Protestors take part in a demonstration against US military action in Venezuela in Lafayette Square in front of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 3, 2026. US President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States will “run” Venezuela and tap its huge oil reserves after snatching leftist leader Nicolas Maduro out of the country during a bombing raid on Caracas. Trump’s announcement came hours after a lightning attack in which special forces grabbed Maduro and his wife, while airstrikes pounded multiple sites, stunning the capital city.
(Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States will “run” Venezuela and tap its huge oil reserves after snatching leftist leader Nicolas Maduro out of the country during a bombing raid on Caracas. Trump did not go into detail what he meant but told a press conference in Florida: “We’re going to be running it with a group.” “We’re designating people,” he said, mentioning that cabinet officials standing with him would be in charge. In another surprise, Trump indicated that US troops could be deployed in Venezuela.
The US is “not afraid of boots on the ground,” he said. Although the operation is being framed as a law-enforcement action, Trump made clear that regime change and Venezuela’s oil riches are the major goals. “We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure,” he said.
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The 79-year-old Republican posted a picture of Maduro in custody on a US naval ship wearing a blindfold, handcuffs and what looked like noise-canceling ear muffs. He and his wife were being taken to New York to face narcotics and terrorism charges.
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