(Kyle Anzalone, Antiwar.com) Following a military operation that captured President Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump said the US would run Venezuela until an acceptable government is set up.
“We are going to run [Venezuela] until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition. We don’t want to be involved with having somebody else get in and we have the same situation that we had,” the President said on Saturday. “We are there now, and we are going to stay until the proper transition takes place.”
Trump went on to say that the US is prepared to attack Venezuela again. “We are ready to stage a second, much larger attack if we need to do so.” He continued, “All political and military figures in Venezuela should understand what happened to Maduro can happen to them, and it will happen to them if they aren’t fair.”
The President did not name a new leader of Venezuela. However, María Corina Machado said, “Today we are prepared to enforce our mandate and take power.” Machado is a Venezuelan opposition figure who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025. She has endorsed US sanctions and military action against Venezuela.
Trump did say he had not spoken with Machado, adding that she doesn’t have the respect needed to lead the country.
Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said following the attack that she had activated Maduro’s military plans. “The first thing President Maduro told the people of Venezuela was ‘people to the streets,’ activated as militia, activating all the Nation’s comprehensive defense plans,” the vice president said. “No one will undermine the historic legacy of our Liberator father, Simon Bolivar. The people of Venezuela, in perfect national unity, must mobilize to defend their natural resources and what is most sacred: their right to independence and to the future.”
Trump claimed his administration spoke with Rodriguez, who agreed to work with the US.
When asked by the press, Trump refused to give a timeline on how long American control over Venezuela would last. The President said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth would act as the viceroys of Venezuela.
Trump added that he was willing to deploy American troops to occupy the South American nation. “We’re not afraid of boots on the ground,” the President explained. He claimed Washington would pay for the occupation of Venezuela with profits from the country’s oil.
Trump said no Americans were killed and no military equipment was lost in the operation that captured Maduro early Saturday. Caracas has not reported on the Venezuelan casualties from the American raid and strikes.
Trump said he ordered the attack on Venezuela because Maduro was trafficking narcotics to the US, hosting Washington’s adversaries, and stealing American oil. Venezuela is not a major drug trafficking hub and is not listed by the Drug Enforcement Agency as responsible for fentanyl entering the US.
The President and Rubio suggested a similar operation could take place in Cuba.
This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.
