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President Donald Trump predicted that U.S. involvement with Venezuela could be a years-long venture, rather than a short-term one.
In the early hours of Saturday, U.S. forces arrested dictator Nicolás Maduro in a daring overnight operation. Trump announced the move in a Truth Social post, saying that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been “captured and flown out of the country” after the U.S. “carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela.”
Following the operation in Venezuela, Trump said the U.S. would “run” the South American nation, without going into details about what that would entail.
“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said.
WHITE HOUSE SAYS US WILL SHAPE VENEZUELA’S FUTURE AS TRUMP EMBRACES ‘AMERICAN DOMINANCE’
President Donald Trump speaks as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth look on during a press conference following a U.S. strike on Venezuela where President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured, from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., Jan. 3, 2026. (Jonathan Ernst/File Photo/Reuters)
The president told The New York Times on Wednesday that he anticipated the U.S. would be running Venezuela and extracting oil from its reserves for years following the historic operation that ended with the arrest of Maduro. The deposition of Maduro sparked conversations about control over Venezuela’s oil. Venezuela holds more than 300 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, nearly quadruple those of the U.S.
Trump announced on Tuesday that Venezuela would be turning over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of “high-quality,” sanctioned oil to the U.S. He said the oil will be sold at market price, and he will control the proceeds to ensure it is “used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!” The president also added that the oil would be transported directly to unloading docks in the U.S. via storage ships.
Protesters rally outside the White House on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a military operation. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
TRUMP ANNOUNCES VENEZUELA IS TURNING OVER MILLIONS OF BARRELS OF OIL TO U.S. GOVERNMENT ‘IMMEDIATELY’
When asked by the Times about how long the U.S. would retain political oversight of Venezuela, Trump said it would be “much longer” than six months or even a year, though he did not give a specific timeline. Additionally, Trump told the Times that the interim Venezuelan government — which is full of Maduro loyalists — was “giving us everything that we feel is necessary.”
When speaking with the Times, the president did not explain why the U.S. recognized Maduro’s vice president Delcy Rodríguez as Venezuela’s new leader instead of backing opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado. The Times reported that Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Rodríguez speak “all the time.”
“I will tell you that we are in constant communication with her and the administration,” Trump told the Times.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro greets his supporters during a rally in Caracas on Dec. 1, 2025. (Pedro Mattey/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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Notably, Trump did not give a timeline for when Venezuela would hold elections.
The Times pointed out that from the late 1950s until Hugo Chavez took power in 1999, Venezuela had a history of democratic elections. After Chavez died in 2013, Maduro took his place and eventually won the subsequent election. He ruled Venezuela until he was deposed on Jan. 3, 2026.
