Trump says U.S. will run Venezuela, seize oil industry

Update: Sunday, 2:28 p.m.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday appeared to downplay statements by President Donald Trump the previous day that the United States would take control of Venezuela after the U.S. military captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife over the weekend. Speaking on CBS News’ Face the Nation Sunday morning, Rubio told the network’s Margaret Brennan that the Trump administration would enforce control by continuing to enforce a quarantine and sanctions against Venezuelan oil shipments, until the country implements changes favorable to the national security of the United States. Those changes must include an end to international drug trafficking, as well as cutting ties with terror groups like Hezbollah and with Iran. He also characterized Venezuela’s current oil industry as “backward” and said it must be restructured so that the Venezuelan people reap the benefits, not just dictators and oligarchs. 

Speaking also to George Stephanopoulos of ABC’s This Week Sunday, Rubio said Venezuela could only be legitimately governed after a period of transition followed by fair elections. He added that the United States never saw Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela because he does not believe Maduro’s election was fair.

Update:  Saturday, 7:01 p.m.

Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro arrived to New York in U.S. custody on a flight Saturday afternoon, according to several media outlets. Maduro is set to face trial in New York over narco-terrorism charges outlined in a grand jury indictment. Maduro and his wife were captured hours earlier in their home country by U.S. forces in a nighttime assault.

Also on Saturday, Delcy Rodríguez, who served as vice president under Maduro and assumed the role of interim president following Maduro’s capture, condemned the U.S. military operation in her country in a televised speech. She said Maduro was Venezuela’s “only president” and called his capture an illegal kidnapping aimed at regime change and the seizure of natural resources.

Rodríguez’s defiant speech, delivered alongside several top Venezuelan government officials, including the defense minister, seemed to contradict U.S. President Donald Trump’s assessment of her cooperation at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago earlier in the day. Trump had suggested Rodríguez was “essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.”

—This post was updated Jan. 5 to clarify that Delcy Rodríguez assumed the role of interim president on Saturday, although her former swearing-in ceremony occurred on Monday. 

Update: Saturday, 2:02 p.m.:

President Donald Trump released an image he says shows Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after officials say the U.S. military seized Maduro and his wife in an overnight operation on Saturday. Trump released the image on his Truth Social account.

Update, Saturday, 1:24 p.m.:

President Donald Trump said at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Saturday that the United States would take control of Venezuela and its oil industry indefinitely after deposing the country’s leader in an overnight military operation. Trump praised the U.S. military for what he called a precise and impressive air, land, and sea assault on Caracas to capture Nicolás Maduro in the dead of night.

The president said no U.S. military members were killed during the operation, and no military equipment was lost. Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, said 150 U.S. aircraft launched from multiple bases during the assault, called Operation Absolute Resolve.

Trump said the United States would run Venezuela until a safe and judicious transfer of power could take place. A team of people, including U.S. officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, would oversee the Venezuelan government for the foreseeable future, the president said. He added that the United States was prepared to launch a second and larger attack to assert its control in the country if necessary.

“We’re there now, but we’re going to stay until such time until the proper transition can take place,” Trump said. “We’re going to run it, essentially.”

The United States will also take control of Venezuela’s oil industry, Trump said. He called the country’s oil industry a “bust” under Maduro, but said U.S. oil companies would rebuild it and make it profitable again. Trump told reporters that, under U.S. control, Venezuelan oil would be sold to other nations, with the profits benefiting the Venezuelan people. He added that the United States would be reimbursed for damages caused by the Maduro regime. The U.S. takeover, Trump claimed, would make the people of Venezuela “rich, independent, and safe.”

Referencing an updated indictment released on Saturday, Trump said Maduro had supported drug cartel activities, including those of Tren De Aragua. He said Maduro was now in U.S. custody and would eventually be transported to New York to face trial.

At the news conference, Rubio called Maduro an illegitimate president whom neither the Trump nor Biden administrations recognized. He pointed out that the first Trump administration had originally indicted Maduro on narco-terrorism charges in 2020. Rubio said Congress had not been prenotified about Saturday’s operation because doing so would have endangered the mission.

Democrats criticized the president’s actions, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries noting in a statement that Trump had not obtained congressional authorization for the assault, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying Trump’s plans to run Venezuela should strike fear in the hearts of Americans.

But House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., expressed support for the operation on Saturday, saying in a social media post that the morning’s military operation was justified and would protect American lives. Johnson added that the Trump administration was scheduling briefings on the operation for members of Congress, who are scheduled to return to Washington next week.

Original story:

President Donald Trump wrote on social media early Saturday morning that the United States carried out a large operation in Venezuela, capturing and flying out the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife. Trump gave few other details but said to expect a news conference later in the day. The Trump administration for months has accused Maduro of holding on to his presidential office by means of election fraud and of working hand-in-hand with drug traffickers in the region. In recent months, the United States moved a Navy carrier group to the Caribbean near Venezuela and conducted airstrikes on a loading dock and numerous alleged drug boats in the area. Early on Saturday morning, aircraft flew over the capital city of Caracas, and locals heard multiple explosions, according to media reports. 

What are the U.S. charges against Maduro and his wife? U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi wrote on social media that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were indicted in the Southern District of New York. Maduro was charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States, she said. The attorney general did not immediately spell out the charges against Flores, but added that the two would soon face the full wrath of the U.S. justice system while they are held in the United States. 

How is Venezuela responding? In a statement translated and shared by several news organizations, the Venezuelan government denounced the “grave military aggression” of the United States and claimed it violated the charter of the United Nations. It cited the first two articles of the charter, which establish a “sovereign equality” among its members and condemns them from using force against one another. “The entire country must mobilize to defeat this imperialist aggression,” the statement said.