In the wake of a US military extraction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump said American companies will spend billions fixing Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, while the country’s oil embargo remains fully enforced.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, surrendered to US forces Saturday in Caracas and were subsequently taken to the United States to face federal drug trafficking charges, officials said. “Maduro and his wife, both indicted, gave up and were taken into custody by the Department of Justice, assisted by our incredible US military with professionalism and precision, with no loss of US life,” said General Dan Caine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The operation, described as a nighttime raid, took “months of planning and rehearsal” and involved more than 150 US aircraft. “The word integration does not explain the sheer complexity of such a mission, an extraction so precise,” Caine said.
Trump emphasized that the US is “not afraid of boots on the ground” in Venezuela and confirmed that the existing oil embargo will remain in full effect.
Trump brushed aside Nobel Peace Prize-winning opposition leader Maria Corina Machado as a potential interim leader of Venezuela. He revealed that Venezuela’s vice president indicated a willingness to cooperate with US authorities.
“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country,” Trump said. “She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”
The president outlined plans for American oil companies to enter Venezuela to repair its damaged energy infrastructure and tap the country’s massive crude reserves. “We’re going to have our very large United States 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,” Trump said.
The military and economic pressure campaign leading up to the raid included the seizure of at least two Venezuelan oil tankers subject to US sanctions. Trump warned other political and military figures in Venezuela, saying, “What happened to Maduro can happen to them,” and accused Caracas of using oil revenues to fund “drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping.”
Trump also targeted Colombian President Gustavo Petro, saying he should “watch his ass” over cocaine being sent into the United States. Petro called the operation “an assault on the sovereignty” of Latin America and warned it could spark a humanitarian crisis. Senator Marco Rubio added that the Cuban government should be “concerned” about the developments.
Venezuela produces roughly a million barrels of crude per day, most of which is sold on the black market at steep discounts. The country has been under US oil sanctions since 2019, making the capture of its leader and the potential entry of US companies a significant shift in the region’s geopolitical landscape.