U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday the United States will "run" Venezuela after the U.S. military raided the country and captured its President Nicolas Maduro.
The U.S. military launched a series of attacks against Venezuela early Saturday morning, capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and flying him out of the country.
"We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump said at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago private club in Florida.
"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. So we are going to run the country," he said.
Trump said he plans to authorize U.S. oil giants to take over and invest in Venezuela's energy infrastructure and "start making money for the country," adding that the embargo on all Venezuelan oil "remains in full effect."
He said the U.S. launched air, land, and sea forces in the military operation, adding that the U.S. is prepared to stage a second attack on Venezuela, but it is probably not necessary. If needed, the U.S. is ready for a second "and much larger" attack on the country, he said.
After the attack on Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, most shops were closed. Long queues formed in front of some pharmacies and supermarkets, and parts of the metro were not operating normally.
"We need peace and quiet, more than anything. I don't know, I have this sense of uncertainty, not knowing what's going to happen. That makes me feel kind of insecure. I can't stay at home because I start thinking about things, you know? I go to the park to exercise every day, but today it's closed. I just sat here hoping everything would calm down and things would return to normal," one Caracas resident said.
Trump says U.S. will "run" Venezuela following capture of Maduro
Trump says U.S. will "run" Venezuela following capture of Maduro
The United States' strikes on Venezuela and its abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife on Saturday have drawn worldwide condemnations.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States has struck Venezuela and captured Maduro, who was flown out of the country along with his wife.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was deeply alarmed by the U.S. military actions, his spokesperson said in a statement.
"The Secretary-General continues to emphasize the importance of full respect -- by all -- of international law, including the UN Charter. He's deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected," said the statement issued by spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
China called on the United States to release Maduro and his wife at once, said a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Sunday.
China expresses grave concern over the U.S. forcible abduction of the Venezuelan President and his wife and taking them out of the country, said the spokesperson, adding that the U.S. move is in clear violation of international law, basic norms in international relations, and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.
China calls on the United States to ensure the personal safety of Maduro and his wife, release them at once, stop toppling the government of Venezuela, and resolve issues through dialog and negotiation, said the spokesperson.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called for immediate clarification of the situation around Maduro and his wife after the U.S. aggression against Venezuela.
Russia is "extremely alarmed" by reports of Maduro and his wife's forcible removal from Venezuela during the U.S. action, the ministry said in a statement.
"We call for immediate clarification of this situation. Such actions, if they actually occurred, constitute an unacceptable infringement on the sovereignty of an independent state, respect for which is a key principle of international law," the ministry added.
The ministry also said that the United States committed "an act of armed aggression" against Venezuela, which causes deep concern and condemnation.
The ministry noted that Latin America must remain a zone of peace, and Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive and military interference from outside.
Tens of thousands of people gathered on Saturday in Havana, the capital of Cuba, to denounce the U.S. military actions against Venezuela and voice support for their Latin American brother in defending its sovereignty.
At the event, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said that Latin America is not the backyard of the United States and that it neither accepts nor recognizes the Monroe Doctrine.
Condemning the U.S. strikes on Venezuela and its kidnapping of Maduro, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that such actions blatantly violated international law, and gravely infringed upon the sovereignty of Venezuela, leading to power politics rather than multilateralism and resulting in violence, chaos and turmoil.
He urged the international community to react in a strong manner through the United Nations.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro opposed the unilateral military action, urging de-escalation to protect civilians.
The Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday condemned the U.S. actions against Venezuela for violating the country's sovereignty, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
"The DPRK Foreign Ministry strongly denounces the U.S. hegemony-seeking act committed in Venezuela as the most serious form of encroachment of sovereignty and as a wanton violation of the UN Charter and international laws," a ministry spokesperson was quoted by the KCNA as saying.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday said on social media that the U.S. capture of Maduro and his wife constitutes a clear violation of international law and amounts to an unlawful use of force against a sovereign state.
He said that the Maduro couple must be released immediately, adding that U.S. actions erode fundamental restraints on the use of power between states and weakens the legal framework that underpins international order.
Within the EU, nations including Germany, Spain, Italy and Portugal said they are closely monitoring the situation and called for restraint and solutions based on international law.
The European Parliament criticized the U.S. action as illegal and destabilizing.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas on Saturday said on social media that the EU is closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela.
"Under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected," she said.
US strikes on Venezuela draw international condemnation
