Trump Claims US Will Control Venezuela in Transition
Details of negotiations with the remnants of the Maduro government pending
HAVANA TIMES – During a press conference on Saturday, January 3, 2026, President Donald Trump stated that the United States will run Venezuela until his administration can “ensure a peaceful transition” of power. He did not, however, provide tentative dates for this process.
Trump did not rule out maintaining a US military presence on the ground. He did not clarify whether this would be part of his transition plan.
The military presence, he said, would be aimed at securing oil facilities and resources. Trump added that exploiting those oil resources would make it possible to extract a significant amount of wealth, which, he claimed, would be allocated to the Venezuelan population, to citizens who emigrated from Venezuela, and to the United States “as reimbursement for the damage that country caused us,” without offering further details about the mechanism envisioned for such distribution.
Trump said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has held “a long conversation” with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. He noted that Rodríguez put herself “at the disposal” of the White House. “We’ll do whatever is necessary,” Trump said “she has no other option.”
The president explained that, despite being an official appointed by the governing party Washington will work with her to evaluate the next steps toward advancing a political transition in Venezuela.
Trump also noted that he has not yet contacted opposition leader María Corina Machado following the recent events in the country and questioned her ability to govern. “She doesn’t have enough support within the country, she doesn’t have respect within the country,” he said of the opposition leader, who recently won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Maduro was captured in the early hours of Saturday during an operation the US military called “Absolute Resolution.” US Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were formally charged in the Southern District of New York. Maduro has been charged with “narcoterrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States.”
What Was Said About Cuba?
Cuba could be among the next focal points of US foreign policy following the military operation carried out in Venezuela to capture President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
During the press conference, Trump said that Cuba is an issue he will “talk about later” and referred to the country as a “failed state.”
For his part, Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that individuals who provided protection to Maduro “are in Havana.” According to Rubio, “the guards who protected Maduro were Cuban,” a claim that has circulated for years.
In his remarks, Rubio also described Cuba as “a disaster,” said it is “governed by incompetent men,” and that “its economy has completely collapsed.” He also issued a warning directed at the Cuban government: “They’d better watch their backs.”
The head of US diplomacy added, “If I lived in Havana and were part of the government, I would be worried,” without offering further details about the possible implications of his statements.
First published in Spanish by El Toque and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.