US Takes Temporary Control Of Venezuela After Capture Of President Nicolás Maduro
President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will temporarily oversee Venezuela’s affairs following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
Speaking during an NBC News special report, Trump stated, “We are going to run the country until a safe, proper, and judicious transition. We don’t want to be involved in someone else getting in with the same situation.” He stressed that U.S. involvement would only last until a legitimate transition of power is achieved.
Although no timeline was provided, Trump said the intervention is aimed at ensuring stability and an orderly transfer of authority to new Venezuelan leadership.
The announcement followed what Trump described as a major U.S. military operation in Caracas late Friday night and early Saturday, carried out under his direct authorization. “Overwhelming air, land, and sea forces were used to launch a spectacular assault,” he said in a separate White House address, adding that it was a strike unlike anything “people haven’t seen since World War II.”
According to Trump, the operation targeted a heavily fortified military stronghold in the heart of the Venezuelan capital to bring what he described as the “outlaw dictator,” Nicolás Maduro, to justice. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured during the operation.
Both are expected to be transferred to the Southern District of New York, where they will face multiple charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices.
