in Venezuela, or when a transfer of power may occur from the interim government, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"I can't give you a timeline of how long it takes. It can't take forever," he said at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, commenting on assumptions that power in Caracas will eventually be transferred from Venezuela’s authorized President Delcy Rodriguez to someone else. "We need to be much further along six months from now, even three months from now. We have to be much further along. In six months, we expect to be further along. And if we're not, we'll tell you."

On January 3, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ivan Gil Pinto stated that the US had attacked civilian and military targets in Caracas. He called Washington's actions military aggression. A state of emergency has been declared in Venezuela. US President Donald Trump later confirmed the strikes and announced the capture and removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife from the country.

On January 5, they appeared before the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York, were accused of involvement in drug trafficking, and pled not guilty.

Delcy Rodriguez, who served as executive vice president under Maduro, took over for him as head of state. US President Donald Trump said the United States would "run" Venezuela in the interim and promised to seek compensation from Caracas for American oil companies, while these firms would allocate funds to restore Venezuela's oil infrastructure.