FULL REMARKS: Trump on U.S. operation in Venezuela to capture Maduro

[0:00] learn today about that superseding indictment, new charges facing Maduro. And here is President [0:05] Trump from Mar-a-Lago. Okay, thank you very much. This is big stuff. We appreciate you being here. [0:15] Late last night and early today, at my direction, the United States Armed Forces conducted an [0:26] extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela. Overwhelming American military power, [0:36] air, land, and sea was used to launch a spectacular assault. And it was an assault like people have not [0:45] seen since World War II. It was a force against a heavily fortified military fortress in the heart [0:55] of Caracas to bring outlawed dictator Nicolas Maduro to justice. This was one of the most stunning, [1:04] effective, and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history. [1:13] And if you think about it, we've done some other good ones like the attack on Soleimani, [1:25] the attack on al-Baghdadi, and the obliteration and decimation of the Iran nuclear sites just [1:35] recently in an operation known as Midnight Hammer. All perfectly executed and done. No nation in the [1:47] world could achieve what America achieved yesterday or, frankly, in just a short period of time. [1:56] All Venezuelan military capacities were rendered powerless as the men and women of our military [2:03] working with U.S. law enforcement. Successfully captured Maduro in the dead of night. It was dark. [2:12] The lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have. It was dark [2:25] and it was deadly. But captured along with his wife, Celia Flores, both of whom now face American [2:38] justice. Maduro and Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. It's Jay Clayton for [2:47] their campaign of deadly narco-terrorism against the United States and its citizens. I want to thank [2:55] the men and women of our military who achieved such an extraordinary success overnight with [3:01] breathtaking speed, power, precision, and competence. You rarely see anything like it. You've seen some [3:08] raids in this country that didn't go so well. They were an embarrassment. If you look back to [3:13] Afghanistan or if you look back to the Jimmy Carter days, they were different days. We're a respected [3:21] country again, like maybe like never before. These highly trained warriors operating in collaboration [3:29] with U.S. law enforcement caught them in a very ready position. They were waiting for us. They knew we had [3:36] many ships out in the sea, just sort of waiting. They knew we were coming. So they were in a ready, [3:44] what's called a ready position. But they were completely overwhelmed and very quickly incapacitated. [3:54] If you would have seen what I saw last night, you would have been very impressed. I'm not sure that [3:58] you'll ever get to see it, but it was an incredible thing to see. Not a single American service member [4:05] was killed and not a single piece of American equipment was lost. We had many helicopters, [4:12] many planes, many, many people involved in that fight. But think of that. Not one piece of military [4:20] equipment was lost. Not one service member was more importantly killed. The United States military [4:26] is the strongest and most fierce military on the planet by far. With capabilities and skills, [4:33] our enemies can scarcely begin to imagine. We have the best equipment anywhere in the world. [4:40] There's no equipment like what we have. And you see that even if you just look at the boats, [4:45] you know, we've knocked out 97 percent of the drugs coming in by sea. 90 percent. Each boat kills 25, [4:53] on average, 25,000 people. We knocked out 97 percent. And those drugs mostly come from a place called [5:02] Venezuela. We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious [5:11] transition. So we don't want to be involved with having somebody else get in. And we have the same [5:20] situation that we had for the last long period of years. So we are going to run the country until such [5:26] time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition. And it has to be judicious, because [5:35] that's what we're all about. We want peace, liberty, and justice for the great people of Venezuela. [5:42] And that includes many from Venezuela that are now living in the United States [5:48] and want to go back to their country. It's their homeland. We can't take a chance that somebody else [5:56] takes over Venezuela that doesn't have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind. We've had decades of [6:04] that. We're not going to let that happen. We're there now. And what people don't understand, [6:12] but they understand as I say this, we're there now, but we're going to stay until such time as the [6:21] proper transition can take place. So we're going to stay until such time as we're going to run it, [6:27] essentially until such time as a proper transition can take place. As everyone knows, [6:33] the oil business in Venezuela has been a bust, a total bust for a long period of time. They were [6:40] pumping almost nothing by comparison to what they could have been pumping and what could have taken [6:47] place. We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the [6:56] world go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure [7:04] and start making money for the country. And we are ready to stage a second and much larger attack if [7:14] we need to do so. So we were prepared to do a second wave if we needed to do so. We actually assumed [7:26] that a second wave would be necessary, but now it's probably not. The first wave, if you'd like [7:32] to call it that, the first attack was so successful, we probably don't have to do a second, but we're [7:37] prepared to do a second wave, a much bigger wave, actually. This was pinpoint, but we have a much [7:44] bigger wave that probably won't have to do. This partnership of Venezuela with the United States [7:51] of America, a country that everybody wants to be involved with because of what we were able to do [7:58] and accomplish, will make the people of Venezuela rich, independent and safe. And it will also make [8:06] the many, many people from Venezuela that are living in the United States extremely happy. They suffered. [8:14] They suffered. So much was taken from them. They're not going to suffer anymore. The illegitimate dictator, [8:21] Maduro was the kingpin of a vast criminal network responsible for trafficking colossal amounts [8:27] of deadly and illicit drugs into the United States. As alleged in the indictment, he personally oversaw [8:35] the vicious cartel known as Cartel de las Solas, which flooded our nation with lethal poison responsible [8:45] for the deaths of countless Americans, the many, many Americans, hundreds of thousands over the years [8:51] of Americans died because of him. Maduro and his wife will soon face the full might of American [8:58] justice and stand trial on American soil. Right now, they're on a ship. They'll be heading to [9:06] ultimately New York. And then a decision will be made, I assume, between New York and Miami or Florida. [9:14] But we have people where the overwhelming evidence of their crimes will be presented in a court of law. [9:26] And I've seen it. I've seen what we have. It's both horrible and breathtaking that something like [9:34] this could have been allowed to take place. For many years after his term as president of Venezuela, [9:41] expired Maduro remained in power and waged a ceaseless campaign of violence, terror and subversion [9:50] against the United States of America, threatening not only our people, but the stability of the entire [9:56] region. And you all saw it. In addition to trafficking gigantic amounts of illegal drugs that inflicted [10:04] untold suffering and human destruction all over the country, all over, in particular, the United States, [10:11] Maduro sent savage and murderous gangs, including the bloodthirsty prison gang, [10:17] Tren de Aragua, to terrorize American communities nationwide. And he did indeed. [10:22] They were in Colorado. They took over apartment complexes. They cut the fingers off people if they [10:28] called police. They were brutal, but they're not so brutal now. And I just have to [10:35] congratulate our military, Pete and everybody in our National Guard, because the job that they've [10:42] done, whether it's in Washington, D.C., where we have a totally safe city, where it was one of the [10:48] most unsafe cities anywhere in the world, frankly. And now we have no crime in Washington, D.C. [10:55] We haven't had a killing. We had the terrorist attack a few weeks ago. A little bit of a different [11:03] kind of a threat. But we haven't had a killing in a long period of time, six, seven months. We used [11:11] to have two, on average, two a week in Washington, our capital. We don't have that anymore. The [11:18] restaurants are opening. Everyone's happy. They're going. They're walking their daughters. They're [11:22] walking their children, their wives. They walk to restaurants. Restaurants are opening all over [11:28] Washington, D.C. So I want to thank the National Guard. I want to thank our military. And I want [11:33] to thank law enforcement. It's been amazing. And they should do it with more cities. We're doing it, [11:38] as you know. And we're doing it in Memphis, Tennessee right now. And crime is down. We've just [11:45] sort of started a few weeks ago. But crime is down now 77 percent. And the governor of Louisiana called, [11:53] a great person. And he wanted us to help him, as you know, in a certain very nice part of [12:01] Louisiana. And we have done that. And it's a rough, it was a rough, rough section. And we have [12:09] crime down. I understand it's down to almost nothing already after two and a half weeks. [12:15] New Orleans, it's down to almost nothing. And we've only been there for two and a half weeks. [12:20] Can't imagine why governors wouldn't want us to help. We also helped, as you know, in [12:25] Chicago. And crime went down a little bit there. We did a very small help because we had no, [12:31] no, we had no working ability with the governor. The governor was a disaster and the mayor was a [12:38] disaster. But it knocked down crime. But we're pulling out of there when they need us. We'll [12:43] know. You'll know. You'll be writing about it. And likewise, Los Angeles, where we saved Los [12:48] Angeles early on, where the head of the police department made a statement that if the federal [12:55] government didn't come in, we would have lost Los Angeles. That's after long after the fires. [13:01] That's when they had the riots in Los Angeles. We did a great job. Got no credit for it whatsoever. [13:05] But that's OK. It doesn't matter. We don't need the credit. But we'll be pulling out when they [13:10] need us. They'll call or we'll go back if we have to. We'll go back. But we did a great job in various [13:16] cities. But the thing, the place that we're very proud of is Washington, D.C. because it's our nation's [13:21] capital. We took it from being a crime ridden mess to being one of the safest cities in the [13:27] country. But the gangs that they sent raped, tortured and murdered American women and children. [13:35] They were in all of the cities I mentioned. Trendy, Aragua. And they were sent by Maduro to terrorize [13:43] our people. And now Maduro will never again be able to threaten an American citizen or anybody from [13:51] Venezuela. There will no longer be threats. For years, I've highlighted the stories of those [13:57] innocent Americans whose lives were so heartlessly robbed by this Venezuelan terrorist organization. [14:05] Really one of the worst. One of the worst. They say the worst. Americans like 12-year-old Jocelyn [14:11] Nungary from Houston. Beautiful Jocelyn. Nungary, what happened to her? They, as you know, they [14:21] kidnapped, assaulted and murdered by Trendy, Aragua animals. They murdered Jocelyn and left her dead under [14:32] the bridge. It was a bridge, a bridge that will never be the same to so many people after seeing what [14:39] happened. As I've said many times, the Maduro regime emptied out their prisons, sent their worst and [14:46] most violent monsters into the United States to steal American lives. And they came from mental [14:54] institutions and insane asylums. They came from prisons and jails. The reason I say both, they sound [15:00] similar, actually. Prisons, a little bit more, a little bit more hostile, a little bit tougher. A mental [15:09] institution isn't as tough as an insane asylum. But we got them both. They sent from their mental [15:14] institutions. They sent from their jails, prisons. They were drug dealers. They were drug kingpins. [15:21] They sent everybody bad into the United States. But no longer. And we have now a border where nobody [15:28] gets through. In addition, Venezuela unilaterally seized and stole American oil, American assets, [15:36] and American platforms, costing us billions and billions of dollars. They did this a while ago, [15:44] but we never had a president that did anything about it. They took all of our property. It was [15:49] our property. We built it. And we never had a president that decided to do anything about it. [15:56] Instead, they fought wars that were 10,000 miles away. We built Venezuela oil industry with American [16:05] talent, drive, and skill. And the socialist regime stole it from us during those previous [16:12] administrations. And they stole it through force. This constituted one of the largest thefts of [16:19] American property in the history of our country. Considered the largest theft of property in the [16:24] history of our country. Massive oil infrastructure was taken like we were babies, and we didn't do [16:29] anything about it. I would have done something about it. America will never allow foreign powers to rob [16:36] our people to drive us back into and out of our own hemisphere. That's what they did. Furthermore, [16:44] under the now deposed dictator Maduro, Venezuela was increasingly hosting foreign adversaries in our [16:50] region and acquiring menacing offensive weapons that could threaten U.S. interests and lives. And [16:57] they used those weapons last night. They used those weapons last night, potentially in league with the [17:03] cartels operating along our border. All of these actions were in gross violation of the [17:08] core principles of American foreign policy, dating back more than two centuries. And not anymore. [17:17] All the way back, it dated to the Monroe Doctrines. And the Monroe Doctrine is a big deal. But we've [17:27] superseded it by a lot, by a real lot. They now call it the Donroe Doctrine. I don't know. [17:35] It's Monroe Doctrine. We sort of forgot about it. It was very important, but we forgot about it. We [17:43] don't forget about it anymore. Under our new national security strategy, American dominance in the [17:49] Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again. Won't happen. So just in concluding for decades, [17:56] other administrations have neglected or even contributed to these growing security threats in [18:03] the Western Hemisphere. Under the Trump administration, we are reasserting American power in a very [18:10] powerful way in our home region. And our home region is very different than it was just a short while [18:18] ago. The future will be... And we did this in my first term. We had great dominance in my first term, [18:23] and we have far greater dominance right now. Everyone's coming back to us. The future will be determined by [18:31] the ability to protect commerce and territory and resources that are core to national security. [18:39] These are core to our national security. Just like tariffs are, they've made our country rich, [18:48] and they've made our national security strong, stronger than ever before. But these are the iron [18:54] laws that have always determined global power. And we're going to keep it that way. We will [19:01] secure our borders. We will stop the terrorists. We will crash the cartels. And we will defend our [19:09] citizens against all threats, foreign and domestic. Other presidents may have lacked the courage or [19:15] whatever to defend America. But I will never allow terrorists and criminals to operate with impunity [19:22] against the United States. This extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone [19:29] who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives. Very importantly, the embargo on [19:36] all Venezuelan oil remains in full effect. The American armada remains poised in position. And the United [19:45] States retains all military options until United States demands have been fully met and fully satisfied. [19:52] All political and military figures in Venezuela should understand what happened to Maduro can happen to [20:00] them. And it will happen to them if they aren't just fair, even to their people. The dictator and terrorist, [20:09] Maduro, is finally gone in Venezuela. People are free. They're free again. It's been a long time for them, [20:18] but they're free. America is a safer nation this morning. It's a prouder nation this morning because [20:25] it didn't allow this horrible person and this country that was doing very bad things to us. It didn't [20:35] allow it to happen. And the Western Hemisphere is right now a much safer place to be. So I want to thank [20:41] everybody for being here. I want to thank General Raisin Cain. He's a fantastic man. I've worked with a lot of [20:49] generals. I worked with some I didn't like. I worked with some I didn't respect. I worked with some they [20:54] just weren't good. But this guy is fantastic. I watched last night one of the most precise attacks [21:03] on sovereignty. I mean, it was an attack for justice. And I'm very proud of him. And I'm very [21:09] proud of our secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, who I'm going to ask to say a few words. Thank you very much. [21:15] Mr. President, can you explain how the U.S. will run Venezuela? [21:20] Well, thank you, Mr. President. Finally, a commander in chief the world respects and the American people [21:26] deserve. And as the president said, words can barely capture the bravery and the power and the precision [21:33] of this historic operation, a massive joint military and law enforcement raid flawlessly [21:38] executed by the greatest Americans our country has to offer. American warriors are second to none, [21:45] the best in the world and the best of our country. What I what all of us witnessed last night was sheer [21:52] guts and grit, gallantry and glory of the American warrior. I'm simply humbled by such men, such men. [22:02] And I tip my hat to our chairman, Dan Raisin Cain and all those Americans who stood watch last night. [22:09] Our warriors are the elite of America. And again, President Trump has your back. No other country [22:16] on planet Earth, and it's not even close, could pull this kind of operation off. And no other president [22:23] has ever shown this kind of leadership, courage and resolve. The most powerful combination [22:29] the world has ever seen. As the president said, our adversaries remain on notice. America can project [22:37] our will anywhere, anytime. The coordination, the stealth, the lethality, the precision, [22:44] the very long arm of American justice, all on full display in the middle of the night. [22:51] Nicolas Maduro had his chance, just like Iran had their chance until they didn't. And until he didn't, [22:59] he effed around and he found out. President Trump is deadly serious about stopping the flow of gangs [23:07] and violence to our country. Deadly serious about stopping the flow of drugs and poison to our people. [23:14] Deadly serious about getting back the oil that was stolen from us. And deadly serious about [23:20] reestablishing American deterrence and dominance in the Western hemisphere. This is about the safety, [23:27] security, freedom and prosperity of the American people. This is America first. This is peace [23:37] through strength. And the United States War Department is proud to help deliver it. Welcome to 2026 [23:46] and under President Trump, America is back. I'd like to welcome now our chairman, Chairman Raisin [23:53] Cain to give a few more details about the operation, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. [24:01] Thank you, Mr. President. And good morning. Last night on the order of the President of the United [24:07] States and in support of a request from the Department of Justice, as the President said, [24:12] the United States military conducted an apprehension mission in Caracas, Venezuela to bring to justice [24:19] two indicted persons, Nicolas and Cecilia Maduro. This operation, known as Operation Absolute Resolve, [24:26] was discrete, precise and conducted during the darkest hours of January 2nd and was in the culmination [24:33] of months of planning and rehearsal. An operation that, frankly, only the United States military could [24:40] undertake. What I'd like to do this morning is talk to you through some of the preparation and the [24:44] details without compromising any of our tactics, techniques and procedures. There is always a chance [24:53] that we'll be tasked to do this type of mission again. Our interagency work began months ago and [24:59] built on decades of experience of integrating complex air, ground, space and maritime operations. [25:06] While the past two decades have honed the skills of our Special Operations Forces, [25:11] this particular mission required every component of our joint force with soldiers, sailors, airmen, [25:19] Marines and guardians working in unison with our intelligence agency partners and law enforcement [25:25] teammates in an unprecedented operation. We leveraged our unmatched intelligence capabilities [25:33] and our years of experience in hunting terrorists. And we could not have done this mission without the [25:39] incredible work by various intelligence agencies, including the CIA, NSA and NGA. We watched, [25:47] we waited, we prepared, we remained patient and professional. This mission was meticulously planned, [25:56] drawing lessons from decades of missions over the last many years, decades of many missions over these [26:03] last many years. This was an audacious operation that only the United States could do. It required the [26:11] the utmost of precision and integration within our joint force. And the word integration does not explain [26:19] the sheer complexity of such a mission. An extraction so precise, it involved more than 150 aircraft [26:28] launching across the Western Hemisphere in close coordination, all coming together in time and place [26:36] to layer effects for a single purpose, to get an interdiction force into downtown Caracas while maintaining [26:46] the element of tactical surprise. Failure of one component of this well-oiled machine would have [26:53] endangered the entire mission and failure is never an option for America's joint force. Those in the air over [27:01] Caracas last night were willing to give their lives for those on the ground and in the helicopters. [27:09] Let me talk a little bit about the preparation. After months of work by our intelligence teammates to find [27:15] Maduro and understand how he moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore, [27:23] what were his pets. In early December, our force was set pending a series of aligned events. Key was choosing the [27:34] right day to minimize the potential for civilian harm and maximize the element of surprise and minimize the [27:42] harm to the indicted personnel. So as the president said, they could be brought to justice. And as the president said [27:49] earlier today, weather in Venezuela is always a factor this time of the year. And over the weeks through [27:57] Christmas and New Years, the men and women of the United States military sat ready, patiently waiting [28:04] for the right triggers to be met and the president to order us into action. Last night, the weather broke [28:10] just enough, clearing a path that only the most skilled aviators in the world could maneuver through. [28:18] Ocean, mountain, low clouds, ceilings. But when tasked with a mission, this organization does not [28:27] quit. At 10.46 p.m. Eastern time last night, the president ordered the United States military [28:34] to move forward with this mission. He said to us, and we appreciate it, Mr. President, good luck [28:40] and Godspeed. And those words were transmitted to the entire joint force. Over the course of the night, [28:46] aircraft began launching from 20 different bases on land and sea across the western hemisphere. [28:53] In total, more than 150 aircraft, bombers, fighters, intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, [29:00] rotary wing were in the air last night. Thousands and thousands of hours of experience were airborne. [29:07] Our youngest crew member was 20 and our oldest crew member was 49. And there's simply no match for [29:14] American military might. As the night began, the helicopters took off with the extraction force, [29:20] which included law enforcement officers, and began their flight into Venezuela at 100 feet above the [29:26] water. As they approached Venezuelan shores, the United States began layering different effects [29:32] provided by Spacecom, Cybercom, and other members of the interagency to create a pathway. Overhead, [29:39] those forces were protected by aircraft from the United States Marines, the United States Navy, [29:47] the United States Air Force, and the Air National Guard. The force included F-22s, F-35s, F-18s, [29:55] EA-18s, E-2s, B-1 bombers, and other support aircraft, as well as numerous remotely piloted drones. As the force [30:04] began to approach Caracas, the joint air component began dismantling and disabling the air defense [30:12] systems in Venezuela, employing weapons to ensure the safe passage of the helicopters into the target [30:20] area. The goal of our air component is, was, and always will be to protect the helicopters and the [30:29] ground force and get them to the target and get them home. As the force crossed the last point of high [30:36] terrain where they'd been hiding in the clutter, we assessed that we had maintained totally the element [30:43] of surprise. As the helicopter force ingressed towards the objective at low level, we arrived at [30:50] Maduro's compound at 1.01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time or 2.01 a.m. Caracas local time, and the apprehension [31:00] force descended into Maduro's compound and moved with speed, precision, and discipline towards their [31:07] objective and isolated the area to ensure the safety and security of the ground force while apprehending [31:14] the indicted persons. On arrival into the target area, the helicopters came under fire, and they replied [31:21] with that fire with overwhelming force and self-defense. One of our aircraft was hit but remained [31:27] flyable, and as the president said earlier today, all of our aircraft came home, and that aircraft [31:32] remained flyable during the rest of the mission. As the operation unfolded at the compound, our air and [31:38] ground intelligence teams provided real-time updates to the ground force, ensuring those forces could [31:45] safely navigate the complex environment without unnecessary risk. The force remained protected [31:51] by overhead tactical aviation. Maduro and his wife, both indicted, gave up and were taken into custody by [32:00] the Department of Justice, assisted by our incredible U.S. military with professionalism and precision, [32:07] with no loss of U.S. life. After securing the indicted persons, the force began to prep for departure. [32:15] Helicopters were called in to exfiltrate the extraction force, while fighter aircraft and [32:21] remotely piloted aircraft provided overhead coverage and suppressive fire. There were multiple [32:28] self-defense engagements as the force began to withdraw out of Venezuela. The force successfully [32:35] exfiltrated and returned to their afloat launch bases, and the force was over the water at 3 29 a.m. [32:44] eastern standard time with indicted persons on board, and both Maduro and his wife were embarked [32:51] aboard the USS Uwajima. In closing, what we've witnessed today is a powerful demonstration of [32:59] America's joint force. We think, we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again, [33:10] not to get it right, but to ensure that we cannot get it wrong. Our jobs are to integrate combat power so [33:20] when the order comes, we can deliver overwhelming force at the time and the place of our choosing [33:28] against any foe anywhere in the world. I am immensely proud today of our joint force and filled with [33:37] gratitude to represent them here today. There is simply no mission too difficult for these incredible [33:44] professionals and the families that stand by them and support them. As we stand here this morning, [33:51] our forces remain in the region at a high state of readiness, prepared to project power, defend themselves, [34:00] and our interests in the region. This operation is a testament to the dedication and unwavering [34:08] commitment to justice and our resolve to hold accountable those who threaten peace and stability. [34:15] In closing, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the brave men and women who executed this mission. [34:23] Their courage and tireless commitment to our nation are what makes us strong. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, [34:29] and thank you, Mr. President. Well, I don't have much to add to what you've heard now other than the [34:36] following points. Nicolas Maduro was indicted in 2020 in the United States. He is not the legitimate [34:43] president of Venezuela. That's not just us saying it. The first Trump administration, the Biden [34:47] administration, the second Trump administration, none of those three recognize him. He's not recognized [34:52] by the European Union in multiple countries around the world. He is a fugitive of American justice [34:56] with a $50 million reward, which I guess we say $50 million. Make sure. Yeah, exactly. Don't let [35:04] anybody claim it. Nobody deserves it but us. But I want to be clear about one thing. Nicolas Maduro had [35:11] multiple opportunities to avoid this. He was provided multiple very, very, very generous offers and chose [35:18] instead to act like a wild man, chose instead to play around. And the result is what we saw tonight. [35:23] The other message here is the following. You have a guy, like many people around the world, [35:27] they like to play games. You have a guy who decides he's going to invite Iran into his country, [35:32] is going to, you know, do the confiscation of American oil companies, is going to flood our [35:36] country with gang members, is going to take Americans prisoner and try to hold them for hostage and [35:42] trade them like he was able to do with the Biden administration, basically likes to play games all [35:46] this time and thinks nothing's going to happen. And I hope what people now understand is we have a [35:51] president. The 47th president of the United States is not a game player. When he tells you that he's [35:55] going to do something, when he tells you he's going to address a problem, he means it. He actions it. [36:01] I can tell you, I've watched this process now for 14, 15 years, been around it. Everybody talks, [36:05] I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that. When I get there, we're going to do this, we're going to [36:07] take. This is a president of action. Like, I don't understand yet how they haven't figured this out. [36:13] And now if you don't know, now you know, because this is the way it's going to play out. And I think [36:17] people need to understand that this is not a president that just talks and does letters and [36:20] press conferences. And, you know, if he says he's serious about something, he means it. And this [36:26] is something that was a direct threat to the national interest of the United States. And [36:29] the president addressed it. There's a president of peace, by the way. I told you what I just said [36:33] earlier. This guy had multiple opportunities to find his way somewhere else and figure out another. [36:38] He could have been living somewhere else right now, very happy, but instead he wanted to play big boy. [36:42] And so now, you know, he's got other sets of problems on his hands. And, but I think that the message [36:47] here should be for the world, but the president doesn't go out looking for people to pick fights [36:51] with. He's not generally wants to get along with everybody. We'll talk and meet with anybody, [36:56] but don't play games. Don't play games with this president's in office because it's not going [37:00] to turn out well. And so I hope that, you know, you know, I guess that lesson was learned last night [37:07] and, um, and we hope it'll be instructive moving forward. [37:10] Is that a message for Cuba? Mr. President. [37:12] Mr. President. [37:13] Mr. President. [37:14] Mr. President. [37:15] Mr. President. [37:16] Mr. President. [37:17] Mr. President. [37:18] You said that the U.S. is going to run Venezuela. So who's in power right now? [37:21] Well, we're going to be running it with a group and we're going to make sure it's run properly. [37:26] We're going to rebuild the oil infrastructure, which will cost billions of dollars. It'll be paid for [37:31] by the oil companies directly. Uh, they will, uh, be reimbursed for what they're doing, but, uh, [37:37] that's going to be paid and we're going to get the oil flowing the way it should be. As you know, [37:42] it was just a minor flow. It was actually a minor flow for what they have, but we're going to run it [37:46] properly and we're going to make sure the people of Venezuela are taken care of. We're going to make [37:51] sure the people that were forced out of Venezuela by this thug, uh, are also taken care of. [37:56] Mr. President, does the U.S. running the country mean [38:02] that U.S. troops will be on the ground? How will that work? [38:05] Well, you know, they always say boots on the ground. Oh, so we're not afraid of boots on [38:09] the ground if we have to have. We had boots on the ground last night at a very high level, [38:13] actually. We're not afraid of it. We're we don't mind saying it, but we're going to make sure that [38:19] that country is run properly. We're not doing this in vain. This is not, this is a very dangerous [38:23] attack. This is an attack that could have gone very, very badly, could have gone very badly. [38:28] We could have lost a lot of people last night. We could have lost a lot of [38:31] uh, dignity. We could have lost a lot of equipment. The equipment is less important, [38:36] but, uh, we could have lost a lot. And we're going to make sure that this is proper. We're there now. [38:43] We're ready to go again if we have to. We're going to run the country right. It's going to be [38:48] run very, uh, judiciously, very fairly. It's going to make a lot of money. We're going to give money to [38:54] the people. We're going to reimburse, uh, people that we're taking advantage of. We're going to [39:00] take care of everybody. It's very important. We couldn't let them get away with it. You know, [39:04] they stole our oil. We, we built that whole industry there and they just took it over like [39:11] we were nothing. And we had a president that decided not to do anything about it. So, uh, [39:16] we did something about it. We're late, but we did something about it. Yeah, please. [39:20] Explaining the exact mechanism by which you're going to run the country. Are you going to [39:24] designate a U.S. official to coordinate? Yes, yes. It's all being, it's all being done right now. [39:28] We're designating people. We're talking to people. We're designating, uh, various people. And we're [39:33] going to let you know who those people are. That would run Venezuela. Well, it's largely going to be [39:39] for a period of time. Uh, the people that are standing right behind me, we're going to be running it. [39:44] We're going to be bringing it back. It's a, it's a dead, you know, I talk about a dead country. [39:48] A year and a half ago, we were a dead country. Now we're the hottest country anywhere in the world. [39:53] We're a country doing better than any country anywhere in the world. And, uh, it required [39:59] leadership. Venezuela has a lot of bad people in there, a lot of bad people that shouldn't be [40:05] leading. We're not going to take a chance that one of those people take over for Maduro. So, uh, [40:10] you can look at, and, and others. We have fantastic people, including people in the military. [40:16] So we're going to have a group of people running it until such time as it can be [40:20] put back on track, make a lot of money for the people and give people a great way of life. [40:25] And also reimbursement for people in our country that were forced out of Venezuela. [40:33] You said earlier today that you weren't going to back Machado to come back and be the opposition [40:36] later in your Fox and friends interview. And then you also mentioned the vice president of Venezuela. [40:41] Are you going to work with vice president of Venezuela or how do you foresee the relationship? [40:45] Well, I understand she was just sworn in, but she was, as you know, picked by Maduro. [40:49] So Marco's working on that directly. He just had a conversation with her [40:54] and she's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again. Very simple. [41:01] Mr. President, uh, so, uh, Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, uh, you know, a couple of weeks ago, [41:07] you said he's got to watch his ass. Um, and today he said he's not concerned about anything [41:11] happening to him in the aftermath of this operation. So, uh, just what your message is [41:15] about that. Well, he has cocaine mills. He has, uh, factories where he makes cocaine. [41:20] And yeah, I think I stick by my first statement. He's making cocaine. They're sending it into the [41:25] United States. So he does have to watch his ass. Mr. President, did you notify any members of [41:32] Congress in advance? Marco, do you want to talk about that? Because you were involved. Sure. [41:36] We call members of Congress immediately after this was not the kind of mission that you can do [41:39] congressional notification on. It was a trigger based mission in which conditions had to be met [41:44] night after night. We watched and monitored that for a number of days. So it's just simply not the [41:48] kind of mission you can call people and say, Hey, we may do this at some point in the next 15 days, [41:52] but it's largely a law enforcement function. Remember at the end of day at, at its core, [41:56] this was an arrest of two indicted fugitives of American justice and the department of war [42:01] supported the department of justice in that job. Now there are broader policy implications here, [42:05] but it's just not the kind of mission that you can pre notify because it endangers the mission. [42:11] Plus, if I could add one thing to that. Congress has a tendency to leak. This would not be good. [42:18] If they leaked general, I think it would have been maybe a very different result. But I have to say [42:23] they knew we were coming at some point, you know, a lot of ships out there. They sort of knew we were [42:28] coming. We weren't. But, but Congress, Congress will leak and we don't want leakers. [42:33] You were one of the only people to watch this all play out live. What was Maduro doing [42:40] when the U.S. forces entered what I assume would be his home? And also, was there any point where [42:45] the U.S. was considering if Maduro pushed back or resisted killing Maduro? [42:49] It could have happened. It could have happened. He was trying to get into a safe place. You know, [42:54] the safe place is all steel. And he wasn't able to make it to the door because our guys were so fast. [43:00] They went through the opposition so fast. And there was a lot of opposition. You know, people [43:05] were wondering, do we get them by surprise? Sort of surprised, but they were waiting for something. [43:10] It was a lot of opposition. There was a lot of gunfire. You saw some of it today. [43:15] But he was trying to get to a safe place, which wasn't safe because we would have had the door blown [43:20] up in about 47, I think 47 seconds, they say on average, regardless of how thick the seal was. [43:28] It was a very thick door. It was a very heavy door. But he was unable to get to that door. He made it [43:34] to the door. He was unable to close it. Go ahead, finish. [43:39] Where is Maduro going to be in the time being right now? Do you know his exact [43:43] Well, eventually, ultimately, in the near future, he's going to be brought to New York. [43:46] And where is he going to be held? Where is he going to be held in New York? [43:49] That's going to be up to the officials that do these things. [43:52] Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President, the U.S. has something of a mixed track record [43:56] of ousting dictators without necessarily a plan for what comes afterwards. [44:00] Not with me. [44:01] Did that weigh on your decision making? [44:02] Well, that's why we had different presidents. But with me, that's not true. [44:04] With me, we've had a perfect track record of winning. We win a lot. And we win. [44:11] If you look at Soleimani, you look at al-Baghdadi, you look at the midnight hammer. [44:16] Midnight hammer was incredible. Right now, you wouldn't have peace in the Middle East. [44:21] Essentially, peace in the Middle East because of that. If we weren't successful with midnight [44:26] hammer, you wouldn't have peace in the Middle East. So with me, you've had a lot of victory. [44:32] You've had only victories. You've had no losses. Yeah. [44:35] Mr. President, how long do you expect the U.S. to run Venezuela? [44:39] And how soon do you want Venezuela people to hold a life? [44:42] So I'd like to do it quickly, but it takes a period of time. You know, we're rebuilding. [44:46] We have to rebuild their whole infrastructure. The infrastructure is rotted. It's actually very [44:51] dangerous. It's, you know, blow up territory. Oil is very dangerous. It's a very dangerous thing to [44:56] take out of the ground. It can kill a lot of people. It has killed a lot of people doing just that. [45:03] The infrastructure is old. It's rotted. Much of it is stuff that we put there 25 years ago. [45:09] And we're going to be replacing it. And we're going to take a lot of money out so that we can [45:14] take care of the country. Mr. President, China, Russia and Iran have interests in Venezuela. [45:23] How does this operation affect your relationships with them when it comes to the oil and drugs? [45:28] And Russia. Well, Russia, when we get things straightened out. But in terms of other countries [45:35] that want oil, we're in the oil business. We're going to sell it to them. We're not going to say [45:39] we're not going to go through it. In other words, we'll be selling oil probably in much larger doses [45:44] because they couldn't produce very much because their infrastructure was so bad. So we'll be selling [45:49] large amounts of oil to other countries, many of whom are using it now. But I would say many more [45:55] will come. Are you saying that, Mr. President, are you saying that. Oh, Mr. President, thank you. [46:03] What is your message to the people of Venezuela today? Of course, the civilian population specifically, [46:09] they have a lot of questions. What is your message to the people of Venezuela? [46:11] You're going to have peace, justice. You're going to have some of the riches that you should have [46:17] had for a long period of time. It was stolen from you. But you're going to have peace and you're going [46:21] to have safety. You're going to have justice. You're going to have a country. You're going to have a [46:24] real country. You're going to have potentially a great country. You know, if you go back 20 years, [46:29] maybe even a little longer ago, that was a great country and they destroyed it. Remember I said that if [46:35] we lose this election, the United States will be Venezuela on steroids. That's what would have [46:41] happened. Had we lost the election, the 2024 election, we suffered so badly. When you look [46:47] at the border from 2020, what they did, what Joe Biden administration did to our country should never [46:54] be forgotten. But if we had to go through another year of that, we wouldn't have. We would be exactly [46:59] where Venezuela was in terms. I used to say, if they win, we're going to be Venezuela on steroids. [47:06] And that's what would have happened. President, thank you. Are you saying that Secretary [47:10] Hegseth and Rubio are going to be running Venezuela? And will you be sending in U.S. [47:14] military troops to provide? They're going to be a team that's working with the people of Venezuela [47:18] to make sure that we have Venezuela right. Because for us to just leave, who's going to take over? [47:23] I mean, there is nobody to take over. You have a vice president who's been appointed by Maduro. [47:30] And right now she's the vice president. And she's, I guess, the president. She was sworn as [47:34] president just a little while ago. She had a long conversation with Marco and she said, [47:39] we'll do whatever you need. I think she was quite gracious. But she really doesn't have a choice. [47:47] We're going to have this done right. We're not going to just do this with Maduro, then leave like [47:51] everybody else. Leave and say, you know, let it go to hell. If we just left, it has zero chance of ever [47:57] coming back. We'll run it properly. We'll run it professionally. We'll have the greatest oil companies [48:02] in the world going and invest billions and billions of dollars and take out money, use that money in [48:08] Venezuela. And the biggest beneficiary are going to be the people of Venezuela. And also, [48:13] I can't stress this strongly enough, the people that got thrown out of Venezuela that are now in [48:19] the United States. And frankly, some want to stay and some probably want to go back. Yeah. [48:23] So when to protect Americans in the country and were any of the detained Americans? [48:29] Well, right now, they're very protected because nobody's going to mess with us. They're very [48:33] protected. The people of and we let them know that you better not touch one of them. [48:38] Are you concerned that bad elements of the Maduro regime will remain in place? [48:43] Well, we know who they are. We're on them. And they're acting much differently now than they would [48:49] have acted two days ago. OK, wait behind you, please. [48:52] Mr. President, why is running a country in South America America first? [48:56] Well, I think it is because we want to surround ourselves with good neighbors. We want to [49:01] surround ourselves with stability. We want to surround ourselves with energy. We have tremendous [49:06] energy in that country. It's very important that we protect it. We need that for ourselves. We need [49:11] that for the world. And we want to make sure we can protect it. Yes, sir. Please go ahead. [49:17] Is there a message here for Cuba and Diazcanal? Well, Cuba is an interesting case. Cuba is, you know, [49:22] not doing very well right now. That system has not been a very good one for Cuba. The people there [49:27] have suffered for many, many years. And I think Cuba is going to be something we'll end up talking [49:33] about because Cuba is a failing nation right now, very badly failing nation. And we want to help the [49:39] people. It's very similar in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba, but we want to also [49:44] help the people that were forced out of Cuba and living in this country. Do you want to say something [49:48] about that, Marco, please? Well, I mean, I just gave you a statement a few minutes ago about, [49:54] you know, when the president speaks, you should take him seriously. Suffice it to say, you know, [49:57] Cuba is a disaster. It's run by incompetent, senile men, and in some cases, not senile, [50:04] but incompetent nonetheless. It has no economy. It's in total collapse. And by the way, you know, [50:09] they were, you know, all of the guards that helped protect Maduro, this is well known, [50:13] their whole spy agency, all that were full of Cubans. I mean, they basically, it's amazing. This poor [50:18] island took over Venezuela in some cases. One of the biggest problems that Venezuelans have is they [50:23] have to declare independence from Cuba. They tried to basically colonize it from a security standpoint. [50:26] So, yeah, look, if I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I'd be concerned at least a little [50:31] bit. Well, the president already announced a week ago that anything that's sanctioned, [50:37] it's sanctioned oil, it's not going to be allowed to get there. So that's, that's a pre-existing [50:42] question. Mr. President, the answer is, the answer is yes. Mr. President, [50:48] Mr. President, are you aware of the location of opposition leader Machado and have you been in [50:52] contact with her? No, we haven't really, no, we haven't. Mr. President, [51:00] on, on Monday. Oh, I think it'd be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn't have the support [51:04] within or the respect within the country. She's a very nice woman, but she doesn't have the respect. [51:09] Mr. President, is it possible that the U.S. ends up administrating Venezuela for years? [51:14] Well, you know, it won't cost us anything because the money coming out of the ground is very [51:19] substantial. So it's not going to cost us anything. We will. Well, we want safety there. We want to be [51:25] surrounded by countries that aren't housing all of our enemies all over the world. That's what was [51:31] happening. And you don't want to have that. But we're going to be rebuilding and we're not spending [51:38] money. The oil companies are going to go in. They're going to spend money. We're going to take [51:42] back the oil that, frankly, we should have taken back a long time ago. A lot of money is coming out [51:47] of the ground. We're going to get reimbursed for all of that. We're going to get reimbursed for [51:50] everything that we spend. So it's going to be it's going to be a very important. It's going to be a very [51:57] important. This is a very big evening that took place last night. We have to be surrounded by safe, [52:03] secure countries. And we also have to have energy. Very important. We have to have energy [52:09] that's real energy, not where they're getting four percent and five percent of the energy out of the [52:14] ground. You take a look. It was such a disaster. So what's going to happen with Venezuela, I think, [52:19] over the next period of a year is going to be a great thing. And the people of Venezuela will be [52:24] the biggest beneficiaries. Mr. President, thank you. What did you last speak to Maduro about when [52:34] you spoke? Well, I don't want to get into the conversations, but I did have conversations [52:38] with him. And I said, you got to surrender. And I actually thought he was pretty close to doing so. [52:47] But now he wished he did. Yeah. You said that Maduro is responsible for drug trafficking. [52:54] You recently pardoned the former president of Honduras who was convicted of many drug trafficking. [52:59] Can you explain how these two situations are? Well, the, the, yeah, I endorsed, as you know, [53:04] the winning president, the man who won in Honduras. I endorsed the man who won in Chile. I endorsed the [53:11] man who won in Argentina. And we are doing very well with that whole group. What the man that I pardoned [53:17] was, if you could equate it to us, he was treated like the Biden administration treated a man named [53:23] Trump. That didn't work out too well for them. This was a man who was persecuted very unfairly. [53:29] He was the head of the country. He was persecuted very unfairly. And there are a number of them. [53:35] And we felt that it was a very unfair situation that happened to him. He's also a party member of [53:40] the man who won. So obviously the people liked what I did. And one of the reasons that was done is [53:46] because of the fact that the party in power felt very strongly that that man was treated very badly. [53:52] I studied it very quickly. And then I studied it in great detail. I went to a lot of the people [53:58] standing behind me and they felt that that man was persecuted and treated very badly. That's why [54:03] I gave him a pardon. You referenced boots on the ground earlier. Can you just sort of button this [54:09] up? Do you envision the U.S. military having a presence in Venezuela as the U.S. runs that country? [54:14] Well, no, we're going to have a presence in Venezuela as it pertains to oil, [54:18] because we have to have. We were sending our expertise in. So you may need something, [54:23] not very much. But no, we're going to be taking out a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground. [54:29] And that wealth is going to the people of Venezuela and people from outside of Venezuela that used to [54:34] be in Venezuela. And it goes also to the United States of America in the form of reimbursement [54:40] for the damages caused us by that country. So I want to thank you all very much. Thank you. [54:45] Do you have one? Yes, please. You were so nice before. I'm going to give you the final question. [54:50] Thank you, Mr. President. Unless it's a bad question, [54:52] in which case I'll go one word. It's about who? It's about Putin, if you want to. [54:55] About Putin. Well, that's always nice to talk about Putin. [54:58] You had a phone call with him on Monday. Did he talk at all about Maduro? Did y'all talk about this? [55:03] No, we didn't. We never spoke about Maduro. Are you mad at him right now? I mean, [55:06] there's this intelligence. I'm not thrilled with Putin. I'm not thrilled with Putin. [55:10] He's killing too many people. I thought that would be so. I settled eight and one quarter [55:18] war. You know what the one quarter was? Thailand and Cambodia. I did it again. [55:23] They were they broke out and I did it in about five hours and I settled it. I'm giving myself [55:31] one quarter. So I'm up to now eight and one quarter. In other words, I settled the war, [55:34] but then they broke out. They had a pretty bad breakout over the last four days. I got them to [55:40] go back to peace. So I only give one quarter. I thought the easiest one would be one of the [55:45] easier ones would be Russia, Ukraine. It's not. And they both have done some pretty bad things. [55:54] And look, that's Biden's war. That's not my war. But I want to stop the lives. Did you see where last [55:59] last month? 30,000 this last? It was 27, 27,000 the month before. 30,000 mostly soldiers were killed [56:10] this last month. 30,000. I want to stop that. You know, I got NATO to pay five percent instead of [56:19] the two percent that they weren't paying. They weren't paying two. Now they pay five. And we send [56:24] them a lot of munitions. We send them a lot of things, missiles and various other things. A lot. [56:29] And they pay. The United States is not losing money. We're probably making money on that. [56:34] It's the last thing I care about. I just want to stop all those people. We're losing 25, 30,000 human [56:40] beings that come from two places that are very far away. But if I can stop because it's something I've [56:47] been pretty good at doing deals, I guess. It's all a deal. Life is a big deal. But if I can stop that war [56:54] and stop 30,000 young people in addition to the fact that people are being killed in Kiev, people [57:00] are being killed in other cities throughout, you know, a much smaller number. But they're being killed, [57:05] viciously killed. So I'm not happy about it. I thought that would be something that would get [57:09] solved. We have Mr. Whitcoff here. I think that we're making progress. But that's a war that should [57:15] have never happened. If I were president, it would have never happened. Putin says it. Everybody says it. [57:21] If I were president, that would have never happened. But I inherited that war. That was [57:26] Joe Biden, Zelensky and Putin. I came into the situation and it's a mess. And I will say this. [57:34] I watched an operation last night that was so precise. That was so brilliant. I mean, [57:39] it was incredible. If we had our people like this general and our people involved, [57:46] that war, that war would not have gone on very long, that I can tell you. [57:51] That war, to use an old term, that war has become a bloodbath. [57:56] And we're listening right now to this extraordinary press conference happening at Mar-a-Lago. President [58:01] Trump, members of his cabinet talking about this stunning overnight strike in Venezuela, [58:06] taking President Nicolas Maduro and his wife into custody. They talked about the attack and the dead [58:12] of night, 150 aircraft, part of this operation. Delta special forces involved with the CIA, [58:18] laying the groundwork and giving them the precise location of where President Maduro was staying. [58:24] That extraction crew came in on these helicopters flying about 100 feet above the ground. They were [58:30] able to use equipment to knock out communications there and then carried out these strikes. You see [58:35] some of the videos from overnight. Some of the interesting details that we're learning, [58:39] though, is the fact that President Trump essentially said we are going to be running the country, [58:45] talking about oil companies and U.S. energy infrastructure coming in to fix some of the [58:52] broken infrastructure there and then begin turning out oil and making money for the country of Venezuela, [58:58] he said. Let's go ahead and bring in our chief global affairs correspondent, Martha Raddatz, because [59:03] Martha, he did sort of dance around the question a little bit about U.S. boots on the ground and [59:08] suggested this was going to be run by some team, including Secretary Rubio and Secretary Hegseth, [59:14] working with the Venezuelans. But he left many questions unanswered, [59:19] despite reporters trying to get answers, including our Selena Wang there, about what role the military [59:26] might play. He seemed to say it was the oil companies. But this is the statement he had earlier, [59:32] which was an astonishing statement after what appeared to be a flawless extraction. He said, [59:39] we are going to run the country, going to stay until a proper, safe and judicious transition [59:47] takes place. That leaves so many questions. Transition to who? Transition to what? And he did not [59:53] explain any of those kinds of details, only to say the group behind him, which, as you said, included [59:59] Secretary Rubio, Secretary Hegseth, that they will be in charge of this, but put all of the emphasis [1:00:07] on oil and that the oil companies would be going into Venezuela. When asked again at the very end about [1:00:14] the military and whether they would be going in, he said, no, it will be the oil companies, [1:00:19] but we may need some. So certainly the extraction teams are out of there, as we reported earlier. [1:00:26] But is anyone else going in? And what is the plan? Who will be in charge? He said it would not be [1:00:34] Maria Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize and is an opposition leader. He said, no, I don't think [1:00:39] she has the support. This is something we'll have to watch. This is very precarious going forward about [1:00:46] how this will work. And so many questions remain with. Yeah. And Martha, as you noted there, [1:00:50] he was pressed multiple times about U.S. boots on the ground. He said, we're not afraid of boots on [1:00:55] the ground. We had boots on the ground last night. So essentially not ruling that out. Um, and [1:01:01] obviously there's going to need to be some sort of security force in place to monitor this transition [1:01:06] going forward.