President Donald Trump said the military operation on Saturday that led to the overthrow of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro was a “great success,” as he outlined what he described as a plan for how his administration would proceed. Speaking at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump described the action as among the “most impressive, effective and powerful” demonstrations of U.S. military capability in the nation’s history.
Trump said the operation would help Venezuela begin a period of “peace” and “justice” after decades of governments with hard-handed policies. He also suggested that his administration would “direct” Venezuela for an unspecified period until a power transition could be carried out, without detailing clear steps or timelines.
The AP reported there were no visible signs of a U.S. presence in Caracas. Trump’s remarks came as he was already juggling efforts to reach a lasting cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and to find a conclusion to Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to the AP.
In discussing costs and the role of the United States, Trump sought to reassure U.S. taxpayers. He said, “The money that comes out of the ground is very substantial,” and added that, “We will be reimbursed for everything we spend,” framing the financial burden as something that would be covered by Venezuela’s oil-related revenues.
U.S. and allied concerns have been amplified by the legal and diplomatic implications of using force to remove a sitting leader. European officials had expressed unease in the months leading up to the Saturday operation, while Trump amassed a major troop presence in the Caribbean and carried out dozens of lethal attacks against people the administration described as drug traffickers connected to Maduro’s government, the AP reported.
After Maduro’s capture, the AP reported that multiple governments criticized the operation. European Commission President António Costa said he had “great concern” about the situation in Venezuela. France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said the military operation that led to Maduro’s capture infringes the principle of non-use of force that underpins international law.
Some U.S. Democrats condemned the move as well. Sen. Ruben Gallego, of Arizona, wrote on X that the war is illegal and said it was “embarrassing” that the United States had shifted from being the “world’s police” to being the “world’s bully” within a year.
Russia and China also condemned the operation, according to the AP. Russia’s foreign ministry described it as an “act of armed aggression” in a statement posted on Telegram, saying Venezuela must have guaranteed rights to determine its own destiny without any destructive, and especially military, intervention from outside. China’s foreign ministry condemned the U.S. action in a separate statement, saying it violated international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty.
The AP said the operation followed months of pressure within the Trump administration, including involvement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other opponents of Maduro who had pushed Trump to take action against the Venezuelan leader for years. In South Florida, where a large Venezuelan diaspora opposed to Maduro has influenced political thinking, the AP reported the capture was celebrated by some supporters of the Trump approach.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a Republican from Florida, said he had spoken with Rubio and thanked Trump on X for what he called “changing the course of the history in our hemisphere.” Gimenez wrote that the U.S. and the world are more secure, and compared the extradition of Maduro to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The AP also reported Rubio used the moment to issue a warning aimed at Cuba, saying that if he lived in Havana and were in government, he would be “worried, at least a little.”
Trump also tied his plan to what he said would happen next inside Venezuela, asserting that Venezuela had “no chance” without U.S. intervention. He said, “Lo dirigiremos adecuadamente. Lo dirigiremos profesionalmente,” and he added that he expected “the best oil companies in the world” to enter, investing “billions and billions of dollars,” with the “biggest beneficiaries” being the people of Venezuela.
The AP reported that Maduro had sought a potential path to leave office while preserving appearances before the Saturday operation. It said Venezuelan government officials had proposed a plan in which Maduro would eventually step down over three years and hand power to his vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, who would then complete Maduro’s term that ends in January 2031. The proposal also described Rodríguez as not seeking re-election.
According to the AP, the White House rejected that plan, questioning the legitimacy of Maduro’s government and accusing it of overseeing a narco-terrorist state. The AP said Maduro, earlier this week, told the country Venezuela was open to negotiating an agreement with the United States to combat drug trafficking and to work with Washington to promote greater U.S. investment in the Venezuelan oil industry, and that Trump said he had been offered opportunities for Maduro to surrender that he said were rejected.
The AP reported Rubio spoke by phone on Saturday with Rodríguez. In a speech to the nation, Rodríguez demanded that the United States release Maduro while leaving open the possibility of dialogue with Trump, according to the AP.
The opposition in Venezuela, the AP reported, says the legitimate president is the exiled politician Edmundo González, an ally of opposition leader María Corina Machado. Trump said he was not ready to commit to a specific leader but said the U.S. administration should remain “very involved,” adding that the U.S. could not risk letting someone else direct Venezuela after Maduro had left it.
At a broader diplomatic level, the AP reported that the operation and Trump’s confidence about U.S. power were drawing new anxiety from capitals trying to adapt to what the AP described as a “Trump 2.0” posture. The AP said Trump’s approach had looked to push back against adversaries, while raising fresh questions about stability in a country the AP described as having endured years of hyperinflation, food and medicine shortages, and a brain drain despite its oil wealth.