Trump: "We Are Going To Run Venezuela"
This morning, US Delta Force captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a 3-hour operation. They are on their way to New York City
At 2:00 AM, US Delta Force captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Three hours, 34 minutes. Zero American casualties.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the charges: Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy. Cocaine Importation Conspiracy. Maduro faces trial in New York.
That was the story at dawn.
By noon, Trump told you what this actually is.
“We’re going to run the country.”
Not arrest a drug trafficker. Run the country.
“We’re going to be very strongly involved in Venezuela’s oil industry. We have the greatest oil companies in the world, and we’re going to be very much involved in it.”
Vice President JD Vance: “The stolen oil must be returned to the United States.”
Stephen Miller: “American sweat and toil created the oil industry in Venezuela. Its expropriation was the largest recorded theft of American wealth.”
Venezuela has 303 billion barrels of oil. The world’s largest proven reserves.
Trump just told you he’s taking it.
The Democracy Story Collapsed Faster
Delcy Rodríguez—Venezuela’s Vice President under Maduro—is technically the acting president now. She’s demanding “proof of life” for Maduro.
But Trump isn’t talking about Rodríguez either.
Edmundo González won Venezuela’s presidential election in July 2024. The opposition documented the victory with vote tallies from over 80% of polling stations. The US recognized González as the legitimate president.
María Corina Machado won the 2023 opposition primary with overwhelming support. Maduro barred her from running. She just won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for fighting for Venezuelan democracy.
Trump was asked about transferring power to them.
His answer: Machado “doesn’t have the respect.” She won’t be running Venezuela.
That’s the president of the United States deciding who leads Venezuela after capturing its current leader.
If this was law enforcement, Maduro would be in a cell awaiting trial. The democratically elected president would take office.
Instead, Trump is bypassing both the Maduro regime AND the democratic opposition, announcing America will “run the country.”
The Military Operation Nobody Resisted
Venezuela had thousands of Russian MANPADS positioned nationwide. Buk-M2E air defense systems. S-300VM batteries. Pantsir systems. Su-30 fighters.
