Trump says Venezuela not ready for elections and names U.S. team to oversee next steps

President Trump told NBC News on Monday that Venezuela could not hold elections anytime soon and suggested the United States would be involved in the country for the foreseeable future, hours after Nicolás Maduro was arraigned in New York and Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in at home as Venezuela’s interim leader.

Mr. Trump said, “No, it’s going to take a period of time,” and “We have to nurse the country back to health,” and named a team to oversee next steps that he said would include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and Vice President JD Vance.

Mr. Miller later said Mr. Rubio had been asked to lead the effort. Mr. Maduro pleaded not guilty in federal court in Manhattan to charges including narco-terrorism and told a judge he had been “kidnapped” by American forces; Ms. Rodríguez said he was still the president and had been taken hostage.

Mr. Trump has backed Ms. Rodríguez over opposition leader María Corina Machado, whom he said lacks enough domestic support to govern, while Ms. Machado told Fox News she would win “over 90 percent of the vote in free and fair elections.” There is international criticism and domestic uncertainty: the U.N.

Key Topics

World, Venezuela, Donald Trump, Nicolas Maduro, Delcy Rodriguez, Marco Rubio