WASHINGTON

There are no talks to recognize Nicolas Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday.

"There’s no talks about doing that. No one’s discussed it. We don’t recognize them now," Rubio told Fox News.

"I think leaders like Maduro – no matter how tough they try to be – they respect (US President) Donald Trump. They know this is not a guy who is going to send you a strongly worded letter," Rubio said.

“He will take actions. I’m not going to talk about what those actions are, but he knows and they know we have many options to inflict serious damage and harm on the Maduro regime," he added.

Last month, Maduro was sworn in as Venezuela’s president for a third term after winning the 2024 election with 51.2% of the vote, which was objected to by opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

Then US President Joe Biden met with Urrutia at the White House to discuss shared efforts to restore democracy in Venezuela.

The Trump administration is pushing for a change in Venezuela, citing Maduro's rigged elections, political repression and escalating threats to American territories.