US president Donald Trump. (Photo from Biography)
By Tracy Cabrera
CAPITOL HILL, Washington D.C. — With captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro now taken into custody by American authorities in a New York City jail with his wife, United States president Donald Trump announced that Venezuela has now been placed under effective US control.
Trump’s announcement followed a lightning pre-dawn attack in which commandos grabbed Maduro and his wife while air strikes pounded sites in and around Caracas.
A US government plane carrying Maduro landed at a military base shortly after nightfall and he was transported by helicopter to New York City, where the couple were to be arraigned on drug trafficking and weapons charges.
The White House posted video on X of Maduro, handcuffed and in sandals, escorted by federal agents through a US Drug Enforcement Administration facility in New York.
“Good night, happy new year,” the 63-year-old leftist leader was heard saying in English.
Despite the success of the risky raid, what happens next is highly uncertain but Trump disclosed that he has already ‘chosen’ people from his Cabinet to be in charge in Venezuela while withholding further details. He added that US troops would possibly be deployed.
“(We’re) not afraid of boots on the ground. There is little possibility of the country’s opposition (of us) taking power (but) we can work instead with Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez,” Trump noted even as observers noted that one aspect which was apparent was the US president’s interest in Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies . . . go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure. We’ll be selling large amounts of oil,” he cited.
US-backed opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who won last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, posted on social media that “the hour of freedom has arrived.” She called for the opposition’s 2024 election candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, to “immediately” assume the presidency.
Trump, however, was surprisingly cold about expectations that Machado could take over as Venezuela’s new leader, asserting she doesn’t have “support or respect” there. Instead, he touted Rodriguez, saying “she’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.”
But Rodriguez poured cold water on that, demanding Maduro’s release and vowing to “defend” his country.
Late Saturday, Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered Rodriguez to assume presidential powers “in an acting capacity.” Reflecting the confusion, Trump indicated US involvement is likely for the long haul.
“We’re going to stay until such time as the proper transition can take place,” the US president concluded.
