from AntiWar
Following a military operation that
captured President Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump said the US
would run Venezuela until an acceptable government is set up.
“We are going to run [Venezuela]
until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.
We don’t want to be involved with having somebody else get in and we
have the same situation that we had,” the President said on Saturday.
“We are there now, and we are going to stay until the proper transition
takes place.”
Trump went on to say that the US is
prepared to attack Venezuela again. “We are ready to stage a second,
much larger attack if we need to do so.” He continued, “All political
and military figures in Venezuela should understand what happened to
Maduro can happen to them, and it will happen to them if they aren’t
fair.”
The President did not name a new leader of Venezuela. However, María Corina Machado said,
“Today we are prepared to enforce our mandate and take power.” Machado
is a Venezuelan opposition figure who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025.
She has endorsed US sanctions and military action against Venezuela.
Trump did say he had not spoken with Machado, adding that she doesn’t have the respect needed to lead the country.
Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said
following the attack that she had activated Maduro’s military plans.
“The first thing President Maduro told the people of Venezuela was
‘people to the streets,’ activated as militia, activating all the
Nation’s comprehensive defense plans,” the vice president said. “No one
will undermine the historic legacy of our Liberator father, Simon
Bolivar. The people of Venezuela, in perfect national unity, must
mobilize to defend their natural resources and what is most sacred:
their right to independence and to the future.”...
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