The U.S. secretary of state said that conversations about holding elections in Venezuela are `premature.`

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday emphasized that the goal of the U.S. military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of the nation`s leader, Nicolás Maduro, on Saturday was primarily to halt drug trafficking into the U.S. and that holding elections in Venezuela would be "premature at this point."

"We care about elections, we care about democracy, we care about all of that, but the number one thing we care about is the safety, security, wellbeing and prosperity of the United States. And that`s what we`re going to focus on first and foremost here," Rubio told NBC News` "Meet the Press" on Sunday, one day after President Donald Trump announced that U.S. military forces had captured the nation`s leader and his wife.

Earlier in the interview, Rubio pointed to recent elections, which Maduro claimed he won despite widespread evidence that he lost.

"Elections did happen. They lost them, and they didn`t count the votes. Or, they refused to count the votes, and everyone knows it. So all of that, I think, is premature at this point," the secretary of state said.

On Saturday, Trump announced that the U.S. would "run" Venezuela until the nation could conduct its own peaceful transfer of power, but Rubio on Sunday clarified that the president meant "running policy" in Venezuela that is "good for the people of Venezuela" and is "in our national interest."

He reiterated that the Trump administration has "short term things that have to be addressed right away," before assisting Venezuela with a transition to democracy.

"We all wish to see a bright future for Venezuela, a transition to democracy. All of these things are great, and we all want to see that," the secretary of state said, adding, "but what we`re talking about is what happens over the next two, three weeks; two, three months, and how that ties to the national interest of the United States."

Rubio added that Maduro, when he was still leading Venezuela, did not cooperate with the U.S.` stated goals of curbing drug trafficking from South America.

Moving forward, the secretary of state outlined the U.S.` demands for Venezuela, telling "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker, "You can`t flood this country with gang members. You can`t flood this country with drugs that are coming out of Colombia through Venezuela, with the cooperation of elements of your security forces, you can`t turn Venezuela into the operating hub for Iran, for Russia, for Hezbollah, for China, for the Cuban intelligence agents that control that country."

Rubio also addressed one of Trump`s stated goals from his Saturday press conference, which was to allow for U.S. investment in Venezuela`s oil infrastructure.

"We`re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country," the president said Saturday.

On Sunday, Rubio clarified, "We don`t need Venezuela`s oil. We have plenty of oil in the United States."

But, the secretary of state said the Trump administration`s goal is to curb the investment from the U.S.` rivals - like China, Russia and Iran - in Venezuela`s oil industry.

"What we`re not going to allow is for the oil industry in Venezuela to be controlled by adversaries of the United States. You have to understand, why does China need their oil? Why does Russia need their oil? Why does Iran need their oil? They`re not even in this continent," Rubio said. "This is the Western Hemisphere. This is where we live, and we`re not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to be a base of operation for adversaries, competitors and rivals of the United States."

On Saturday, Maduro arrived in the U.S., where he will appear in court to face criminal charges as soon as Monday.

During a Saturday press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said that Maduro`s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, had been sworn in as president and was in contact with U.S. officials, including Rubio. Later Saturday, in a national address, Rodriguez told Venezuelans, "We demand the immediate liberation of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores," calling Maduro "the only president of Venezuela."