Yuri Grips / Epa
US President Donald Trump.
With many attacks on Maduro and references to American control over Venezuelan oil reserves, Trump was quite vague about how the transition of power will be carried out.
Donald Trump’s long-awaited press conference on the attack on Venezuela and the arrest of Nicolás Maduro took place this afternoon in Florida, with the US president also releasing the first photo of the Venezuelan leader.
The President of the United States began by boasting about the success of the attack, stating that it was something that had not been seen before “since World War II” and that “no nation in the world could achieve what the United States achieved yesterday.”
“We will govern the country until we can make a safe transitionappropriate and sensible”, said Trump, without giving details about how long the US plans to stay in the region or about the way in which this transition will be made and who could be chosen to take power.
“We want peace, freedom and justice for the great people of Venezuela, and that includes many Venezuelans who now live in the United States and want to return to their country, their homeland”, he states.
Regarding Venezuelan oil, Trump says that “our gigantic American oil companies, the largest in the world, will come in, spend billions of dollars, repair the oil infrastructure, which is in poor condition, and start generating profit for the country“. “They could be drilling much more than they were”, he further criticizes, accusing the “socialist regime” of having stolen oil from the USA “as if we were babies”.
The North American head of state also states that the Department of Justice has “more and more evidence of crimes” of Maduro and his wife, who will be presented in court and tried in New York. “I saw what we have, it is horrible that something like this could happen.”
Regarding the capture operation, the Maduro couple was arrested “in the middle of the night”, in Caracas “with most of the lights turned off”. “They were overwhelmed and were quickly incapacitated,” said the US President.
First photo of Maduro released by Donald Trump after his capture by American forces
No Americans “died and no piece of equipment was lost,” he further stated, threatening that the US is “ready to launch a second, much larger attack if necessary.”
Trump also left a warning to members of Maduro’s government who want to succeed him in power: “All political and military figures in Venezuela need to understand that what happened to Maduro will happen to them if they defy US wishes for leadership that serves the people of the country.”
The American leader also cited , a 200-year-old policy by President James Monroe, which declared that the Western Hemisphere would be dominated by the United States. Trump guarantees that he will revive this doctrine, which will now be recognized as the “Don-roe doctrine“.
“We have largely overcome the Monroe Doctrine, they now call it the Don-roe Doctrine. American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again. Let’s get our oil back”, he stresses
Donald Trump ended with more praise for his own decisions and a barb at his predecessors in the White House: “Let’s end cartels and defend our citizens; Other Presidents may have lacked courage, but I will never let them operate with impunity against the USA.”
María Corina Machado “does not have the support”
Asked whether US forces could have killed Maduro during the operation, Trump replied: “It could have happened. There were a lot of shots, he was trying to get to a safe place, which wasn’t safe, because we would have blown the door open. He got to the door but couldn’t close it.” The head of state also does not rule out sending troops to Venezuelan territory.
Trump adds that his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, spoke with the Venezuelan vice president, Delcy Rodriguezand that this agreed to work with the USA.
“She is, I think, the president. She had a long conversation with Marco and said she will do whatever is necessary. Had no choice“, said Trump, adding that Rodríguez has already taken office as president. Several international agencies say that the number two of the Maduro Government will be in Russia.
Asked whether he will support Maria Corina Machado to take power, Trump believes that “it would be very difficult for her“. “She doesn’t have support in Venezuela, she’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have support”, says the head of state, who at no point during the intervention spoke about new elections or about Edmundo González, who ran in last year’s elections against Maduro and was recognized by the West as the winner.
