United States President Donald Trump on Saturday said the US would 'run' Venezuela until a safe transition of power is put in place, hours after American forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and flew him out of the country in a dramatic military operation.
Maduro and his wife were taken overnight from their residence on a military base and placed aboard a US warship, Iwo Jima, which is headed to New York, where the Venezuelan leader will face criminal charges, Trump said.
Addressing a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump described the operation as 'extremely successful' and said it should serve as a warning to anyone threatening American sovereignty or lives.
"We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he said, claiming that a US presence was already in place, though there were no immediate signs of American administration on the ground.
In an interview with Fox News later, Trump said the US would be closely involved in deciding Venezuela's future leadership.
"We'll be involved in it very much," he said, adding, "We can't take a chance of letting somebody else run and just take over where he left off."
Trump said the objective of the US action was to ensure 'liberty for the people' of Venezuela and claimed that Venezuelans were 'very happy' with the development.
He accused the Maduro government of sending criminals, including drug lords and people from prisons and mental institutions, to the United States, calling it 'unforgivable'.
Following the capture, Venezuelan state television broadcast live images of small groups of Maduro supporters taking to the streets in Caracas to protest the US action.
Trump said Washington would now take key decisions on what comes next for Venezuela as the South American nation faces an unprecedented political transition under direct US involvement.
-- with inputs from ANI
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