Donald Trump claimed oil companies were tipped off before Maduro’s capture, but it just got nullified by a top official’s Senate testimony

Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified that oil companies were absolutely not tipped off about the administration’s incursion into Venezuela, as reported by The Hill, directly contradicting earlier statements made by President Trump. This is a pretty major public divergence on a sensitive foreign policy matter, and it certainly raises questions about who knew what and when regarding the operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

Testifying during a Senate hearing, Secretary Rubio was crystal clear when he denied any advance knowledge by the energy sector. Rubio insisted that oil executives were completely shut out of the planning process. “The oil executives were not involved whatsoever in any of the planning on this matter,” Rubio stated. “All of those executives learned about this operation the same time everybody else did.”

That’s a full denial, which is a significant contrast to what the president himself told reporters soon after the operation commenced. When President Trump was specifically asked if he had spoken with oil companies before the Venezuela action, he answered with a simple and definitive “yes.”

It’s highly unusual to see such a prominent cabinet member offer a public account that seems to nullify the president’s previous comments

The president went on to clarify that he had conversations with these oil executives “before and after” the military operation took place. He even offered some insight into the industry’s enthusiasm for the future of the nation once Maduro was secured, saying they were ready to jump in. President Trump told reporters earlier this month, “And they want to go in, and they’re going to do a great job for the people of Venezuela, and they’re going to represent us well.”

Naturally, the White House had to jump in quickly to manage the optics of the situation. White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers highlighted the gravity of the mission itself, claiming that President Trump and Secretary Rubio “carried out one of the most impressive and successful law enforcement operations in history to arrest narcoterrorist Nicholas Maduro, who allowed the trafficking of deadly drugs into the United States of America.”

The statement made a specific point of reinforcing the working relationship between the two high-level officials. Rogers emphasized that the administration remains unified in its goals for the region, adding that, “President Trump and Secretary Rubio continue to work in lockstep to protect our Western Hemisphere by restoring prosperity, safety, and security in Venezuela.”

It seems the official line is that the administration is entirely focused on the success of the law enforcement action, regardless of whether a few oil executives got a courtesy call ahead of time. Still, Rubio’s testimony makes it clear that if any talks did happen, they were definitely not part of the official operational planning.