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President Donald Trump stated the U.S. is now accountable for Venezuela following the arrest of longtime chief Nicolás Maduro, outlining a plan to run the nation, rebuild its economic system and delay elections till what he described as a restoration is underway.
Trump made the remarks throughout a gaggle with reporters as questions mounted about who’s governing Venezuela after a U.S. navy operation led to Maduro’s arrest early Saturday.
“Don’t ask me who’s in cost as a result of I’ll offer you a solution, and it’ll be very controversial,” Trump informed a reporter.
He was then requested to make clear, to which Trump replied, “It means we’re in cost.”
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Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez addresses the media in Caracas, Venezuela, on March 10, 2025. (Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters)
Trump was additionally requested whether or not he had spoken instantly with Venezuela’s newly sworn-in Vice President Delcy Rodríguez amid uncertainty about how the brand new authorities is functioning and what position the U.S. is taking part in.
Whereas Trump stated he has not personally spoken with Rodríguez, he recommended coordination is already underway between U.S. officers and the brand new management.
Throughout the gaggle, Trump repeatedly portrayed Venezuela as a failed state that can’t instantly transition to democratic rule, arguing the nation’s infrastructure and economic system had been devastated by years of mismanagement.
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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro greets his supporters throughout a rally in Caracas on Dec. 1, 2025. (Pedro Mattey/Anadolu through Getty Photos)
He in contrast Venezuela’s collapse to what he claimed would have occurred to the U.S. had he misplaced the election, utilizing the comparability to underscore his argument for intervention.
“We now have to do one factor in Venezuela. Convey it again. It’s a lifeless nation proper now,” Trump stated. “It’s a rustic that, frankly, we might have been if I had misplaced the election. We might have been Venezuela on steroids.”
Trump stated rebuilding Venezuela will middle on restoring its oil business, which he stated had been stripped from the U.S. below earlier governments, leaving infrastructure decayed and manufacturing crippled.
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A coast guard boat of the Venezuelan Navy operates off the Caribbean coast on Sept. 11, 2025. (Juan Carlos Hernandez/Reuters)
He burdened that American oil corporations – not U.S. taxpayers – will finance the reconstruction, whereas the U.S. oversees the broader restoration.
“The oil corporations are going to go in and rebuild this method. They’re going to spend billions of {dollars}, they usually’re going to take the oil out of the bottom, and we’re taking again what they promote,” Trump stated. “Keep in mind, they stole our property. It was the best theft within the historical past of America. No person has ever stolen our property like they’ve. They took our oil away from us. They took the infrastructure away. And all that infrastructure is rotted and decayed.”
Trump stated elections won’t happen till the nation is stabilized, arguing that speeding a vote in a collapsed state would repeat previous failures.
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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Pressure One whereas touring from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Tokyo, Japan, Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)
He stated the U.S. will handle Venezuela’s restoration course of, together with addressing inflation, income loss and infrastructure collapse.
“We’re going to run every little thing,” Trump stated. “We’re going to run it, repair it. We’ll have elections on the proper time.”
When requested whether or not the operation in Venezuela was motivated by oil pursuits or amounted to regime change, Trump rejected each characterizations and as a substitute solid the hassle as a part of a broader safety doctrine.
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President Donald Trump shared a photograph of captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro aboard the united statesIwo Jima after strikes on Venezuela, on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Donald Trump through Fact Social)
He tied the intervention to long-standing U.S. coverage within the Western Hemisphere, invoking historic precedent.
“It’s about peace on Earth,” Trump stated. “You gotta have peace, it’s our hemisphere. The Monroe Doctrine was crucial when it was accomplished.”
Trump went on to criticize previous presidents for failing to implement that doctrine, arguing his administration has restored it as a tenet.
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“And different presidents, a number of them, they overpassed it,” Trump added. “I didn’t. I didn’t lose sight. But it surely actually is. It’s peace on Earth.”
Brokers with the Drug Enforcement Administration arrived on the West thirtieth Road Heliport for the arrival of captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in New York. (Stefan Jeremiah/AP Picture)
Trump stated the U.S. position in Venezuela will in the end concentrate on rebuilding the nation whereas caring for Venezuelans displaced by years of financial collapse.
He stated that features Venezuelans at present dwelling within the U.S., lots of whom he stated have been pressured to flee.
“We’re gonna cherish a rustic,” Trump stated. “We’re going to care for, extra importantly, of the individuals, together with Venezuelans which are dwelling in our nation that have been pressured to depart their nation, they usually’re going to be taken excellent care of.”
Trump made clear the feedback on Venezuela have been a part of a broader overseas coverage outlook, utilizing the gaggle to concern warnings about instability elsewhere within the Western Hemisphere and abroad. He recommended the U.S. is ready to reply forcefully to threats he stated may endanger American safety pursuits.
Trump singled out Colombia, describing the nation as a rising safety concern and accusing its management of enabling large-scale drug trafficking into the U.S.
“Colombia’s very sick too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and promoting it to the USA, and he’s not going to be doing it very lengthy,” Trump stated.
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When requested whether or not that meant U.S. motion, Trump replied, “It sounds good to me.”
Trump additionally addressed ongoing protests in Iran, warning that the U.S. is intently monitoring the state of affairs and would reply if the Iranian authorities makes use of violence towards demonstrators.
“We’re watching it very intently,” he stated. “If they begin killing individuals like they’ve prior to now, I believe they’re going to get hit very arduous by the USA.”
