Trump Says US Will Run Venezuela in Interim: What We Know So Far

President Donald Trump shared his plans for Venezuela on Jan. 3 during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, outlining what would happen next and who would lead the country after what he called an “extremely successful” U.S. military operation that removed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power the night before.

Trump made it clear that the United States will remain in control until a “safe, proper, and judicious transition” to a new government in Venezuela is possible.

“The dictator and terrorist Maduro is finally gone in Venezuela, people are free,” Trump declared.

Here’s how the people of Venezuela will be governed during the transition.

Trump to Designate a Team

Trump announced he will designate a team to lead the country.

“We’re talking to people, we’re designating various people, and we’re going to let you know who those people are,” Trump told reporters, adding that the process will be handled “very judiciously.”

He later specifically mentioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who were standing behind him during the press conference, as possible cabinet members who may help run the country.

“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,” Trump said.

“We’re going to be running it with a group, and we’re going to make sure it’s run properly.”

US May Keep Boots on the Ground

Trump didn’t rule out deploying U.S. troops on the ground to make sure the country is run properly during the transition.

“We’re not afraid of boots on the ground,” he told reporters. “We had boots on the ground last night at a very high level, actually. We’re not afraid of it. We don’t mind saying it, but we’re going to make sure that that country is run properly. We’re not doing this in vain.”

Trump also stated that the United States will retain all military options in the country until its objectives have been fully achieved.

“All political and military figures in Venezuela should understand what happened to Maduro can happen to them, and it will happen to them if they aren’t just, fair, even to their people,” he said.

He also noted that U.S. troops are prepared to launch “a second and much larger attack” in the country, if needed.

Oil Companies to Play Key Role

During the press conference, Trump emphasized the significant role U.S. oil companies will play in rebuilding Venezuela and restoring the country’s economy.

“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,” he said.

He accused the socialist regime of Venezuela of stealing oil from the U.S. government.

“We built Venezuela[‘s] oil industry with American talent, drive, and skill, and the socialist regime stole it from us during those previous administrations, and they stole it through force,” Trump said. “This constituted one of the largest thefts of American property in the history of our country.”

He suggested that the U.S. companies would be reimbursed for developing oil infrastructure in Venezuela.

He also indicated that oil revenues would be used to compensate people who were expelled from the country.

“We’re going to reimburse people that were taking advantage of. We’re going to take care of everybody,” Trump said.

Future of Vice President Rodriguez

Trump also commented on Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who may now be “sworn in” as the new president of the country.

“She had a long conversation with Marco, and she said, ‘We’ll do whatever you need.’ I think she was quite gracious, but she really doesn’t have a choice,” Trump said.

He indicated that he didn’t see her as the country’s future leader.

“If we just left, it has zero chance of ever coming back. We’ll run it properly. We’ll run it professionally,” Trump said.

Opposition Figure Machado

Trump also shared his views about María Corina Machado, a leading Venezuelan opposition figure and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner. He raised concerns about Machado’s prospects of becoming the leader of the country.

“It would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country. She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect,” the U.S. president said.

Machado was banned from running for president by the Maduro-run Supreme Court in January 2024.

Edmundo González replaced Machado and had been recognized by the United States and European Union as Venezuela’s rightful president-elect following the disputed 2024 election.

Machado issued a statement after the capture of Maduro, stating that a government led by González is ready to assume power.

“We are ready to take over the government. We have the teams, we have the plans,” she said.

How Long Will Transition Take?

When asked how long the United States would be involved in running Venezuela and how soon changes might happen, Trump said, “I’d like to do it quickly, but it takes a period of time.”

“We have to rebuild their whole infrastructure,” he noted. “The infrastructure is rotted.”

He said much of the infrastructure was put in place by the United States 25 years ago, and that it will be replaced.

When asked about past failures of U.S.-led interventions in countries that experienced regime changes, Trump dismissed the comparison.

“Well, that’s where we had different presidents. But with me, that’s not true,” Trump said. “With me, we’ve had a perfect track record of winning. We win a lot.”