After ousting Maduro in Venezuela, Trump commits himself to another foreign policy project

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump declared the U.S. military operation that led to the ouster of Nicolás Maduro a major success as he offered a vague plan for his administration "to run" Venezuela until a transition of power can take place.

"This was one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history," Trump declared at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

The president hasn't shied away from flexing U.S. military might even as he vowed to keep America out of war. In June, he directed U.S. strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites.

On Saturday, he committed the U.S. to help Venezuela usher in a period of "peace" and "justice" after decades of rule by strongmen.

The announcement came as he struggles to bring about a permanent peace between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and an end to Russia's nearly four-year war in Ukraine.

The path ahead is treacherous. The White House will need to grapple with any power vacuum caused by Maduro's ouster and inevitable complications of trying to maintain stability in a country that's endured years of hyperinflation, food and medicine shortages and brain drain despite its vast oil wealth.

Saturday's action stirred fresh anxiety in capitals around the world that sought to adjust to a new normal in Trump's second term.

It also remains to be seen what lessons U.S. adversaries may take from Trump's decision to demonstrate American might in its sphere of influence. China's Xi Jinping vowed to annex the self-ruled island of Taiwan and Russia's Vladimir Putin has designs on neighbor Ukraine and diminishing NATO's eastern flank.

Trump vowed to make Venezuela "great again." He also sought to reassure American taxpayers that they won't be on the hook for his plan to help Caracas.

He said the U.S. would tap Venezuela's vast oil reserves to sell to other nations. "The money coming out of the ground is very substantial," Trump said. "We're going to get reimbursed for everything that we spend."

US plans to 'run' Venezuela and tap its oil reserves, Trump says, after Maduro ouster

A plane believed to be carrying the deposed leader landed late Saturday afternoon in New York, where he was expected to face criminal charges. 

Concerns raised

European allies expressed concern as Trump built up a massive presence of troops in the Caribbean in recent months and carried out dozens of lethal strikes on suspected drug smugglers.

Now the Trump administration's dead-of-night extradition of Maduro and his wife and its plans to "run" the country raised stark new questions about the legality of the U.S. moves.

Maduro's 2018 and 2024 elections were seen as riddled with irregularities and viewed as illegitimate. Still, many U.S. allies greeted news of Maduro's capture with a measure of trepidation.

European Commission President António Costa said he had "great concern" about the situation in Venezuela after the U.S. operation.

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said, "the military operation that led to the capture of Maduro infringes the principle of the non-use of force that underpins international law."

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Government-politics

From bus driver to president: Venezuela's Maduro never escaped his predecessor's shadow

• REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press

In the U.S., some Democrats immediately criticized Trump's military action to oust Maduro.

"This war is illegal, it's embarrassing that we went from the world cop to the world bully in less than one year," Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., wrote on social media. "There is no reason for us to be at war with Venezuela."

Russia's foreign ministry condemned what it called a U.S. "act of armed aggression" against Venezuela in a statement posted on its Telegram app channel. Maduro was backed by the Russians.

"Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive, let alone military, outside intervention," it said.

Similarly, China's foreign ministry condemned the U.S. operation, saying it violates international law and Venezuela's sovereignty.

Months of pressure

The operation was the culmination of a push inside the administration led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other like-minded foes of Maduro who urged Trump to take action against the Venezuelan leader for years.

In south Florida — the epicenter of the Venezuelan diaspora opposition to Maduro that influenced Rubio's thinking — Saturday's operation was cheered as an era-changing moment for democracy.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., said he spoke to Rubio and thanked Trump for changing "the course of history in our hemisphere. Our country & the world are safer for it," he wrote on social media, comparing Maduro's extradition to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Rubio took the moment to send a warning to Cuba, another U.S. adversary in the Caribbean and ally of the Maduro government. "If I lived in Havana, and I was in the government, I'd be concerned — at least a little bit," Rubio said.

Government-politics

How the US captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro

• MEG KINNARD and MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press

Maduro this past week said Venezuela was open to negotiating an agreement with the United States to combat drug trafficking and work with Washington on promoting U.S. further investment in the Venezuelan oil industry. Trump said Maduro recently was offered chances to surrender but declined.

Rubio held a long phone conversation Saturday with Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, Trump said. In an address to the nation, she demanded the U.S. free Maduro but left open the possibility of dialogue with Trump.

Venezuela's opposition says the rightful president is the exiled politician Edmundo González, an ally of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

Venezuelans, others around the world react to Maduro's capture