United States President Donald Trump issued a statement today from his Mar-a-Lago residence, where he spoke about the extensive US military operation in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
President Trump declared that the United States will take over the leadership of Venezuela after the capture of Nicolás Maduro. He emphasized that the American administration will manage the country “until such time as a safe, just and orderly transition can be ensured.”
Trump added that the US's goal is to avoid a repeat of the same situation, where another political figure would take power and the country would end up in crisis again.
"We will lead the country until we can have a safe, just and orderly transition. We don't want to get into a situation where someone else takes over and we end up back in the same situation," Trump said.
Trump described the intervention as "an attack not seen since World War II," noting that US forces struck a fortified military stronghold in the heart of Caracas to bring the "outlaw dictator" to justice.
According to him, "no nation in the world could have achieved what America achieved yesterday", underlining that all of Venezuela's military capabilities were neutralized. Trump said the operation was carried out at midnight, in darkness, after the lights of the capital had been turned off, and described it as "dark and deadly, but Maduro was captured".
Trump called the operation a historic success, saying that “no nation in the world could have achieved what America achieved yesterday.” He stressed that Venezuela’s military capabilities were completely neutralized, while US forces, in cooperation with law enforcement agencies, arrested Maduro in the middle of the night, in dark and dangerous conditions.
Trump added that US troops met resistance, but the adversaries were quickly overwhelmed and neutralized. "They knew we were coming, but they couldn't stop us," he declared.
The US president stressed that the operation was carried out without casualties on the American side and without loss of military equipment. “If you had seen what I saw last night, you would be impressed,” Trump said.
Regarding the future of Venezuela, Trump announced that the United States will take over the country until a safe and just transition is ensured. "We don't want someone else to take power and end up in the same situation," he said.
Trump added that he is ready for "a second attack" on Venezuela, but believes that such a thing is not yet necessary.