US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that Washington does not consider Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a legitimate leader, arguing that his government poses a “direct threat” to US “national interests and regional stability.” Speaking to reporters, Rubio described the Maduro administration as an “illegitimate regime”, claiming that it cooperates with Iran, Hezbollah and drug trafficking networks. He even said armed groups such as the ELN and dissident factions of the FARC operate openly inside Venezuelan territory, sometimes controlling entire areas. Rubio stressed that allegations of narco-trafficking are not based on intelligence assessments alone, noting that a federal grand jury in New York issued indictments against Maduro and members of his government. According to Rubio, Venezuela’s crisis has triggered one of the largest migration waves in modern history, destabilizing the wider region.