In a dramatic escalation of tensions, United States President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the US would assume direct administrative control of Venezuela to oversee a “safe transition” of power. This declaration came hours after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and extracted from the country during a pre-dawn military operation involving missile strikes on multiple military installations in and around the capital.
Addressing a press conference, President Trump stated that the United States would be “very strongly involved” in Venezuela’s crucial oil industry, signaling a significant shift in the nation’s economic control. “We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump asserted, adding that the intervention aimed to prevent a recurrence of the political instability that has plagued Venezuela for years.
The Maduros are reportedly being transported to New York where they will face indictment on unspecified charges. This development follows months of heightened tensions between the two nations, during which the US accused Maduro of involvement in drug trafficking and conducted more than twenty airstrikes in maritime areas near Venezuela since September—accusations that Maduro has consistently denied.
In response to the intervention, Venezuela’s Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez declared that the country “will prevail … not negotiate … not give up.” The Venezuelan government has condemned the operation as an act of “military aggression” by Washington, claiming that both civilian and military installations across multiple states were targeted.
The capture occurred despite Maduro’s indication just two days earlier that he was open to negotiating a deal with the US to combat drug trafficking, suggesting a rapid breakdown in diplomatic communications between the two nations.