Maduro’s capture—a high-risk, high-yield military operation—offered Trump a moment of triumph in his months-long quest to topple the Latin American despot.
Rather, in his lengthy press conference, the only Venezuelan politician Trump spoke about other than Maduro was Maduro’s own vice president, Delcy Rodríguez.
Trump said she had already told Rubio that the new government in Caracas would do whatever the U.S. wanted—something she denied.
In summary, Trump said, the U.S. is looking to “make Venezuela great again—very simple.”.
Trump didn’t try to get congressional authorization for war or even notify Congress of today’s operation in advance, citing the Hill’s propensity to leak.
Trump dismissed the idea that deposing Maduro contradicts his “America First” mantra, which has been widely interpreted as noninterventionist.
“The oil business in Venezuela has been a bust, a total bust, for a long period of time,” Trump said at Mar-a-Lago. »