Trump: US Will Run Venezuela Until Proper, Judicious Transition Happens

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (KUNA) -- US President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the United States would run Venezuelan affairs during a transition period following a US military operation resulting in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump said in joint press conference with his War Secretary and State Secretary.
He emphasized that the US presence would remain until a stable replacement is found.
"We can't take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesn't have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind decades of that. We're not going to let that happen," he argued.
"We're there now, but we're going to stay until such time as the proper transition can take place. So we're going to stay until such time as we're going to run it essentially, until such time as a proper transition can take place."
The Venezuelan leader was apprehended in a "large-scale" raid by elite US forces who reportedly removed him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their residence.
Trump later posted a photo of Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima and confirmed he is expected to face drug and weapons charges in New York.
While no US service members were killed in the operation, some sustained injuries when a helicopter was struck during the raid.
Trump also confirmed that the long-standing US embargo on Venezuelan oil will remain in place for the foreseeable future.
The capture has split the political landscape in Caracas. Opposition leader Mar?a Corina Machado has called for candidate Edmundo Gonz?lez Urrutia to be installed, while Venezuela's foreign minister maintained that Maduro remains the nation's rightful leader. (pick up previous)
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