Trump announced the US's intention to control Venezuela until power is transferred

The US is prepared to administer Venezuela until a "safe" transition of power in that country, US President Donald Trump said at a press conference on January 3 after the capture of Nicolás Maduro.

"We will manage the country [Venezuela] until we can have a safe, orderly, and well-planned transition [of power]," Trump said.

He also stated that the US would participate in rebuilding Venezuela's oil industry. "As everyone knows, the oil business in Venezuela has been a failure, a complete failure, for a long time. We will allow our largest oil companies from the US, the largest in the world, to come [to Venezuela], spend billions of dollars, repair the severely dilapidated infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country," Trump said.

The embargo on all Venezuelan oil remains in full force, Trump said.

On the night of January 3, the US conducted an operation in Venezuela, resulting in the capture of Nicolás Maduro. He is to be taken to the US, where he will stand trial. The US does not consider Maduro a legitimate president and accuses him of "narco-terrorism conspiracy." The Venezuelan authorities called the US invasion military aggression and declared a state of emergency in the country.

Venezuela is considered to have the world's largest oil reserves, but its production is hampered by Western sanctions. Currently, only one major American oil corporation, Chevron, is drilling in the country, having obtained the necessary licenses. Chevron accounts for about a third of the country's total production, which is about 900,000 barrels of oil per day, according to The Wall Street Journal.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor