Venezuela without Maduro

The main thing about how the United States overthrew the government in a neighboring country

Trump spoke at a press conference at his Mar-o-Lago residence. The US will “govern Venezuela” until it can ensure a “safe, genuine and fair transition of power.” According to him, the United States cannot allow the new government to have “the same situation as before.” Trump also said that American oil companies would repair oil infrastructure in Venezuela and “start making money for the country.”

Trump did not specify how exactly the United States plans to take over control of Venezuela; There is no evidence that the United States has any control over government authorities and administrative buildings in Caracas. At the end of his statement, Trump warned Venezuelan politicians and military officials that “they will suffer the same fate as Maduro if they do not treat their people fairly.” Trump said the military is ready to carry out a “second, more powerful wave” of strikes, but, in his opinion, this is no longer necessary.

In response to clarifying questions from reporters about how exactly the United States plans to govern Venezuela, Trump said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez - and that she allegedly agreed to “do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.” Information about Rodriguez's contacts with US authorities has not yet been confirmed.

Trump also said he is not afraid to admit that the US military will be present in the country if necessary.

Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores are on a military ship and will be flown to New York , Trump said in an interview with Fox News before the press conference. “They were taken out by helicopters, the flight was good, I’m sure they liked it. But they killed a lot of people, don’t forget,” the US President said.

According to ABC News sources, Maduro will be taken to the base in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, from where he will be flown to New York. In the United States, the Maduro couple are expected to stand trial on a range of charges, including conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and export cocaine.

Trump, in an interview with Fox News, revealed some details of the operation to capture Maduro. In particular, he said, the US military, for training, built a copy of one of the houses where Maduro lived. According to the US President, his family was captured while they were trying to get into a protected “safe room”. Trump claims he watched the operation live, “like a TV show.” The US President also said that during the operation one of the American helicopters was shot down. Several soldiers were wounded, but they were able to leave Venezuela.

According to sources in The Washington Post, CIA officers participated in the preparation of the operation and located the President of Venezuela and his wife. Soldiers of the elite army unit "Delta", sent from the Middle East and North Africa, have been studying where Maduro is for several weeks, the newspaper writes .

This information was later confirmed in general terms by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Cain. According to Kane, more than 150 aircraft and helicopters took part in the operation, which were located at 20 military bases.

Maduro supporters made public appeals after the attack. Among them are Vice President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez, to whom presidential powers may pass until new elections are held, as well as Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello , Attorney General Tarek William Saab and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez . They condemned the American attack and called on citizens to defend the country.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado released a statement saying that the time for freedom has come for Venezuelans . In her opinion, the country should be led by a presidential candidate in the 2024 elections, 74-year-old Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. “Nicolas Maduro will face international justice for the heinous crimes committed against Venezuelans and citizens of other countries. Given his refusal to accept a negotiated solution, the United States has kept its promise to enforce the law,” she said.

The streets of Caracas were empty on January 3; queues lined up outside the few open supermarkets and pharmacies to stock up on food and medicine, El Nacional newspaper reported . The metro and buses, according to the publication, did not operate. According to journalists, supporters of the ousted president took to the streets in the center of Caracas, demanding his return to the country.

The US Department of Justice, which had already brought charges against Maduro in 2020, published a new indictment. It alleges, in particular, that Maduro, while still a member of the National Assembly in the 2000s, participated in organizing the transportation of cocaine, and subsequently, as Minister of Foreign Affairs (from 2006 to 2013), provided drug traffickers with Venezuelan diplomatic passports and helped create diplomatic cover for planes on which money from drug sales was transported from Mexico to Venezuela. As president, Maduro "allowed cocaine-fuelled corruption to flourish for his benefit, for the benefit of members of the ruling regime and members of his family." Other defendants named in the document include his wife, Celia Flores, and his son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, known as “Nicolasito” and “Prince,” as well as Interior, Justice and Peace Minister Diosdado Cabello.

The United States accuses Maduro and other defendants of collaborating with “narco-terrorists” from the Colombian organizations FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and ELN (Army of National Liberation), the Mexican Sinaloa and Los Zetas cartels and the Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua group.