The President held a press conference Saturday saying what would come next.
The United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and flew him out of the country in a stunning military operation early Saturday that plucked a sitting leader from office — the culmination of months of escalating Trump administration pressure on the oil-rich South American nation.
Maduro and his wife, taken overnight from their home on a military base, were aboard a U.S. warship on their way to New York, where they were to face criminal charges.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. planned to run Venezuela until a transition of power can take place for a “period of time.” He claimed the American presence was already in place.
Across the Venezuelan capital, there were no signs that the U.S. had taken over control of Venezuela’s government or military forces. The Miraflores Palace and military bases remained guarded by Venezuela’s armed forces.
The president brought up the 1823 Monroe Doctrine, formulated by President James Monroe, which was used to justify U.S. military interventions in Latin America.
Trump added his name to it, calling it “The Don-Roe Doctrine” and said, “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again.”
The president said the operation carried out by U.S. forces was an “assault like people have not seen since World War II” and that no other nation “could achieve what America achieved yesterday.”
“This was one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history,” Trump said.
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Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
