U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview published Thursday that Washington could oversee Venezuela and control its oil revenues for years.
During what the New York Times described as a wide-ranging, two-hour interview, the paper said Trump also appeared to lift a threat to take military action against Venezuela's neighbor, Colombia. Trump invited Colombia's leftist leader, whom he had previously called a "sick man," to visit Washington.
"Only time will tell" how long the United States will oversee Venezuela, Trump said. When asked by the newspaper if it would be three months, six months, a year, or longer, Trump said: "I would say much longer."
"We will rebuild it in a very profitable way," Trump said of Venezuela, where he sent troops to seize President Nicolas Maduro in a night raid on Jan. 3.
"We're going to be using oil, and we're going to be taking oil. We're getting oil prices down and we're going to be giving money to Venezuela, which they desperately need."
