Trump Says U.S. Will Run Venezuela After Seizure of Maduro, Citing Oil Claims

Jan. 3, 2026 — President Trump announced that the United States would “run” Venezuela for an unspecified period after U.S. forces seized President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, saying Washington would issue orders to an interim government and seek to regain control of Venezuela’s oil resources.

Speaking at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump named Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president, as the interim authority “as long as she does what we want.” Ms. Rodríguez quickly rejected the U.S. action in a national address, calling it an invasion and asserting that Mr. Maduro remained head of state.

Administration officials avoided calling the move an occupation, framing it instead as a form of guardianship in which the United States would set a vision for Venezuela’s transition and press an interim government to follow it, backed by the threat of further military action. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S.

would judge Venezuela’s interim leaders by their actions in the coming days and weeks. Mr. Trump warned of a possible “second wave” and said he was not “afraid of boots on the ground,” pointing to Mr. Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen.

Key Topics

Politics, Donald Trump, Nicolás Maduro, Delcy Rodríguez, Marco Rubio, Venezuelan Oil