By Emmanuel Bobby
President Donald Trump on Jan. 3 detailed his plans for Venezuela during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, a day after what he described as an “extremely successful” U.S. military operation that removed longtime Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power.
Trump said the operation brought an end to Venezuela’s decades-long socialist rule and confirmed that the United States will oversee the country until a new government can be installed through what he called a “safe, proper, and judicious transition.”
“The dictator and terrorist Maduro is finally gone in Venezuela. The people are free,” Trump said, adding that Washington would ensure stability before handing control to a new Venezuelan leadership.
U.S. to Appoint Transitional Leadership Team
Trump announced that his administration will designate a team to manage Venezuela during the transition period. He said discussions are already underway and that specific names will be announced soon.
“We’re talking to people, we’re designating various people, and we’re going to let you know who those people are,” Trump told reporters, stressing that decisions would be made carefully.
He mentioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth as potential senior figures who could be involved in overseeing the transition, noting that the United States intends to remain directly involved until it is confident a stable transfer of power can occur.
“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition,” Trump said. “We’re going to make sure it’s run properly.”
Possibility of U.S. Troops Remaining in Venezuela
Trump did not rule out maintaining a U.S. military presence on the ground during the transition, saying such measures may be necessary to ensure order and prevent instability.
“We’re not afraid of boots on the ground,” he said, adding that U.S. forces had already been involved during the operation that removed Maduro. He emphasized that the United States would retain all military options until its objectives in Venezuela are fully met.
Trump also issued a warning to remaining political and military figures in the country, saying consequences would follow if they acted unjustly toward the Venezuelan people. He added that U.S. forces are prepared to launch additional military action if required.
U.S. Oil Companies to Help Rebuild Economy
A major focus of Trump’s remarks was Venezuela’s oil sector, which he said would play a central role in rebuilding the country’s economy. He announced that large U.S. oil companies would be brought in to repair and modernize Venezuela’s damaged oil infrastructure.
“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, and start making money for the country,” Trump said.
He accused Venezuela’s former socialist leadership of seizing an oil industry that he said had been built with American expertise, calling it one of the largest thefts of U.S. property in history. Trump suggested that American companies would be compensated for rebuilding the infrastructure and indicated that oil revenues could be used to repay people who were forced out of the country under the previous regime.
Uncertain Future for Current Venezuelan Leaders
Trump also addressed the status of Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who he said may be temporarily sworn in as president. He noted that she had spoken at length with Secretary of State Rubio and appeared willing to cooperate but suggested she would not be the long-term leader of the country.
“If we just left, it has zero chance of ever coming back,” Trump said, referring to the possibility of instability. “We’ll run it properly. We’ll run it professionally.”
Views on Opposition Figures Machado and González
Trump commented on María Corina Machado, a prominent opposition figure and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, expressing skepticism about her ability to lead Venezuela. He said she lacks sufficient internal support despite her international recognition.
Machado was barred from running for president by Venezuela’s Supreme Court in January 2024. Opposition candidate Edmundo González later replaced her and was recognized by the United States and the European Union as Venezuela’s rightful president-elect following the disputed 2024 election.
Following Maduro’s removal, Machado said a González-led government is prepared to assume power, stating that teams and plans are already in place.
Timeline for Transition Remains Unclear
When asked how long U.S. oversight would last, Trump said he hopes the transition can happen quickly but acknowledged that rebuilding Venezuela will take time.
“We have to rebuild their whole infrastructure,” he said, describing it as severely deteriorated. Trump noted that much of the country’s infrastructure was originally built decades ago and would need to be replaced.
Addressing comparisons to past U.S.-led interventions that ended poorly, Trump dismissed concerns, saying previous failures occurred under different leadership.
“With me, that’s not true,” he said. “With me, we’ve had a perfect track record of winning.”
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