Secretary Rubio’s Call with G7 Foreign Ministers

The G7 foreign ministers are the top diplomats of each G7 country plus the European Union’s foreign-policy chief. As of late 2025/early 2026, they are:

• Canada – Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs
• France – Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs
• Germany – Johann Wadephul, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs
• Italy – Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
• Japan – Toshimitsu Motegi, Minister for Foreign Affairs
• United Kingdom – Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Foreign Secretary)
• United States – Marco Rubio, Secretary of State
• European Union – Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (often joins G7 foreign ministers’ formats)

These are the officials normally referenced when recent G7 “foreign ministers” statements and meetings are described.

U.S. counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean are military–law enforcement campaigns to detect, track, and help stop drug-smuggling boats and aircraft before they reach the United States. They typically involve:

• Surveillance by U.S. military and partner-nation aircraft and ships to spot “go‑fast” boats, semi-submersible vessels, and other traffickers.
• “Detection and monitoring” of suspect vessels, with locations passed to law‑enforcement units for boarding, arrests, and drug seizures.
• Joint operations and information‑sharing with many Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Key U.S. agencies involved include:

• U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which leads regional military efforts and previously ran “enhanced counter‑narcotics operations.”
• Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF South), a multi-agency task force under SOUTHCOM that conducts detection and monitoring of illicit trafficking across the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
• The U.S. Coast Guard, which performs most of the actual maritime interdictions and seizures.

Other partners often include the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of Homeland Security components, and allied navies and coast guards.

Yes. Nicolás Maduro has been captured and is in U.S. custody.

Major outlets report that U.S. forces carried out strikes and a raid in Venezuela in early January 2026, captured Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, and transferred them to New York to face U.S. criminal charges (including narco‑terrorism and drug‑trafficking). He has already appeared in a U.S. federal court and pleaded not guilty.

For official or detailed confirmation, you can consult:

• U.S. federal court records in New York (for the indictment and court appearances).
• U.S. government statements and news briefings summarizing the operation and charges.

Public reporting that documents his arrest includes coverage from major international news organizations.

In this context, a “proper, judicious transition of power in Venezuela” means a carefully managed handover from Nicolás Maduro’s rule to a new governing authority that the U.S. and its G7 partners consider legitimate and stable.

Based on U.S. and G7 statements around this time, it generally implies:

• Avoiding a power vacuum or chaotic collapse after Maduro’s removal.
• Putting in place an interim or transitional authority that can maintain basic order and negotiate political arrangements.
• Moving toward a new political settlement and future elections, though the State Department wording in this specific readout notably emphasizes “judicious” management rather than explicitly promising free elections.

The phrase is diplomatic language rather than a detailed plan; it signals that the U.S. wants a controlled, internationally coordinated process for deciding who governs Venezuela after Maduro, instead of an abrupt or violent shift.

The readout refers to ongoing diplomatic efforts to negotiate an end to Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine, which by late 2025 had moved into direct talks involving the United States and Ukraine, with the possibility of later presenting terms to Russia.

Key elements of these negotiations include:

• U.S.–Ukraine talks on a draft framework or peace plan to end the war, including security guarantees and territorial issues.
• High‑profile meetings between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (for example, talks in Florida/Mar‑a‑Lago and prior meetings in Europe) to shape a proposal.
• Preparations for eventual engagement with Russia, where any agreed plan would be formally presented and negotiated.

The G7 foreign ministers’ support in the readout signals political backing by Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K., the U.S., and the EU for these U.S.–Ukraine–Russia peace discussions, even though details and final participants are still being negotiated and a settlement has not yet been reached.

Tommy Pigott is the Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State. This is a senior communications role in which he:

• Helps lead the State Department’s public messaging.
• Delivers press briefings and written statements (like the readout of Secretary Rubio’s call).
• Assists the main Department Spokesperson in explaining U.S. foreign policy to journalists and the public.

He joined the Department and the Trump–Vance administration in January 2025.