President Donald Trump declared that the U.S. would oversee Venezuela until a “wise transition” could occur, following the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces in Operation Absolute Solution.
Trump made this announcement during a press conference with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at Mar-a-Lago, which had been highly anticipated.
“We’re going to run the country until we can have a safe, proper, and wise transition of power,” Trump stated. “We’re not looking for anyone else to come in. This has been the situation for many years.”
He emphasized that the transition “has to be smart because that’s what we’re all about.”
“We want peace, freedom, and justice for the wonderful people of Venezuela, including many of Venezuelan descent living in the U.S. who wish to return to their homeland,” he remarked.
Trump noted the importance of not allowing someone like Maduro to remain in power.
“We can’t take the risk of someone else leading Venezuela who won’t prioritize the public’s interests… We won’t permit that,” he asserted.
He reiterated, “We’re there now and we’ll stay until there’s a proper transition… Basically, we’ll run it until we achieve a good transition.”
“We’re not hesitant to put our boots on the ground,” Trump added to reporters.
On Saturday morning, Trump shared on Truth Social the arrest of Maduro and his wife, Syria Flores, who officials claim leads the Sunshine Cartel, and accompanied it with a photo of Maduro in U.S. custody aboard Iwo Jima.
In a post earlier in the morning, Trump mentioned that the U.S. had “conducted a major attack against Venezuela” as part of the operation targeting President Maduro and his wife, in light of several explosions in Caracas.
The president also highlighted in his press conference that there were no U.S. military casualties or losses of equipment during the operation.
“Not a single American service member was killed, and not a piece of military equipment was lost. We had many helicopters, planes, and a lot of personnel involved in that effort,” he stated.
