Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 03/Jan 18:34

Trump: US will run Venezuela

US President Donald Trump says the US will run Venezuela following a military strike on the capital city, Caracas, which resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Speaking at a news conference in Florida, hours after US air and ground forces executed a daring mission in Caracas to extract Maduro and his wife from a heavily fortified compound around 2 am. Among the units reportedly involved in the mission was the US Army's elite counter-terrorism unit, Delta Force. Maduro and Flores are now on board the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, part of the larger US military force that has assembled in the southern Caribbean since last August. They are to be taken to New York to face trial on drug related charges. Asked about Venezuela's immediate future after this operation, Trump said, "The US is going to run Venezuela until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition." He did not explain what that meant or who could be part of any transitional regime in Venezuela. He said Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez had been sworn in as president after Maduro's capture, and she had spoken with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump said it was unlikely Rodriguez or any member of Maduro's regime would hold any position of power in Venezuela for long. He cast doubt on whether exiled Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado would lead or be part of any interim Venezuelan government. Trump said it would be difficult for her to lead Venezuela because "she doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country.” He added, "We're going to make sure that country is run properly. We're designating people right now and "we're going to let you know who those people are". When asked who would run Venezuela, Trump referred to Rubio and other people standing behind him. "It's largely going to be, for a period of time, the people that are standing right behind me.” Trump said the US was not afraid to put American troops on the ground in Venezuela to keep the peace and had the operation to extract Maduro been unsuccessful, the US was prepared to launch an even larger strike. After repeating his claim that Venezuela stole oil and other energy assets from the US, Trump said American oil companies will be going into Venezuela to fix its "broken infrastructure" and "start making money for the country." He promised reimbursements for Venezuelans and other people who suffered economically under Maduro's regime Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, supported Trump's position that US forces in the southern Caribbean remain on high alert to deal with any situation. He said the mission to extract Maduro took months of meticulous planning involving the US military and other entities such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Caine visited Trinidad and Tobago last November and held talks with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. After those talks, Persad-Bissessar said the discussions with Caine did not involve Venezuela but US-TT security cooperation against narco-trafficking. Last October and November, members of the 22nd US Marines Expeditionary Unit (MEU) held joint training exercises with the TT Defence Force. The guided missile destroyer USS Gravely, one of the first ships in the region as part of the ongoing military deployment, also visited TT last October. US Marines also installed a military radar at the ANR Robinson International Airport last November. Persad-Bissessar has insisted the radar was to deal with narco-trafficking in TT maritime areas. The government has also allowed the US military access to the Piarco and ANR Robinson International Airports for transit flights for an indefinite period of time. The post Trump: US will run Venezuela appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.