President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States would effectively take charge of Venezuela and exploit its vast oil resources following a bombing raid on Caracas that resulted in the capturing of leftist leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
"We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump told a press conference, adding that US forces were ready to conduct a second, "much bigger" wave of strikes if necessary.
Trump’s remarks came just hours after a swift operation in which US special forces seized Maduro and his wife, while airstrikes hit several locations, leaving the Venezuelan capital shaken.
Speaking at a press conference in Florida, Trump did not provide specific details about his plans but said, “We’re going to be running it with a group.” He added that individuals had already been designated for the task, noting that cabinet members standing alongside him would oversee the effort.
In a further unexpected statement, Trump suggested that U.S. troops could be sent into Venezuela, saying Washington was “not afraid of boots on the ground.”
While the mission has been described as a law-enforcement action, Trump made it clear that changing the government and gaining access to Venezuela’s oil wealth are central objectives.
"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," he said.
"We'll be selling large amounts of oil," he said.
The 79-year-old Republican posted a picture of Maduro in custody on a US naval ship wearing a blindfold, handcuffs and what looked like noise-cancelling ear muffs. He and his wife were being taken to New York to face narcotics and terrorism charges.
Trump dismisses opposition leader
US-backed opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, posted on social media: "the hour of freedom has arrived."
She called for the opposition's candidate in the 2024 election, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, to "immediately" assume the presidency.
But Trump scotched any expectation that Machado should emerge as Venezuela's new leader. She doesn't have "support or respect" there, he said.
He indicated he could instead work with Maduro's deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, saying "she's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again."
Trump also made clear that the US presence is unlikely to be short.
"We're there now, but we're going to stay until such time as the proper transition can take place."
The United Nations chief said he was "deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected."
China, a backer of Maduro's hard-left regime, said it "strongly condemns" the US attack, while France warned that a solution for troubled Venezuela cannot "be imposed from outside."
Black-out and bombing
Venezuelans had been bracing for attacks as US forces, including the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, spent months massing off the coast.
Caracas residents woke to explosions and the whir of military helicopters around 2:00 am (0600 GMT). Airstrikes hit a major military base and an airbase, among other sites, for nearly an hour, AFP journalists said.
The bombing turned out to be only part of the more ambitious plan to topple Maduro and bring him to US soil to face narco-trafficking charges.
Trump said the assault began with a partial blackout caused by US "expertise."
The top US military officer, General Dan Caine, said 150 aircraft took part in the operation, supporting troops helicoptering in to seize Machado with the help of months of intelligence into the leader's daily habits -- down to "what he ate" and what pets he kept.
Maduro, 63, and his wife "gave up" without a struggle and there was "no loss of US life," he said.
Maria Eugenia Escobar, a 58-year-old resident of La Guaira, near the heavily bombed main airport, told AFP that the blasts "lifted me out of bed, and I immediately thought, 'God, the day has come.'"
Within hours of the operation, Caracas had fallen eerily quiet, with police stationed outside public buildings and a smell of smoke drifting through the streets.
With inputs from agencies
