By Brian Kiprono and Agencies - Reporter
United States, 3 January 2026 - U.S. President Donald Trump has declared that the United States is now effectively in charge of Venezuela, saying Washington will “run” the country until a “safe, proper and judicious transition” of power is achieved.
Speaking at a dramatic news conference flanked by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump described a sweeping overnight military operation that he said led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. According to Trump, the two “now face American justice” following indictments in the southern district of New York over what he called a “campaign of deadly narco-terrorism” against the United States.
Trump praised the US military for what he termed “breathtaking speed, power, precision and competence”, saying the “highly trained warriors” worked alongside US law enforcement agencies. He claimed Venezuelan forces were prepared, with ships deployed and troops in a “ready position”, but were “completely overwhelmed and very quickly incapacitated”.
“Not a single US serviceman was killed, and no equipment was lost,” Trump said, presenting the operation as a decisive success. He added that all Venezuelan military capabilities were “rendered powerless”, while power in parts of Caracas was cut off during the assault due to what he described as American “expertise”.
Trump also linked the operation to drug enforcement, alleging that the U.S. has “knocked out 97% of drugs coming in by sea” and claiming most of the narcotics originate from Venezuela. The BBC has not verified these figures. He further asserted that each boat carrying drugs kills 25,000 people on average.
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Turning to Venezuela’s future, Trump said the country’s oil industry had been “a bust” and promised that major US companies would move in to repair infrastructure and “start making money for the country”. He said a US “partnership” would make Venezuelans “rich, independent and safe”, adding: “Venezuelan people are free again.”
Defence Secretary Hegseth described the mission as “a massive joint military and law enforcement raid, flawlessly executed”, saying Maduro “had his chance”.
Trump warned that Washington is “ready” to carry out a second, “much larger” attack if necessary, though he suggested the scale of the initial operation had reduced the need for further action. He concluded by saying America was a “safer” and “prouder nation” as a result of what he called one of the most powerful displays of US military might in history.
