The US president said he needs “law and order” to take advantage of the Latin American country’s resources
President Donald Trump has outlined his vision for Venezuela following the US military intervention, stating the country must first be restored to “law and order” and economic discipline before any future elections can be considered.
In an interview with the New York Post on Sunday, Trump brushed aside concerns that the unprecedented military operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro could draw Washington into a protracted quagmire akin to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Trump framed the intervention as an attempt to save “literally a third world country ready to fail” after decades of socialist rule.
“We should run the country properly,” Trump stated. “We should run the country with law and order. We should run the country where we can take advantage of the economics of what they have – which is valuable oil and valuable other things.”
Venezuela’s Supreme Court formally ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez on Sunday to assume the presidency to guarantee the “continuity of the State” and “defense of sovereignty.”
Rodriguez confirmed having spoken with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio but framed it as a defense of national dignity, stating Caracas is principledly ready for “respectful relations” with Washington. She also said that Venezuela “will never return to being the colony of another empire” and “never return to being slaves.”
Trump warned Rodriguez she could be next after Nicolas Maduro, who is now in a New York jail after being abducted by US troops.
“If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” he told The Atlantic in another phone interview, arguing that he will not stand for what he called Rodriguez’s defiant rejection.
Trump made clear a new election in Venezuela was not a priority, and refused to back specific opposition figures, including Maria Corina Machado – a Nobel Peace Prize winner who had openly backed US military action against her own country.
“I don’t think she’s got the support of the people that she has to have,” Trump reiterated, noting that “she could only win an election if I did support her.”
The US action has drawn sharp rebukes from key powers of the Global South. China condemned the operation as “hegemonic,” stating it seriously violates international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty. Another BRICS member Brazil also condemned the US move, with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stating Washington’s actions “cross an unacceptable line.” Russia, a major strategic partner of Caracas, expressed “firm solidarity” in a call between Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and acting President Rodriguez.
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