Hours after American forces carried out coordinated air, land, and sea attacks that resulted in President Nicolas Maduro's detention, Donald Trump declared on Saturday that the United States would "run" Venezuela until a "safe" political transition occurs.
Trump praised the operation as an unprecedented demonstration of US military might, stated that Washington will supervise Venezuela's transition, and issued a warning that a much greater military assault was prepared in case it was necessary.
Following the Friday night attack on what he called a "heavily fortified military fortress in Caracas," Trump declared, "Overwhelming American military power was used," adding that the operation's scope and speed were unprecedented in contemporary history.
"This kind of military might hasn't been seen since World War II," he declared. According to Trump, there were no American losses or injuries during the mission.
He emphasized that "not a single American service member was killed, nor any military equipment lost," calling it "one of the most stunning, effective, and powerful displays of American military might and competency."
Trump claimed that a full-spectrum deployment was used in the attack. He said that the conclusion proved US dominance and that "air, land, and sea was used in the Venezuela operation."
"No country in the world could accomplish what America accomplished in such a short amount of time," he continued. Additionally, Trump asserted that Maduro and his spouse are being prosecuted in the US.
Without providing any other information, he stated, "Maduro, and his wife are indicted in the state of New York." Trump said that stability and political reform were Washington's objectives, framing the intervention as both punitive and remedial. He declared, "We want justice and peace for Venezuela." "We'll make sure that Venezuela has a proper transfer of power."
Trump declared that during this time, Venezuela would be directly governed by the United States. "Until we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition, we're going to run the country," he declared.
Trump acknowledged the mission's success but cautioned that military escalation is still a possibility. The US is "prepared for a second, much bigger wave of attack on Venezuela; however, unlikely we'll need to anymore," he added, adding that they are "ready to stage a second, much larger attack if needed."
Trump claimed that the operation would put an end to Venezuela's protracted misery. He said, "Venezuela suffered; so much was taken from them." "No longer."
Additionally, the president of the United States promised to help rebuild the nation's energy sector. Trump stated, "We'll fix Venezuela's oil infrastructure," alluding to the country's declining oil sector under years of economic disaster and sanctions.
Following Maduro's detention, Trump declared that American oil corporations would be permitted to operate in Venezuela, indicating a significant change in authority over the nation's enormous crude reserves.
He declared, "We're going to have our very large American 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."
As part of the mission to arrest Maduro, Trump said that US forces had been ready for a "second, much bigger" strike, but that it was ultimately not necessary.
Trump shared a picture of Maduro in prison only minutes before his press conference on Saturday, providing the first tangible proof that the Venezuelan leader was being held after the operation.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump posted a picture of Maduro tied and blindfolded on a US naval ship along with the caption, "Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima."
Maduro seemed to be wearing grey Nike-branded sweatpants, a matching jacket, and noise-cancelling earmuffs in the picture, highlighting the administration's attempt to openly signal control after the operation.
According to remarks made by US President Donald Trump, the United States launched extensive military operations on Venezuela early on Saturday, which resulted in the detention of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife and their expulsion from the nation.
"The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Around two in the morning local time, several explosions were recorded in Caracas, and locals described hearing low-flying planes over the capital.
Maduro announced a state of emergency shortly after the explosions and accused the US of attacking. According to the Associated Press, the US Federal Aviation Administration had previously prohibited US commercial flights from entering Venezuelan airspace because of "ongoing military activity."
According to Venezuela's administration, US soldiers attacked military and civilian facilities in a number of states. Another military facility in the city reportedly lost power, and smoke was spotted billowing from a hangar at a Caracas military post.
As explosions reverberated around the city, people in a number of neighborhoods fled into the streets. The entire earth trembled. This is terrible. Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, claimed, "We heard planes and explosions." "The air felt like it was striking us."
The Venezuelan administration called its supporters to mobilize in an official statement. "People to the streets!" it exclaimed, urging political and social groups to launch plans for mobilization and condemn what it called a "imperialist attack."
According to the statement, Maduro declared "a state of external disturbance" and ordered the implementation of all national defense plans.
Tensions between Washington and Caracas were rising at the time of the strikes. While the Trump administration has defended recent military operations as part of what it refers to as a "armed conflict" intended to disrupt drug trafficking networks, Maduro has accused the US of trying to force a change in government and obtain access to Venezuela's oil riches.
