‘No Nation Could Do This’: Trump Hails Capture of Maduro

Summary of the US strike on Venezuela, the capture of Nicolas Maduro, subsequent legal actions, and proposed US involvement in the country’s transition and oil sector, with international responses and opposition dynamics.

International

-Gaurav Sharma

The
United
States
strike
on
Venezuela
and
capture
of
Nicolás
Maduro
has
triggered
a
political
and
legal
storm,
as
Donald
Trump
declares
that
Washington
will
run
the
country
during
a
transition,
while
critics
worldwide
question
the
operation’s
legality
and
Venezuelan
opposition
figures
push
to
assert
what
they
call
an
electoral
mandate.

Speaking
at
Mar-a-Lago
in
Florida
after
the
overnight
attack,
Trump
praised
the
mission,
confirmed
that
Maduro
would
face
charges
in
New
York,
and
outlined
plans
for
US
involvement
in
Venezuela’s
oil
sector,
even
as
many
governments
demanded
clarity
over
the
scale
of
the
intervention
and
its
legal
basis.

Venezuela
crisis
and
Nicolás
Maduro
capture

Trump
opened
the
press
conference
by
celebrating
the
military
action,
saying:
“This
was
one
of
the
most
stunning
attacks
and
effective
and
powerful
displays
of
American
military
might
and
competence
in
American
history.” Trump
said
“All
Venezuelan
military
capacities
were
rendered
powerless
as
the
men
and
women
of
our
military,
working
with
US
law
enforcement,
successfully
captured
Maduro
in
the
dead
of
night.”

Trump
stated
that
Maduro
had
been
seized
during
the
strike
and
flown
out
of
Venezuela,
and
later
posted
a
photograph
on
Truth
Social
which
Trump
described
as
“Nicolas
Maduro
on
board
the
USS
Iwo
Jima”,
apparently
showing
the
Venezuelan
president
in
handcuffs,
wearing
wrap‑around
goggles
and
headphones,
with
a
grey
sweatshirt
and
sweat
pants
and
holding
a
plastic
water
bottle.

Venezuela
power
vacuum
and
US
plans
for
control

During
the
briefing,
Trump
declared
that
Washington
would
take
charge
of
the
country
during
an
undefined
handover
period.
“We’re
going
to
run
the
country
until
such
time
as
we
can
do
a
safe,
proper
and
judicious
transition,” Trump
said,
adding
that
Maduro
was
a
dictator
and
drug
kingpin,
but
giving
no
detail
on
the
legal
basis
or
structure
of
such
direct
control.

Trump
expanded
on
this
involvement
by
criticising
Maduro’s
rule,
describing
Maduro’s
leadership
as
“both
horrible
and
breathtaking”.
Trump
said:
“We
want
peace,
liberty
and
justice
for
the
great
people
of
Venezuela,
and
that
includes
many
from
Venezuela
that
are
now
living
in
the
United
States
and
want
to
go
back
to
their
country,
it’s
their
homeland,” stressing
that
Washington
did
not
want
another
hostile
leader
installed
in
Caracas.

Trump
then
said:
“We
can’t
take
a
chance
that
somebody
else
takes
over
Venezuela
that
doesn’t
have
the
good
of
the
Venezuelan
people
in
mind
[after]
decades
of
that.
We’re
not
going
to
let
that
happen.”
Trump
added:
“We’re
there
now
…
We’re
going
to
stay
until
such
time
as
a
proper
transition
can
take
place.”
Exact
mechanisms
for
US
control
remained
unclear
at
the
time
of
the
statement.

Venezuela
oil,
US
companies
and
military
options

Trump
placed
Venezuela’s
oil
reserves
at
the
centre
of
the
post‑strike
strategy
and
said:
“We’re
going
to
have
our
very
large
US
oil
companies,
the
biggest
anywhere
in
the
world,
go
in,
spend
billions
of
dollars,
fix
the
badly
broken
infrastructure,
the
oil
infrastructure,
and
start
making
money
for
the
country
and
we
are
ready
to
stage
a
second
and
much
larger
attack
if
we
need
to
do
so.
So
we
were
prepared
to
do
a
second
wave.”

According
to
Trump,
the
US
military
had
prepared
a
“second
wave” of
attacks
during
the
overnight
operation
into
Saturday
but
did
not
need
to
launch
it.
Trump
also
told
reporters
earlier
that
the
United
States
would
be
“very
strongly
involved”
in
Venezuela’s
oil
industry
going
forward,
though
no
contracts,
agreements
or
timelines
were
announced.

Venezuela
indictment
of
Nicolás
Maduro
and
family

Alongside
the
military
strike,
the
US
Department
of
Justice
issued
a
new
indictment
in
New
York
against
Maduro,
his
wife
Cilia
Flores,
Maduro’s
son
and
others.
The
document
said:
“For
over
25
years,
leaders
of
Venezuela
have
abused
their
positions
of
public
trust
and
corrupted
once-legitimate
institutions
to
import
tons
of
cocaine
into
the
United
States.
NICOLAS
MADURO
MOROS,
the
defendant,
is
at
the
forefront
of
that
corruption
and
has
partnered
with
his
co-conspirators
to
use
his
illegally
obtained
authority
and
the
institutions
he
corroded
to
transport
thousands
of
tons
of
cocaine
to
the
United
States.”

The
indictment
continued:
”
…
the
defendant,
now
sits
atop
a
corrupt,
illegitimate
government
that,
for
decades,
has
leveraged
government
power
to
protect
and
promote
illegal
activity,
including
drug
trafficking.”
Among
the
defendants,
prosecutors
named
Maduro’s
son
as
Nicolas
Ernesto
Maduro
Guerra,
“aka
Nicolasito,
aka
The
Prince”.
The
US
attorney
general
earlier
confirmed
that
Maduro
would
face
criminal
charges
following
the
New
York
filing.

Venezuela
strike
timeline
and
global
reactions

The
operation
and
its
aftermath
unfolded
over
several
hours,
with
political
responses
arriving
from
across
the
world.
Below
is
a
simplified
timeline
of
major
developments
related
to
Venezuela
and
Maduro
as
reported.

Venezuela
opposition,
María
Corina
Machado
and
Edmundo
González

From
exile,
Venezuela’s
main
opposition
figure
María
Corina
Machado
welcomed
the
US
seizure
of
Maduro
and
urged
allies
to
prepare
for
what
Machado
described
as
a
democratic
transition.
Machado,
who
has
long
supported
US
efforts
to
remove
Maduro,
posted
from
an
undisclosed
location
that
“the
time
for
freedom
has
arrived”
and
said
the
opposition
was
“ready
to
assert
our
mandate
and
take
power”.

Machado
outlined
a
central
role
for
the
opposition’s
2024
presidential
candidate,
the
retired
diplomat
Edmundo
González
Urrutia,
who
is
currently
in
Spain.
According
to
her
statement,
González
Urrutia
“must
immediately
assume
his
constitutional
mandate
and
be
recognised
as
commander-in-chief
of
the
national
armed
forces
by
all
its
officers
and
soldiers”.
She
urged
Venezuelans
to
stay
organised
while
waiting
for
further
instructions
through
official
channels.

Machado
continued:
“Today
we
are
ready
to
assert
our
mandate
and
take
power.
Let
us
remain
vigilant,
active
and
organised
until
the
democratic
transition
is
achieved
–
a
transition
that
needs
all
of
us,”
and
addressed
supporters
inside
the
country
with
the
message:
“To
Venezuelans
inside
our
country:
be
ready
to
carry
out
what
we
will
soon
communicate
through
our
official
channels.”
Machado
ended
by
declaring:
“Venezuela
will
be
free.
We
walk
hand
in
hand
with
God,
until
the
end,”
reflecting
frequent
religious
references
in
Machado’s
speeches.

Venezuela
elections,
exile
journey
and
opposition
claims

In
her
longer
written
statement,
Machado
said:
“From
today,
Nicolás
Maduro
faces
international
justice
for
the
atrocious
crimes
committed
against
Venezuelans
and
against
citizens
of
many
other
nations.
Faced
with
his
refusal
to
accept
a
negotiated
exit,
the
United
States
government
has
fulfilled
its
promise
to
enforce
the
law,”
underlining
Machado’s
backing
for
foreign
action
after
years
of
stalemate
in
Caracas.

Machado
added:
“We
are
going
to
restore
order,
free
political
prisoners,
build
an
exceptional
country
and
bring
our
children
back
home.
We
have
fought
for
years,
we
have
given
everything,
and
it
has
been
worth
it.
What
had
to
happen
is
happening,”
referring
to
the
opposition’s
claim
that
González
Urrutia
won
the
2024
election
before
Maduro
allegedly
refused
to
concede
and
stayed
in
power,
while
Machado
was
banned
from
running.

Machado
has
been
outside
Venezuela
since
a
secret
5,500‑mile
escape
involving
several
land
borders,
12
hours
in
rough
Caribbean
waters
on
a
fragile
boat
before
a
rescue
by
a
team
led
by
a
former
US
special
forces
soldier,
and
then
a
private
jet
flight
to
Oslo,
Norway,
where
Machado
received
the
Nobel
peace
prize
amid
international
support
for
Venezuela’s
opposition.

Celebrations
broke
out
among
Venezuelan
communities
abroad
after
news
of
Maduro’s
capture,
including
in
Doral,
Florida,
where
Venezuelans
such
as
David
Nuñez,
Lisbeth
Garcia
and
Victor
Gimenez
gathered
outside
El
Arepazo
restaurant
with
a
banner
of
Machado,
now
a
Nobel
peace
prize
winner,
as
they
followed
developments
in
Venezuela
and
awaited
clarity
on
the
next
steps
for
González
Urrutia
and
any
interim
authority.

With
Maduro
in
US
custody,
a
new
indictment
filed,
and
Trump
claiming
the
United
States
will
manage
Venezuela
through
a
“safe,
proper
and
judicious
transition”,
the
country
faces
a
period
of
deep
uncertainty,
with
opposition
leaders
seeking
to
assert
electoral
claims,
foreign
governments
arguing
over
international
law,
and
Venezuelans
at
home
and
abroad
waiting
to
see
who
will
actually
govern.