Has Trump sidelined Machado?published at 19:11 GMT 3 January

19:11 GMT 3 January

Vanessa Buschschlüter
Latin America and Caribbean editor

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

One of the most surprising things to come out of Trump's news conference was the fact that he only mentioned the leader of the Venezuelan opposition, María Corina Machado, in response to a question by a journalist.

Asked if he had spoken to Machado, who last month was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her fight for democracy in Venezuela, he said "no".

Trump then added that Machado "doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country" he said was needed to run Venezuela.

This will come as a shock to Machado, who just hours earlier had published a letter on social media saying that "the hour of freedom has come". She also said that she and Edmundo González, the presidential candidate she had backed when she was barred from running for office, were "ready to enforce our mandate and take power".

This was a reference to voting tallies collected by the oppposition during the 2024 presidential election, which suggested that González had won the election by a landslide and beaten Maduro.

Many nations, including the UK and the US, recognised González as the legitimate president-elect but Maduro, who had the backing of the army and the electoral council, was sworn in to another six year term.

Dramatic reversal for a man who previously criticised US regime changepublished at 18:56 GMT 3 January

18:56 GMT 3 January

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Image source, Reuters

During the news conference, a reporter asked Donald Trump about what could generously be described as America’s spotty record when it comes to triggering, and dealing with the consequences of, regime change in foreign nations.

Trump had a simple answer. His administration, he said, has a “perfect track record of winning”.

It may not be that simple, however.

The Venezuelan economy is in shambles. Its industrial infrastructure is outdated and decrepit. Its political stability has been undermined by decades of increasingly authoritarian rule.

Trump promised that the US is going to do what’s necessary to “make Venezuela great again”. He promised to “rebuild their whole infrastructure”. But that will take considerable American time and effort including, Trump said, the possibility of US military personnel on the ground in Venezuela.

It’s a dramatic reversal for a man who had criticised, in the past, US regime-change and nation-building efforts elsewhere in the world.

Just over two decades ago, American leaders made similar assurances about the ease - and potential benefits - of US regime change in Iraq. While every war and every nation is difference, less than a year into Trump’s second term he is taking on a monumental task - and staking his presidency on its success.

Image source, Getty Images

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has just posted on social media, saying he was briefed on the capture of Maduro and his wife, "as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City".

Maduro and his wife are reportedly being taken to Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal facility in Brooklyn, New York.

Mamdani was critical of the operation, writing: "Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law."

"This blatant pursuit of regime change doesn’t just affect those abroad, it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home," he added.

US President Trump has just shared a series of images on Truth Social, which appear to show him and other officials watching last night's strikes on Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

Image source, US government

Image source, US government

A short time ago in the news conference with US President Donald Trump, a reporter asked how running Venezuela would be putting "America first".

"I think it is," Trump replied. "We want to surround ourselves with good neighbours. We want to surround ourselves with stability."

"We have tremendous energy in that country, it's very important that we protect it," he said.

We've just been hearing from Donald Trump after the US launched strikes on Venezuela and captured its President, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores. Here are the key lines:

• US to 'run' Venezuela: Trump says the US is "going to run" Venezuela until "a safe, proper and judicious transition" of power. He was pressed on how exactly the US would do this, but did not provide detail
• Oil infrastructure: He also says US companies will go into Venezuela to fix its oil infrastructure and "start making money for the country"

• US prepared for second attack: He says the US is prepared to stage a second attack on Venezuela, but it is probably not necessary
• A 'partnership': Trump then spoke of a "partnership" between the US and Venezuela, which he says will make Venezuelans "rich, independent and safe". He referred to Maduro as an "illegitimate dictator"

• What's next?: Maduro and his wife are being taken to New York to face drug trafficking-related charges, the US president adds. Maduro has previously denied being the leader of a drug cartel

Vanessa Buschschlüter
Latin America and Caribbean editor, News Online

Image source, Getty Images

We just heard US President Donald Trump say a "group of people" will take over the running of Venezuela until such a time that a "safe, proper and judicious transition" can be ensured.

When pressed by reporters as to who inside Venezuela would form part of that group, Trump said his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, had been talking to Delcy Rodríguez.

Rodríguez has been Maduro's vice-president and was the first official to speak out publicly after the US strikes. She urged the US to provide a proof of life for Maduro and his wife.

The message was conveyed in audio format only and quickly led to speculation that Rodríguez may have left Venezuela. Sources told the Reuters news agency she was in Russia, which the Russian foreign minister denounced as a "fake" report.

Trump said that Rodríguez had expressed her willingness to do "whatever the US asks".

This may come as a surprise to some. Rodríguez and her brother Jorge, who leads the country's National Assembly, have long been among the most ardent defenders of the Maduro government.

While it is conceivable that Rodríguez has agreed to co-operate with the Trump administration to save her own skin – Trump said the US was prepared carry out a second wave of strikes if necessary – she will not be seen as someone willing to implement change.

The news conference is now finished – here's a few more lines that emerged from it.

Fielding a question from a reporter who said he was from Cuba, Trump told him "Cuba is going to be something we'll end up talking about".

"We want to help the people in Cuba, we want to also help the people that were forced out of Cuba.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio interjected that "when the president speaks, you should take him seriously", adding many of the guards who helped protect Maduro were Cuban.

"If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I'd be concerned at least," Rubio added.

Trump is asked if he has been in contact with opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

He says he hasn't spoken to her. It would be "very tough" for Machado to be the leader of Venezuela, he adds.

Though she is a "very nice woman", he says, "she doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country".

Trump is now taking questions. He's asked if the US running Venezuela means US troops will be on the ground.

He says "we're not afraid of boots on the ground" and the US military had "boots on the ground last night at a very high level".

"We're going to make sure that country is run properly," he adds.

Trump is also asked what exact mechanism he will be using to run the country. He says "we're designating people right now" and "we're going to let you know who those people are".

He is then asked who will run Venezuela. He gestures his hand towards himself and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as he says "it's largely going to be for a period time the people that are standing right behind me".

Image source, Getty Images

We're now hearing from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

He says Maduro is not the legitimate president. It is "not just us saying it", he says, adding the first Trump administration and the Biden administration also said the same.

Maduro is also not recognised by the EU and multiple countries around world, Rubio says.

He describes the Venezuelan president as a "fugitive of American justice", with a $50m reward.

"I guess we saved ourselves $50m," Rubio says, before Trump chimes in with: "We should make sure... don't let anybody claim it."

Rubio continues by saying that Maduro had "multiple opportunities" to avoid this, but chose instead to "act like a wild man" and "play around".

He describes Maduro as a man who decided to "invite Iran into his country" and "flood the US with gang members".

Maduro thought nothing would happen, Rubio says, before adding that Trump is "not a game player".

When Trump says he is going to address a problem, he actions it, Rubio adds.

The US military maintained "totally the element of surprise", having dismantled and disabled Venezuelan air defence systems, says General Caine.

He says they arrived at Maduro's compound at 01:01 ET and isolated the area. On arrival there, the helicopters "came under fire", and they responded with "overwhelming force", he says.

One helicopter was hit but all US aircraft have been able to return home, he says.

Maduro and his wife then "gave up" and were taken into custody by the Department of Justice, says Caine, and at 03:29 ET they boarded the USS Iwo Jima.

Image source, Reuters

General Dan Caine now takes the podium. He shares some details of the planning for the operation, dubbed "operation absolute resolve".

He calls it "discreet" and "precise", and says it required "every component" of the joint forces, including soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and others "working in unison" with intelligence agencies and law enforcement.

He adds the operation leveraged "unmatched" intelligence capabilities and "years of experience in hunting terrorists".

Gen Caine says the "extraction" was so precise it required more than 150 aircraft all coming together in the right place and time.

On the preparation work, he refers to "months" of intelligence work uncovering details about Maduro, including where he lived and what he ate.

All political and military figures in Venezuela should understand that what happened to Maduro could happen to them, Trump says.

"Venezuelan people are free again," he adds. He also says America is a "safer" and "prouder nation" today.

He then hands over to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who begins by describing the operation this morning as "a massive joint military and law enforcement raid, flawlessly executed".

Maduro "had his chance, just like Iran had their chance", Hegseth says, but adds that he "effed around" and found out.

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump is describing the successful military operation in Venezuela with typical bravado. It was a display of “overwhelming military power” and a “spectacular assault”.

He called it “one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history”.

Supporting those boasts is the fact that no American military personnel were killed and, by Trump’s account, no US military equipment was destroyed, while the objective – capturing Nicolás Maduro and his wife – was achieved.

It seems the US now owns Venezuela’s future – for better or worsepublished at 16:56 GMT 3 January

16:56 GMT 3 January

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

If there were any doubts about the breadth of American involvement in Venezuela after the US action to remove Nicolás Maduro from power, Donald Trump has laid them to rest.

“We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” he said.

It’s a bold statement to make, given the economic and political turmoil the South American nation now faces.

Trump, a sharp critic of the US invasion of Iraq, now seems to be in the business of nation-building – and dealing with the consequences of American military action.

In the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell, “If you break it, you own it.”

The US now owns Venezuela’s future – for better or worse.

Trump claims the US "partnership" with Venezuela will make the people of Venezuela "rich, independent and safe", adding Venezuelans living in the US will be "extremely happy".

"They're not going to suffer any more," he tells the news conference.

Trump calls Maduro an "illegitimate dictator" who was responsible for the bringing of "colossal amounts of deadly illicit drugs" into the US, and accuses him of overseeing the Cartel de los Soles cartel.

Maduro has previously vehemently denied being a cartel leader.

Trump adds that Maduro and his wife are on a ship heading to New York, and a decision "will be made soon" between New York and Miami.

Trump now turns now to oil. He claims the oil business in Venezuela has been a "bust", and that large US companies are going to go into the country to fix the infrastructure and "start making money for the country".

He adds the US is "ready" to stage a second "and much larger" attack on the country if needed.

He says they were initially prepared to do a "second wave" and had assumed it would be necessary, that but given the success of last night's attack, it probably would now not be.

Image source, Reuters

Trump thanks the military for their "breathtaking speed, power, precision and competence".

He says these "highly trained warriors" were operating in collaboration with US law enforcement.

Venezuelan forces were "waiting for us", he says, with "many ships out".

Despite being in a "ready position", Trump says Venezuelan forces were "completely overwhelmed and very quickly incapacitated".

Not a single US serviceman was killed, and no equipment was lost, he adds.

Trump says the US has "knocked out 97% of drugs coming in by sea", and alleges that each boat carrying drugs kills 25,000 people on average.

He also alleges that most of the drugs come from Venezuela. The BBC has not verified these figures.

Trump says the US is "going to run" Venezuela until "such a time that we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition" of power.