Trump says ‘we’re going to run’ Venezuela and is not afraid to send U.S. troops after Maduro ouster

In statements to reporters on Saturday, Trump said that American officials would be responsible and were not ashamed to deploy troops in the country.

“We will run the country until such time as we can have a safe, sound and wise transition,” he said.

Trump also suggested that the United States use Venezuela’s oil wealth to pay for the mission and compensate American companies that previously worked there but whose assets were nationalized by the socialist regime.

In addition, he expects US energy companies to spend billions of dollars to rebuild the country’s oil infrastructure and boost extraction operations. Meanwhile, Trump added that the US oil embargo on Venezuela will remain in effect.

He indicated that the US State Department and the Pentagon would control Venezuela in cooperation with officials in the Maduro government.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in contact with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who said “we will do whatever you need,” according to Trump.

He added: “I think she was very generous, but she had no other choice.” “We’re going to do this right. We’re not going to do this to Maduro and then leave like everyone else — leave and say, you know, let it go to hell. If we just leave, there’ll be no chance of ever coming back. We’re going to manage it right. We’re going to manage it professionally.”

Trump dismissed opposition figure Maria Corina Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, as a potential new leader, saying she lacked sufficient support at home. For her part, Machado said on social media that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who the opposition says won last year’s elections, “should immediately assume his constitutional mandate” as president.

When asked about the potential role of the US military in the future and whether there would be boots on the ground, Trump left it open as a possibility.

“We are not afraid of having boots on the ground,” he said. “We are not afraid of that. We do not mind saying that, and we will make sure that this country is run properly. We are not doing this in vain.”

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Kean told reporters that US forces remain in the region in a high state of readiness.

Trump said the military was prepared to launch another, much larger attack if necessary, but said that seemed unlikely given the success of the initial strike. At the same time, he said that the American fleet assembled in the region will remain in position until American demands are met and “fully responded to.”

For now, US involvement appears to be focused on the energy sector, according to his statements. Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, but production has dwindled and the economy has collapsed amid US sanctions and Maduro’s mismanagement.

“We will have a presence in Venezuela regarding oil,” Trump said. “We’re sending our expertise, so you might need something, not much. But now we’re going to extract a huge amount of wealth from the ground, and that wealth will go to the people of Venezuela and people from outside Venezuela who were in Venezuela. It also goes to the United States of America in the form of compensation for the damage that country has caused us.”