US President Donald Trump said on Saturday (January 3rd) that the United States will play an active role in determining Venezuela’s next leadership and economic future following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The couple were captured by US forces and will be taken to New York to face criminal charges.
In an interview with Fox News hours after the operation, Trump emphasized that the US would be deeply involved in Venezuela’s political transformation.
“We’re going to be very involved in who’s going to rule the country,” Trump told reporters.
“We can’t risk letting someone else run and just take over what they left or left behind.”
Maduro and Flores taken to New York
Trump confirmed in the interview that Maduro and Flores were taken to a ship after their capture and are being flown to New York, where they have both been charged.
Both Maduro and his wife were indicted in New York.
US involvement in the Venezuelan oil industry
Trump indicated that the US will also play a significant role in Venezuela’s oil sector.
“We have the biggest oil companies in the world, the biggest, the biggest, and we’re going to be heavily involved,” he told reporters.
Trump ‘watched the operation in real time’
In the phone call, Trump described monitoring the military operation from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
“I was able to watch it in real time and I watched every aspect of it and I listened to the communications between, you know, where we were in Florida and on the ground in Venezuela,” he said.
“It was amazing to see the professionalism, the quality of leadership, the professionalism.
Praise for American forces and equipment
Trump praised the US forces involved and highlighted the advanced equipment used in the night operation.
“It was amazing to see how good they were, how professional they were, how incredible the equipment we have – I mean the level of equipment and to see how perfectly it worked,” he said.
He confirmed that the operation suffered no US casualties, only minor injuries.
“To have a few injuries but no deaths on our side is really amazing,” Trump added.
Compared to the withdrawal from Afghanistan
Trump also compared the operation to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan under President Biden and portrayed it as a demonstration of renewed US military capability.
“We’re not a laughing stock anymore,” he told Fox News, reflecting on the perception of America’s military effectiveness.
Read also | Venezuelan Nicolas Maduro, wife Cilia Flores indicted in New York
