President Trump says the US is “in charge” in Venezuela following the military operation that captured Nicolas Maduro, as new leadership emerges
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump insisted the United States is “in charge” of Venezuela following the military operation that captured Nicolas Maduro.
Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodriguez said she was ready to work with the Trump administration, asking for a balanced and respectful relationship.
Trump faced questions over his assertion that Washington is now running Venezuela after US forces spirited away Maduro before dawn on Saturday.
“We’re dealing with the people who just got sworn in,” Trump told reporters when asked if he had spoken to Rodriguez.
Pressed on what he meant, Trump said, “It means we’re in charge.”
The administration says it will work with the remainder of Maduro’s government if Washington’s goals, including access to Venezuela’s oil reserves, are met.
Asked if the operation was about oil or regime change, Trump replied, “It’s about peace on earth.”
The US president said elections in Venezuela would have to wait.
“We’re going to run it, fix it, we’ll have elections at the right time, but the main thing you have to fix is it’s a broken country,” he said.
Trump also had harsh words for other US adversaries, including Colombia, Cuba, and Iran.
He had earlier threatened that Rodriguez would pay a “big price” if she does not cooperate with the United States.
Venezuelan opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia said Maduro’s capture was “an important step, but not enough” to return the nation to normal.
Gonzalez Urrutia called for the 2024 election results to be upheld and for all political prisoners to be freed.
Residents queued for food in Caracas, with the heavy police presence from the previous day gone.
Some 2,000 Maduro supporters rallied in Caracas, waving Venezuelan flags.
The Venezuelan military announced it recognised Rodriguez as acting president and urged calm.
A doctors’ group told AFP around 70 people were killed and 90 injured in the attacks.
A military source put the death toll at at least 15.
Havana said 32 Cubans died in the US raid, which Trump confirmed involved the death of “a lot” of Maduro’s Cuban security detail.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed Washington is not seeking complete regime change or elections.
The United States is fighting drug traffickers, “not a war against Venezuela,” Rubio told NBC.
He said a large US naval presence would remain to enforce a blockade of Venezuelan oil exports.
An administration official said Rubio will discuss Venezuela in meetings with lawmakers on Monday.
Maduro led Venezuela for more than a decade through elections widely considered rigged.
Exiled Venezuelans celebrated the news of his capture in plazas from Madrid to Santiago.
About eight million Venezuelans have fled the poverty and political suppression of their homeland.
