‘We’re Going To Run the Country’: Trump Signals Long-Term Involvement in Venezuela After Capturing President

President Donald Trump said the United States would “run” Venezuela until it can ensure a political transition following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro in an extraordinary raid by American special forces early Saturday.

Read more: Trump Says U.S. Has Captured Venezuelan President Following ‘Large-Scale’ Strike

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

The president’s comments suggest the Trump Administration is planning a long-term intervention in the South American country, despite previously denying it was seeking regime change.

“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,” Trump said in a press conference at Mar-a-Lago.

Read more: How the World Is Reacting to the U.S. Capture of Nicolas Maduro

Lauding what he described as an “extraordinary military operation” to capture Maduro, Trump signaled that the United States would take control of Venezuela’s oil industry, which he claimed had been stolen from the U.S.

“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.  

“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. This constituted one of the largest thefts of American property in the history of our country,” Trump said.

In a meandering speech, Trump diverted from the issue of Venezuela to attack U.S. governors for not supporting his deployment of the National Guard to American cities and attack former presidents.

The military operation on Venezuela follows months of pressure from the Trump Administration on Maduro to cede power in the South American country over long-standing accusations of drug trafficking and election rigging.

It represents the largest U.S. military operation in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama, when, as today, the U.S. captured the country’s leader, Manuel Antonio Noriega.

Maduro was indicted on corruption and drug trafficking charges in the U.S. in 2020. The State Department had announced a $50 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been indicted in New York and would “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”

Trump later said Maduro and Flores were being transported aboard a U.S. warship to New York, where they are expected to face prosecution. He posted a photograph on social media showing Maduro blindfolded and dressed in a sweatsuit aboard the vessel, flanked by personnel wearing U.S. law-enforcement insignia.

Trump also claimed that Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, had been sworn in as the country’s new leader and had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump described her as “willing to do what we think is necessary,” though Venezuelan opposition figures disputed that account and said the legitimate transfer of power remained unresolved.

The legality of the U.S. strike and whether Trump consulted Congress beforehand remained unclear. The United Nations said it was “deeply alarmed” by the operation and warned it could violate international law. China and Russia issued statements condemning the action as an infringement on Venezuela’s sovereignty, while several European leaders urged restraint and called for clarification.

Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations requested an emergency Security Council meeting, warning that the country “reserves the inherent right to self-defense” following the U.S. assault.

Trump dismissed criticism from Democratic lawmakers who said the strike was unconstitutional, calling them “weak” and defending the operation as necessary to stop drug trafficking and reclaim Venezuela’s oil wealth.

U.S. officials acknowledged that a helicopter was struck during the raid and that several American service members were injured, though Trump said none were killed.

A Pentagon spokesperson referred TIME’s questions to the White House. The White House directed TIME to President Trump’s post on Truth Social.

This is a developing story.