Trump says U.S. involvement in Venezuela could last years

U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. involvement in Venezuela could last for years.

He told the New York Times After U.S. troops captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in a raid on Saturday, “only time will tell” how long his government will “monitor” the South American country’s operations.

Trump also did not say if or when Venezuela would hold elections to replace the interim government led by Maduro loyalist Delcy Rodriguez.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Collina Machado said Maduro’s ouster had set in motion an “irreversible process” that would lead to Venezuela’s “freedom.”

A New York Times reporter asked Trump about his plans for Venezuela’s future, days after he said his administration would run the oil-rich country.

Earlier on Wednesday, the White House said the United States would control sales of sanctioned oil “indefinitely.”

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright believes the United States needs to control Venezuelan oil sales to exert influence over the interim government in Caracas.

Trump said his administration would “get oil” from Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven reserves, but admitted it would “take a while” to get the country’s oil industry up and running.

Venezuela’s oil production has fallen sharply due to mismanagement by the Maduro government and his predecessor, as well as years of U.S. sanctions.

Trump told The New York Times that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in “constant communication” with Rodriguez, who was appointed interim leader by Venezuela’s Supreme Court, which is dominated by Maduro loyalists.

Rodriguez “provided us with everything we thought was necessary,” he added.

The US president had earlier said the interim government had agreed to use proceeds from the sale of oil to buy only US-made goods.

According to a New York Times reporter, Trump did not answer their question about why he recognized Rodriguez as the new leader of Venezuela.

Many Venezuelan analysts expect opposition leaders Edmundo Gonzalez and María Collina Machado to return to the country quickly after Maduro’s ouster.

But in his first news conference since the U.S. raid, Trump dismissed Machado, claiming she lacked the “respect” and support to lead Venezuela.

“I think it’s going to be very difficult for her to be the leader,” he said.

Machado managed to rally opposition groups behind her ahead of 2024 presidential elections but was barred from running for president by officials loyal to Maduro’s government.

She then threw her weight behind former diplomat Gonzalez, who acted as her attorney.

The electoral commission, also dominated by government loyalists, declared Maduro re-elected. However, independently verified vote counts collected by the opposition showed Gonzalez winning in a landslide.

Gonzalez went into exile to escape a post-election government crackdown, and Machado is hiding inside Venezuela.

In December, she embarked on a dangerous sea, land and air journey to arrive in Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She won the Nobel Peace Prize for her “tireless efforts to promote democratic rights” in Venezuela.

Her current whereabouts are unknown, but she said she plans to return to Venezuela soon.

during an interview Venezuela opposition news website La PatillaMaduro’s ouster, she insists, has set her country on an irreversible path to freedom.

She said she wanted the transition to this new phase to be “as short and quick as possible.”

She added that the interim government, which she said was “the same regime under Maduro,” was “instructed to dissolve.”

Machado insisted that Gonzalez was the legitimate elected president and urged respect for his mandate.

She stressed that the “first thing” that needed to be done was to release political prisoners.

Machado is not the only one calling for the release of the more than 800 political prisoners held in Venezuela’s notorious prisons.

Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar made multiple posts on social media on Wednesday insisting they would be released “immediately.”

However, in an interview with the New York Times, Trump “seemed more focused on the rescue mission than on the details of how to navigate Venezuela’s future,” according to reporters who spoke to him.

Asked about U.S. plans for Venezuela, he said “we’re going to rebuild it in a very profitable way.”

He added: “We are going to use oil, we are going to get oil. We are lowering the price of oil and we are going to provide Venezuela with money, which they desperately need.”

The U.S. president is expected to meet with representatives of the three major U.S. oil companies at the White House on Friday to further discuss the plans.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate voted 52 to 47 on Thursday to pass a resolution aimed at preventing the Trump administration from taking further military action against Venezuela.

The vote cleared the way for debate on a resolution invoking the War Powers Act, but final passage will require another vote.

It was the first time in Trump’s second administration that the Senate has voted to limit the president’s use of military power.

But it remains largely symbolic because it’s unclear whether it will also pass the House, and if so, the president could still use his veto to block it.