Trump Says US Will Run Venezuela After Maduro Captured in Overnight Operation

US President Donald Trump has confirmed that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured during a US military operation and flown out of the country, declaring that Washington now plans to administer Venezuela indefinitely.

Speaking on Saturday, Trump said the operation neutralised Venezuela’s military capabilities and led to Maduro’s arrest “in the dead of night.” He added that no American service members were killed and no US equipment was lost during the mission.

Addressing reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club, Trump said:
“We are going to run the country 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 for the last long period of years.

“So, we are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition, and it has to be judicious. We want peace, liberty and justice for the great people of Venezuela.”

CNN reported that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the operation, confirming that Maduro and Flores were aboard the USS Iwo Jima en route to New York to face trial.

‘Trigger-based mission’

According to CNN, Rubio said the operation could not be disclosed in advance because of its sensitive nature.
“It was not the kind of mission that you can do congressional notification on,” Rubio said.
“It was a trigger-based mission in which conditions had to be met night after night. We watched and monitored that for a number of days.

“So it’s just simply not the kind of mission you can call people and say, ‘Hey, we may do this at some point in the next 15 days.’ It’s just not the kind of mission that you can pre-notify because it endangers the mission. It was largely a law enforcement function.”

Aircraft hit during operation

Also quoted by CNN, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine disclosed that one US aircraft was struck during the operation but remained operational throughout.

“One of our aircraft was hit, but remained flyable, and as the president said earlier today, all of our aircraft came home, and that aircraft remained flyable during the rest of the mission, as the operation unfolded at the compound,” Caine said.

He added that intelligence teams played a crucial role by providing real-time updates to forces on the ground, enabling them to navigate what he described as a “complex environment” safely.

Caine further revealed that US forces encountered resistance while withdrawing from Venezuela and would remain in the region following the strike and Maduro’s capture.

“There were multiple self-defense engagements as the force began to withdraw out of Venezuela,” he said.

Describing the operation as a success, Caine called it “a testament to the dedication and unwavering commitment to justice and our resolve to hold accountable those who threaten peace and stability,” while commending personnel involved in the mission.

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