The United States will continue to govern Venezuela until further notice, including the country's oil production, US President Donald Trump said at a press conference.
"We will govern until we can carry out a safe, orderly and lawful transition of power," Trump said.
Trump has published a picture on Truth Social that is said to depict Maduro, wearing handcuffs, a blindfold, earmuffs and a gray tracksuit.
“Brilliant effort”
The arrest was made during an American attack, with reports of explosions, gunfire and helicopters over the capital Caracas around 2 a.m. local time (7 a.m. in Sweden).
"It was actually a brilliant effort," President Donald Trump told The New York Times.
He told Fox News that he watched live footage from Venezuela and that "It was like a TV show."
The couple will stand trial for "narcoterrorism," Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on X.
"They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts," she wrote.
Taking over the oil industry
The country that Maduro led will, in the near future, be ruled by the United States instead, according to Trump.
"We cannot risk someone who does not want Venezuela's best interests taking over the country," he said, warning that the United States is ready to strike in a second attack.
The United States, together with American oil companies, will also take over the oil industry, which, according to Trump, has been mismanaged.
"They are going to spend billions of dollars to fix what was destroyed, the infrastructure, and start making money," he said.
“Given several chances”
The US accused Maduro of being responsible for cartel-linked smuggling as early as 2020, during Trump's first term. A $50 million reward was issued for Maduro's arrest.
Trump reportedly ordered the attacks a few days ago, but optimal weather conditions were awaited before they were carried out, sources told CBS News.
Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that the US gave Maduro several chances to repel the attack. When asked on Fox News what he meant by that, Trump said:
"Simply that I told him to give up, to surrender when we talked a week ago."
According to a statement from the Venezuelan government, a state of emergency has been declared. The US's "serious military aggression" was condemned as a "violation of the UN Charter," and Venezuela has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
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Martin Mederyd Hårdh/TT
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Facts: Tensions between the US and Venezuela
TT
The attack comes after US President Donald Trump recently raised the possibility of attacking ground targets in Venezuela and deployed a significant naval force to the Caribbean Sea.
Trump also recently stated that a port facility in Venezuela had already been attacked.
US military pressure has also resulted in several deadly attacks on boats allegedly smuggling drugs and the seizure of oil tankers in international waters.
The attacks are considered by a broad body of experts to be extrajudicial executions that have occurred in violation of international law. The US government has justified the attacks at sea by saying the United States is, in practice, in an armed conflict with powerful drug cartels, which it has subsequently sought to link directly to the Venezuelan government.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said on state television on Friday that he was open to talks with the United States "at any time" about the ongoing crisis between the countries. He has previously accused the United States of wanting to overthrow him in order to access Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
