'We Are Going to Run' Venezuela, Trump Says

Speaking hours after the military struck Caracas and seized President Nicolás Maduro, President Trump announced the US will take control of Venezuela. "We are going to run the country. But till such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump said Saturday at his home in Florida, flanked by Cabinet members and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are headed to New York on the USS Iwo Jima, Trump said, to be tried on drug and weapons charges, the Washington Post reports. Trump did not specify whether American troops would be deployed as an occupying force but said, "We're not afraid of boots on the ground."

Trump provided few details about how the US would manage the country. He said "a group" that includes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be in charge, per the New York Times. He did not endorse the idea of Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado taking over. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has been sworn in as president, he said; she's already denounced the US attack and seizure of Maduro, though Trump said she expressed support in a call with Rubio. The US recognizes the opposition as Venezuela's legitimate rulers.

Repeatedly during his remarks in Florida, Trump brought up Venezuela's oil. His explanations for the US military buildup in the region and threats to Maduro's government have shifted, ABC News points out, but oil often has been included. On Saturday, Trump talked about having US oil companies make Venezuela's energy infrastructure, per the Times. "We'll have the greatest oil companies in the world go in and invest billions," he said. At one point, he said the US would have a "presence in Venezuela as it pertains to oil," per the Times. Asked whether running another country is in line with his "America First" agenda, Trump said, "I think it is" and talked about the need for oil and other energy. Venezuela has about 17% of the globe's oil reserves. The US will sell "large amounts" of those reserves to other countries, he said, per the AP.