Trump says he is leading the charge in Venezuela and rules out short-term elections

WashingtonThe uncertainty surrounding the power vacuum created by the United States in Venezuela persists: who is in charge of the country? Is it Delcy Rodríguez, who has assumed the interim presidency In the shadow of Washington, or Donald Trump, who last night once again positioned himself as the ultimate authority in the transition process? In an interview on NBC, the US president explained that he has created a group—which includes Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller—that will oversee the US role in Venezuela. And he answered with a single word when asked who is at the top of this organizational chart: "Me."

In keeping with this self-appointment, Trump—and not Rodríguez—announced on NBC that there will be no elections in Venezuela for the next 30 days. "First we have to fix the country. You can't have an election. There's no way people can even vote," the Republican said regarding the possibility of a vote next month. "No, that will take some time. We have to get the country back in good health." But what does restoring health to Venezuela mean? She hasn't specified that either. Just like so many other generic statements about the supposed democratic transition process. What she did make clear is that the United States plans to remain involved in the country for quite some time.

Rodríguez, who felt slighted, responded hours later that no external agent is running the country: "My destiny is decided by no one but God." The interim president reversed course again the day after softening her stance toward Washington and offering to collaborate.

Oil companies ahead of Congress

The only timeframe Trump offered concerned oil, the Central American country's most precious resource, which Washington intends to exploit. The president told the network that he believes the U.S. oil industry will begin operating in Venezuela in less than 18 months. "I think we can do it in less time, but it's going to cost a lot of money," he said, suggesting that the money invested by the companies in the process could be "reimbursed" by them, "or through the revenue" they earn operating in the country. The only way Trump can "reimburse" the money to the U.S. companies participating in the plundering of Venezuelan crude would be by dipping into U.S. taxpayer money.

That the oil companies are ahead of the public has been made explicit by the fact that Trump notified the oil companies about the incursion before he notified Congress. The president told NBC that "the oil companies knew perfectly well" that the government was "thinking about doing something," but he didn't give them details. Wall Street Journal It was exclusively reported that in December the president had already warned the industry giants. "Be prepared," he told them.

Although he didn't provide them with more details about what would later become a bombing raid on Caracas in the middle of the night, it's already more than what was communicated to the Congressional Intelligence Committee. "They literally lied to our faces," explained Senator Chris Murphy on Sunday, regarding a briefing on Venezuela that Secretary of State Marco Rubio held in the Senate last month. "The message they sent was that this wasn't about regime change… They said it was solely an anti-drug operation."

Trump was making new predictions for the country hours after the deposed president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan court. Maduro He argued that he was still "the president of the country" and denounced having been "kidnapped" by the United States. This morning, Venezuela's Attorney General, Tarek Saab, called on the government and the military to cooperate in confronting the "state terrorism" of the United States.

Following the military aggression that has left nearly one hundred dead in Caracas, the US president insisted once again that he is not at war with Venezuela. "No, we're not," Trump said. "We're at war with people who sell drugs. We're at war with people who empty their prisons into our country, empty their drug dens, and empty their mental institutions into our country." Again, the tycoon's statements They fall within the legal strategy adopted by your administration for denying that the aggressions were against the country and thus evading any accusation of violating international law. The United Nations human rights office has already described the United States' intervention in Venezuela as "a violation of international law."

Trump's mockery in Europe

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Trump once again took credit for the operation before his inner circle. In a speech during the annual meeting of Republican congressmen at the Kennedy Center in Washington, the US president called the attack "brilliant" and boasted that "nobody could have done it" like the United States. The Republican also once again attacked Maduro, saying: "He has killed millions of people. He tortures people. He has a torture chamber in the middle of Caracas that they will now shut down." Reveling in US military supremacy and before an audience that laughed at his every joke, Trump ridiculed all the supporters who are calling for Maduro's release. He also mocked French President Emmanuel Macron and the EU in general for the tariffs he has imposed on European medicines. The tycoon scoffed at the fact that the Old Continent always ends up bowing to him, while on the other side of the Atlantic, the main European leaders... They closed ranks with Denmark Regarding Trump's aspirations to annex Greenland, in Washington the president mocked the idea, while in Europe the United States was still being described as an "essential partner."