“We want peace, justice, and freedom for the wonderful people of Venezuela. We cannot allow someone to come to power who does not have the good of the Venezuelan people at heart. We will not allow that. We will remain for as long as it takes to carry out a transition of power,” U.S. President Donald Trump said at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
Following a successful operation in which Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured by the U.S. military, President Donald Trump addressed a press conference.
“Last night, the United States carried out a magnificent military operation in the capital of Venezuela. The immense power of the American military was used at sea and on land to execute a spectacular assault. Such an assault has not been seen since World War II. A heavily armed military fortress in the heart of Caracas was stormed. We did this to bring the dictator Nicolás Maduro to justice. It was one of the most effective demonstrations of American military power in the history of our country,” Trump said.
He emphasized that “no country would have been able to accomplish what the United States did last night.”
“The capabilities of the Venezuelan military were neutralized. Maduro was captured during the night. Much of Caracas was plunged into darkness due to power outages. He was captured together with his wife. Both are now facing the American justice system,” he reported.
“I thank our soldiers, who achieved something truly extraordinary. They acted quickly, powerfully, and competently,” he added.
“If you had seen what I witnessed last night, you would have been deeply impressed. Not a single American was killed. Not a single piece of American equipment was lost,” Trump stressed.
“We Will Stay Until the Change of Power”
He announced that from now on the United States will “administer this country until a safe transition takes place.”
“We do not want to create a situation in which someone similar to Maduro takes his place. We will administer that country until we are able to carry out a proper, secure change of power. It must be done in accordance with the law. That is our goal.
We want peace, justice, and freedom for the wonderful people of Venezuela. We cannot allow someone to come to power who does not have the good of the Venezuelan people at heart. We will not allow that,” the U.S. president stated.
“We will remain for as long as it takes to complete the transition of power. We will govern the country properly,” he repeated.
“We Built Venezuela and the Regime Stole It From Us”
President Trump expressed his belief that “the Maduro regime opened its prisons and sent the worst monsters to the United States to take the lives of American citizens.” “Now we have a border that no one crosses,” he added.
“Venezuela was unilaterally stealing American oil and American platforms, costing us billions of dollars. It was our property—we built it—but we did not have a president who did anything about it. We built Venezuela, we built the oil industry, but the socialist regime stole it from us during previous administrations. It was one of the greatest thefts of American property—massive infrastructure—and we did nothing about it. Venezuela hosted hostile regimes and bought weapons that were used last night,” Donald Trump said.
The U.S. president emphasized that “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never again be challenged.”
“This operation is a message to those who would seek to threaten Americans. The American military remains in position. All of Venezuela should understand what has happened. The dictator and terrorist Maduro is finally out of Venezuela, the people are finally free, America is safer, and the Western Hemisphere is safer,” he concluded.