“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said, without providing further details.
Trump accused Venezuela of seizing American oil, saying, “It was our property. We built it.” He claimed the Venezuelan government had unilaterally seized and sold American oil, assets, and platforms, costing the United States “billions and billions of dollars.”
Trump claimed Venezuela had sent people “from mental institutions, jails, and prisons… they were drug dealers and drug kingpins. They sent everybody bad into the United States.” He added, “We have now a border where nobody gets through.”
Trump further claimed, “We built Venezuela’s oil industry with American talent, drive, and skill, and the socialist regime stole it from us during previous administrations, and they stole it through force. This constituted one of the largest thefts of American property in the history of our country.” He added, “America will never allow foreign powers to rob our people.”
He also accused Venezuela of hosting “foreign adversaries” in the region and acquiring offensive weapons, which he said violated US policy “dating back two centuries.”
Trump praised US strikes on Caracas and the capture of Maduro and his wife. “This was one of the most stunning, effective, and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history,” he said.
He also invoked the Monroe Doctrine, stating, “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again,” and added, “Under the Trump administration we are reasserting American power in a very powerful way.”
The US president warned those currently in government in Venezuela, in the absence of Maduro, that “the US retains all military options” for further action in that South American country.
“All political and military figures in Venezuela must understand, what happened to Maduro will happen to them” if they defy US desires in the country for a leadership that serves the people,” Trump said.
He said the “dictator and terrorist” Maduro “is finally gone."
Trump said he and his administration have not talked to Venezuela’s exiled opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, following the intervention.
“I think it would be very difficult for her” to return to lead Venezuela, the US president said, in response to a reporter’s question.
“She does not have the support in Venezuela, she is a very nice woman but she does not have the support,” he said.
Asked if the US could administer Venezuela for a long time, Trump said, "Well, you know, it won't cost us anything because the money coming out of the ground is very substantial."
Trump also threatened that Washington could broaden its regional focus to Cuba following the capture of President Maduro by US forces.
He called Cuba “an interesting case," adding, “I think Cuba is going to be something we’ll end up talking about because Cuba is a failing nation right now, a very badly failing nation. And we want to help the people. It’s very similar in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba.”
Trump also claimed Colombian President Gustavo Petro "has cocaine mills. He has factories where he makes cocaine. And yeah, I think I stick by my first statement… he does have to watch his ass.”
Back in Caracas
President Maduro, who was captured by US forces on Saturday, could make an initial appearance in federal court in Manhattan as early as Monday, Fox News reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, though the timing could change.
With Maduro’s whereabouts officially unconfirmed, Venezuelan law would make Vice President Delcy Rodríguez the acting head of state.
Speaking by telephone to state television, Rodríguez said she did not know the whereabouts of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, following a series of US strikes on Caracas and other cities, and demanded proof of life for the couple.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López said in a video released Saturday that his country will resist any foreign troop presence on its soil.
Padrino added that a US attack was carried out earlier that day, targeting civilian areas inside Venezuela, and that authorities were currently gathering preliminary information on the number of dead and wounded.
The Defense Minister announced the activation of a state of emergency throughout the country, given the ongoing US military operations, and confirmed that the Venezuelan armed forces were on high alert.
International alarm
In New York, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres expressed "deep concern" over US military action in Venezuela, his spokesman said Saturday, calling it “a dangerous precedent.”
A number of nations have called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York in response to Washington’s unilateral action.
“The Secretary-General continues to emphasize the importance of full respect—by all—of international law, including the UN Charter. He’s deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected,” UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said.
Guterres also called on all actors in Venezuela to engage in inclusive dialogue, in full respect of human rights and the rule of law, Dujarric said.
The French Foreign Ministry condemned the American operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, saying it undermined international law, while no solution to the country's crisis can be imposed from the outside.
However, hours later, French President Emmanuel Macron said that 2024 presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia should lead a peaceful transition in Venezuela, adding its people "could only rejoice" at the removal by the US of President Nicolas Maduro. "The Venezuelan people are today rid of the dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro," Macron wrote on X. "We hope that President Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, elected in 2024, will be able to ensure this transition as quickly as possible," he added.
Spain offered to mediate in the crisis between the United States and Venezuela after US attacks on Caracas and the announced capture of President Maduro.
"Spain calls for de-escalation and restraint," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Spain "has welcomed, and will continue to welcome, tens of thousands of Venezuelans forced to leave their country for political reasons, and ... stands ready to help in the search for a democratic, negotiated, and peaceful solution for the country," the ministry added.
South American condemnations
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the reported US strikes on Venezuela, posting on the social media platform X, “Cuba denounces and demands an urgent reaction from the international community against the criminal US attack on Venezuela. The region is being brutally assaulted. This is state terrorism against the brave Venezuelan people and against Our America.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro expressed concern over the reported explosions and aerial activity in Venezuela, posting, “They have attacked Venezuela. The Government of Colombia rejects any unilateral military action that could worsen the situation or put the civilian population at risk.”
He added that he was calling for emergency meetings of the United Nations and the Organization of American States, and said he was responding to a call from Maduro, who was captured by US forces, to rally the “Peoples and governments of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the world to mobilize in active solidarity against this imperial aggression.”
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also condemned the US military action and Maduro’s capture, saying in a post on X “These acts represent a grave affront to Venezuela’s sovereignty and yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community. This crosses an unacceptable line.”
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