President Trump said Venezuela must be restored to “law and order” and economic discipline before any talk of elections, following the dramatic US operation that ended with the arrest of leader Nicholas Maduro.
Speaking to The Post on Sunday, Trump brushed aside questions about backing opposition figures — including leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado — saying none currently command the support needed to lead the country.
“I don’t think she’s got the support of the people that she has to have,” Trump said. “That’s all.”
He also said he was not concerned about the situation in Venezuela drawing the US into a protracted quagmire — as it did in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Pressed on whether he would support Machado if she won an election, Trump was noncommittal — arguing that Venezuela’s collapse makes elections a secondary concern.
“We should run the country properly,” Trump said.
About Machado, he said, “She could only win an election if I did support her. But I like her very much.”
“We should run the country with law and order. We should run the country where we can take advantage of the economics of what they have — which is valuable oil and valuable other things.”
He added: “She could only win an election if I did support her. But I like her very much.”
The president stressed that Venezuela’s economy is on the brink following decades of plunder and mismanagement by the socialists.
“The country is ready to be — it’s literally become a third-world country ready to fail,” he said.
Rather than rushing into elections, Trump said the priority should be stabilizing a nation on the brink — and that it would be a win-win situation for both the US and Venezuela.
“We should run the country with law and order. We should run the country where we can take advantage of the economics of what they have — which is valuable oil and valuable other things.”
Trump also took a victory lap over the US military operation, describing it as a textbook mission executed with precision and restraint.
“It was a great victory. We took care of business. We had nobody killed, a couple of guys wounded. We lost no helicopters or jets or planes,” he said. “We had a complete and total victory — that’s the way it should be.”
Emphasizing the danger and great risk of such operations, Trump heralded the mission as a “complete and total victory.”
“You know, you go into these things, you don’t know if 50 people are going to die or not. And we lost nobody,” he said. “Some people were wounded — helicopter pilots got wounded, a couple of them were hit.”
“They kept that chopper flying. I mean, they were bleeding badly. They were very brave,” he added.
Trump said the operation reminded him of past decisive moments during his presidencies, including the takedowns of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani in his first term, as well as the destruction of Iran’s nuclear program in June — missions that have defined his approach to national security.
Asked about rumors that Maduro’s de facto successor, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, is arming supporters and resisting Trump, the president was unfazed — projecting calm and confidence.
“I don’t get concerned about things,” he said.
As for Venezuela’s political future, Trump made clear it will come — but only after the country is stabilized.
“Maybe [Machado] should run. Maybe somebody else should run,” Trump said. “But first, we have to run the country right.”
