WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - The United States attacked Venezuela and captured its long-serving President Nicolas Maduro in an overnight operation on Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump said, promising to put the country under American control for now, including by deploying U.S. forces if necessary.
“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “We can’t take a chance that someone else takes over Venezuela who doesn’t have the interests of Venezuelans in mind.”
It is unclear how Trump plans to oversee Venezuela. Despite a dramatic overnight operation that knocked out electricity in part of Caracas and captured Maduro in or near one of his safe houses, U.S. forces have no control over the country itself, and Maduro’s government appears to still be in charge.
Trump’s comments about an open-ended presence in Venezuela echoed past leadership changes in Iraq and Afghanistan, both of which ended in U.S. withdrawals after years of occupation. He said he was open to the idea of sending U.S. forces into Venezuela.
“We’re not afraid of boots on the ground,” he said.
