UPDATE - US has 'maximum leverage' over interim authorities in Venezuela: White House

ADDS MORE REMARKS BY WHITE HOUSE SPOKESWOMAN; CHANGES HEAD, LEDE

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US has "maximum leverage" over the interim authorities of Venezuela after a recent military operation to capture the country's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flore, the White House said Wednesday.

"With respect to Venezuela, the Trump administration, led by Secretary (of State Marco) Rubio, the Vice President (JD Vance), and the president's entire national security team, is in close correspondence with the interim authorities in Venezuela.

"We obviously have maximum leverage over the interim authorities in Venezuela right now," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as Venezuela's acting president following Maduro's capture on Saturday.

Leavitt said it was "too premature and too early" for a timetable for elections in Venezuela right now.

- US 'selectively rolling back sanctions'

Underlining that no US troops were present on the ground in Venezuela, Leavitt said President Donald Trump "reserves the right to use the United States military if necessary."

Venezeula is "no longer" going to be sending "illegal" drugs and "illegal people in criminal cartels" to the US, Leavitt said.

On Trump's late-Tuesday announcement that interim authorities in Venezuela had agreed to transfer between 30 million and 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the US to be sold at market price, Leavitt said the deal would benefit both the peoples of both countries.

Leavitt said Trump would have a meeting with oil executives on Friday to discuss possible involvement in Venezuela's oil sector.

"The US is selectively rolling back sanctions to enable the transport and the sale of Venezuelan crude and oil products to the global markets," she said.