“We are going to run Venezuela.”
We are only three days into 2026 and things really have picked back up from where we left off in 2025.
While tensions have been on the rise for months now between the United States and Venezuela, it wasn’t until the early hours of this morning that Donald Trump decided to take decisive action when they attacked Venezuela and ‘captured’ President Maduro.
Now, Donald Trump has addressed the world’s press and has explained that the US will ‘run’ Venezuela until they can find somebody else to take over.
Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago residence, the President said: “Late last night and early today at my direction, the United States Armed Forces conducted an extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela, overwhelming American military power.
“Air, land and sea was used to launch a spectacular assault and it was an assault like people have not seen since World War Two.”
Donald Trump then added that the US will run the country.
He said: “We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.
“So, we don’t want to be involved with, having somebody else get in. And we have the same situation that we had for the last long period of years.
“So, we are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”
Trump has also vowed that the US will bring in oil firms.
He said: “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, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country.”
And the US is prepared to launch a second attack.
He said the US is “ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so.
“But we’re prepared to do a second wave, a much bigger wave, actually,” he said.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said earlier today that the UK was ‘not involved in any way’.
He also said that he has not spoken to Donald Trump yet, adding: “No I haven’t and it is obviously a fast moving situation and we need to establish all the facts.”
He said: “I want to establish the facts first. I want to speak to President Trump. I want to speak to allies. As I say I can be absolutely clear we were not involved in that.
“As you know, I always say and believe we should uphold international law. But I think at this stage, fast moving situation, let’s establish the facts and take it from there.”
Here’s everything we know about this previously simmering and now overflowing conflict.
When did tensions start?
Relations between the US and Venezuela have not been good for a long time now.
In 1998 socialist leader Hugo Chávez was elected as president and started to nationalise industry and oppose US influence in Latin America.
As we know, historically the US do not like any politics slightly left of right and naturally became wary and cold towards Venezuela.
Of course, the Americans have precedent, notably in the Cold War where they influenced politics in a number of emerging socialist Latin American nations such as Cuba, Chile, Nicaragua, El Salvador, etc.
However, things worsened in 2002 following a failed coup attempt which Chávez claimed the US had supported.
Chavez would die in 2013 with President (potentially until this morning) Nicolás Maduro taking over power.
Maduro is also a socialist leader, but also employed authoritarianism, election manipulation, and human rights abuses, leading to the US imposing sanctions on the nation in 2014.
Relations would worsen further in 2019 when the US recognised opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president.
This was followed by sanctions, notably on Venezuela’s large oil industry – we’ll be coming back to that magic three letter word.
2025 – The year of the Trump
Now, these tensions were all pretty much based on tit for tat diplomacy until the arrival of FIFA Peace Prize winner Donald Trump!
Trump started taking direct action against Venezuela in the name of ‘the war on drugs’ – because all definitely worthy causes for attack/invasion need a ‘war on’ something.
This led to Trump ordering the US military to carry out attacks on small trafficking boats bringing drugs to the US.
However, this was done in a no forgiveness style which has led to around 110 people dead, as per the BBC.
Many of these attacks have also been carried out in international waters.
Trump also believes that Maduro is at the head of such operations, claiming him to be linked with the Cartel of the Suns, a group designated as a terrorist organisation by the US.
While Trump has labelled drug trafficking as reasons for righteous hostility, many have pointed out that the vast majority of drugs entering the US still come through Mexico, and not on small boats from Venezuela, while are mostly produced in Colombia.
Trump has also used this hostility to partially ban migration and travel from Venezuela to the US.
The real reason?
While there may be some truth in the war on drugs and migration, one factor looms large over the heads of those backing military action in Venezuela, and its shadow stretches back decades – oil.
Many have been quick to point out that, quite astonishingly, Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, even more than Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states.
The US has already blockaded oil tankers around Venezuela and it is highly likely to be a motivation behind trying to depose Maduro.
Venezuela has been mistreated and abused by government mishandling, corruption and international sanctions.
A nation with more oil reserves than Saudi Arabia should be one of the richest in the world, but it isn’t.
It is likely, whether to the benefit or not of the Venezuelan people, that Trump will look to broker a deal with a new regime in which America will be able to profit off these oil reserves – although this remains purely speculation.
What now?
Well, now it’s a waiting game.
Trump confirmed this morning that the US had captured Maduro and his wife and that they had been flown out of the country.
Taking to Truth Social, the US president said: “The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country.
“This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement. Details to follow. There will be a News Conference today at 11 A.M., at Mar-a-Lago. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
What they will do with Maduro is yet to be known, however, reports suggest the opposition in Venezuela have already begun preparations to take power.
This said, the current military and deputies of Maduro have also notified their intention to defend their position with Venezuela’s Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino López announcing an immediate deployment of military forces across the country.
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