By Ayo Kehinde
United States President, Donald Trump, has sent shockwaves across Latin America after announcing that Washington would temporarily govern Venezuela following a major U.S. military operation that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
Trump made the declaration during a news conference on Saturday, hours after U.S. forces launched airstrikes on the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, and took Maduro into custody.
According to the U.S. leader, the American government would “run” Venezuela until a political transition is safely concluded.
“We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said, adding that the United States did not want a repeat of what he described as Venezuela’s long-standing governance failures.
The intervention followed months of escalating pressure by Washington against Maduro’s administration. The campaign reportedly included the seizure of Venezuelan oil tankers off the country’s coast and deadly operations against alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean, actions that had attracted widespread international criticism.
The Trump administration has accused Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, of having links to international drug cartels. These allegations have been consistently denied by the Venezuelan government, with Maduro accusing the United States of seeking to depose him in order to gain control of the country’s vast oil resources.
During the news conference, Trump said “very large United States oil companies” would soon move into Venezuela to repair what he described as the country’s “badly broken” oil infrastructure.
“They will fix it and start making money for the country,” he said, insisting that the U.S. action would ultimately benefit Venezuelans by making them “rich, independent and safe.”
Trump also confirmed earlier claims that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken into U.S. custody and were being transferred to New York to face drug-related charges.
The dramatic developments have triggered concern and uncertainty across Latin America, with regional leaders and international observers closely monitoring the situation amid fears of heightened geopolitical tension and instability in the region.
