Trump: We Will Run Venezuela Until We Can Do Safe, Proper, Judicious Transition

*Says US oil firms heading to Venezuela

*UN, Russia, China, Brazil, Iran, Colombia, Cuba express outrage

*After Maduro’s capture, Vice President Rodríguez sworn in as president

Ejiofor Alike with agency report

Following the capture of Venezuelan President, Mr. Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Mrs. Cilia Flores, by United States forces after a large-scale overnight operation, President Donald Trump yesterday announced that the U.S. would assume temporary administrative control of the South American country.
Trump, who said he would allow American oil companies to enter the country to tap its massive crude reserves, added that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as president.

He added that Rodríguez had been in contact with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” Trump said.
President Maduro and his wife, Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York on drug-trafficking charges.
After a barrage of missile strikes, the US military in the early morning hours of yesterday captured the couple.

While the United Nations, Russia, China, Brazil, Iran, Cuba, and Colombia have expressed outrage at the US invasion of Venezuela, Germany and Italy said they were monitoring the situation.
Spain, however, has offered to mediate in the crisis.
Announcing the capture of Maduro in his Truth Social post, Trump said: “The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country.

“This operation was done in conjunction with US Law Enforcement—details to follow. There will be a News Conference today at 11 A.M. at Mar-a-Lago. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The US military operation led to explosions rocking Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, in the early hours of yesterday.

Speaking later at a press conference held yesterday evening at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said the US would run Venezuela until it can “do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”
He also said the US would be running the country “with a group” and “designating various people,” without providing details.
 “We are going to run the country until we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition,” he said.

According to him, the Venezuela operation “was one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of the American military.”
“Not a single American service member was killed, and not a single piece of American equipment was lost, many helicopters, many planes, many people involved in that fight,” Trump also said.

The US president said he would allow American oil companies to head into Venezuela to tap its massive crude reserves.
“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,” Trump told the press conference.

Trump also said, “The embargo on all Venezuelan oil remains in full effect.”
Trump also warned other political and military figures in Venezuela, saying that “what happened to Maduro can happen to them.”
Venezuela has been under US oil sanctions since 2019.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, said the military mission involved “more than 150 aircraft launching across the western hemisphere in political coordination, all coming together in time and place to layer effects for a single purpose, to get an interdiction force into downtown Caracas, while maintaining the element of tactical surprise.”
Trump had repeatedly warned that the US was preparing to take fresh action against alleged drug trafficking networks in Venezuela, saying strikes on land would begin soon.

In October 2025, Trump said he had authorised the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to operate inside Venezuela to curb the illegal flow of migrants and drugs from the South American country.
Last December, he said: “It would be smart for (Maduro)” to step down, and he has also said that the Venezuelan leader’s “days are numbered.”
The US recently seized two oil tankers off the Venezuelan coast, launching strikes on more than 30 boats the Trump administration alleged were ferrying drugs.

It had pointedly accused Maduro of drug trafficking and working with gangs designated as terrorist organisations.
However, Maduro has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Maduro had attempted to engage with Trump, offering cooperation on fighting drug trafficking and illegal migration.
On Christmas Eve, Trump warned that if he “plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’ll ever be able to play tough”.
After the capture, the Trump administration said Maduro and his wife would face “the full wrath of American justice” under drug and terrorism charges.

US Attorney General Pamela Bondi posted on X that Maduro and his wife “will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”
Bondi said the Maduros would face charges in New York Federal Court on existing “Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy” charges.

Venezuela Deploying all Missile Capabilities for Comprehensive Defence, Says Defence Minister, Lopez

Meanwhile, Venezuela has stated that it would launch a “massive deployment of all land, air, naval, riverine and missile capabilities… for comprehensive defence.”
It accused the US of hitting residential areas in a wave of strikes.
The “invading” US forces have desecrated our soil, going so far as to strike, using missiles and rockets fired from their combat helicopters, in residential areas populated by civilians,” Venezuela’s Defence Minister, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, said in a video statement shared on social media.

He said authorities were gathering “information on the injured and dead” in Washington’s “vile and cowardly attack”.
According to Lopez, residential areas were hit in the area of Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, situated in the south of Caracas, as well as in the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira around the capital.

UN, Russia, China, Iran, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba Express Outrage

In his reaction, the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said he was “deeply alarmed” after Washington’s strikes on Venezuela.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement that Guterres was “deeply alarmed” after Washington’s strikes on Venezuela, saying it could “constitute a dangerous precedent.”
The UN chief is “deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected,” Dujarric said, adding that Guterres “calls on all actors in Venezuela to engage in inclusive dialogue, in full respect of human rights and the rule of law.”
China has also condemned the US military operation against Venezuela, describing the action as a grave violation of international law.
In an official statement issued yesterday, the Chinese government said: “Such hegemonic acts of the United States seriously violate international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region. China firmly opposes it,” the statement said.

Russia has also condemned the US military action as “an act of armed aggression against Venezuela.”
“The pretexts used to justify such actions are untenable. Ideological hostility has triumphed over businesslike pragmatism,” it added.
Brazil’s President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, equally condemned the US action, saying it crossed “an unacceptable line.”
Lula also called for a “vigorous” response from the United Nations, adding that Brazil remains open to promoting dialogue and cooperation.

Iran, which has close links with oil-rich Venezuela, said it “strongly condemns the US military attack on Venezuela and a flagrant violation of the country’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro called it an “assault on the sovereignty” of Latin America, which would lead to a humanitarian crisis.

Cuba, a traditional regional ally, denounced what it called “state terrorism against the brave Venezuelan people,” according to a statement by President Miguel Diaz-Canel.
However, Spain has offered to mediate in the crisis to broker a negotiated, peaceful solution.
“Spain calls for de-escalation and restraint,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding it was “ready to help in the search for a democratic, negotiated, and peaceful solution for the country.”

Germany’s Foreign Ministry told AFP that “we are monitoring the situation in Venezuela very closely and following the latest reports with great concern. The foreign ministry is in close contact with the embassy in Caracas.”
The office of Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, said she was “closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela, remaining in constant contact with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, also to gather information about our fellow citizens.”