Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro arrest

Washington: President Donald Trump said the United States is “in charge” of Venezuela following the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, asserting that Washington will oversee the country’s recovery before any elections are held and warning that further US military action remains possible if authorities in Caracas do not cooperate.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump described the operation to capture Maduro as extremely dangerous, saying US helicopters came under heavy fire as American forces moved in.

“It was a very dangerous operation,” Trump said. “The helicopters were being shot at… the bullets were flying all over the place.” He said one helicopter was hit but all US personnel returned safely. “We got everything back and nobody killed,” he said.

Asked who is currently running Venezuela, Trump declined to name any individual and instead asserted US control. “Don’t ask me who’s in charge,” he said. “It means we’re in charge.”

Trump confirmed that he has not personally spoken with Venezuela’s newly sworn-in leader, Delcy Rodríguez, though others in his administration have. He said Rodríguez is cooperating but added that consequences remain possible if that changes. “If they don’t behave, we will do a second strike,” he said, adding that the US had been “ready for a second wave.”

On elections, Trump said voting would only take place after the country is stabilised. “It’s a dead country right now,” he said. “We have to bring it back.”

Trump said rebuilding Venezuela would rely on private investment, particularly from US oil companies. He described infrastructure as “rusty, rotten, most of it unusable,” with pipes “laying all over the ground.” He said major companies are eager to enter the country.

“They want to go in so badly,” Trump said, stressing that US taxpayers would not bear the cost. “We’re not going to invest anything.”

Trump said Venezuelans living in the United States who were forced to flee would be “taken very good care of.”

Later in the exchange, Senator Lindsey Graham, who was also present, strongly endorsed the operation, calling it one of the most sophisticated missions ever carried out by the US military. He compared it to the operation against Osama bin Laden and said Venezuela had become part of what he described as a “drug caliphate” in the US backyard.

Trump said maritime drug trafficking from Venezuela has already dropped sharply. “Drugs by sea are down 97 percent,” he said, adding that enforcement would now expand on land routes as well.

Summing up the operation, Trump rejected suggestions that it was driven by oil or regime change. “It’s about peace on earth,” he said. “It’s our hemisphere.”

IANS