President Donald Trump on Saturday declared a U.S. military operation that removed Nicolás Maduro from power in Venezuela a success and pledged that his administration would “run” the country through a transition period, according to the Associated Press. At a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump called the operation “one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history.”
The action, which included a U.S. extradition of Maduro and his wife, drew condemnation from European allies, Russia, China, and Democratic U.S. senators and raised contested legal questions under international law. It left unresolved who will govern a country battered by hyperinflation, food and medicine shortages, and mass emigration despite its substantial oil reserves.
Trump pledges to manage Venezuela’s transition
Trump said his administration would stay closely involved to prevent the country from reverting to what he characterized as prior conditions.
“If we just left, it has zero chance of ever coming back. We’ll run it properly. We’ll run it professionally,” Trump said, according to the AP. “We’ll have the greatest oil companies in the world going in, invest billions and billions of dollars. … And the biggest beneficiary are going to be the people of Venezuela.”
Trump said Venezuela’s oil revenues would cover U.S. expenses. “The money coming out of the ground is very substantial,” he said. “We’re going to get reimbursed for everything that we spend.”
Trump said he was not ready to commit to a specific future leader for Venezuela but pledged his administration would remain “very involved.” Venezuela’s opposition says the rightful president is exiled politician Edmundo González, an ally of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
International condemnation
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 the capture of Maduro infringes the principle of the non-use of force that underpins international law.”
Russia’s foreign ministry condemned what it called a U.S. “act of armed aggression” against Venezuela in a statement posted on its Telegram channel. “Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive, let alone military, outside intervention,” the statement said. Maduro had been backed by Russia, which condemned the operation as Trump simultaneously urges President Vladimir Putin to end Russia’s war on Ukraine.
China’s foreign ministry also condemned the operation, saying it violates international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty, the AP reported.
Congressional reaction divided
Among Democrats, criticism was immediate. Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona wrote on X: “This war is illegal, it’s embarrassing that we went from the world cop to the world bully in less than one year. There is no reason for us to be at war with Venezuela.”
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a Florida Republican, said he had spoken to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and thanked Trump for having “changed the course of history in our hemisphere,” comparing Maduro’s extradition to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Rubio, who the AP reported led the internal push inside the administration for action against Maduro, used the moment to warn Cuba, another U.S. adversary in the Caribbean and an ally of the Maduro government. “If I lived in Havana, and I was in the government, I’d be concerned — at least a little bit,” Rubio said.
Rejected exit plan; Venezuela’s vice president responds
The AP reported in October 2025 that Venezuelan government officials had floated a plan in which Maduro would step down in three years and hand power to his vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, who would complete Maduro’s term ending in January 2031 and would not seek reelection.
The White House rejected the proposal, questioning the legitimacy of Maduro’s rule and accusing him of overseeing what the administration called a narco-terrorist state. Trump said Maduro was recently offered chances to surrender but declined. Earlier in the week, Maduro had said Venezuela was open to negotiating an agreement with the United States on drug trafficking and oil investment, the AP reported.
In an address to the nation Saturday, Rodriguez demanded the U.S. free Maduro but left open the possibility of dialogue with Trump.
Maduro’s 2018 and 2024 elections were viewed by the international community as riddled with irregularities and illegitimate, the AP reported.
Context: prior military action and diplomatic challenges
The operation followed months of U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean and dozens of lethal strikes on suspected drug smugglers that the administration claimed were connected to the Maduro government. It marked Trump’s second use of U.S. forces against an adversary since taking office; in June 2025, Trump said he directed U.S. strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites.
The Venezuela commitment came as the Trump administration continued parallel diplomatic efforts in Gaza, where it has sought a permanent peace between Israel and Hamas, and in Ukraine, where Russia’s war has continued for nearly four years, the AP reported.