Donald Trump Says US Not At War With Venezuela As Interim President Takes Oath | World News

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said that the US is not at war with Venezuela and will not pressure an election there in the near term, and argued that stability in the country and its infrastructure should be rebuilt after the capture of leader Nicolas Maduro. Meanwhile, Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president.

In an exclusive interview with NBC News, Trump said there will be no election in Venezuela within the next 30 days and that conditions on the ground make the vote unrealistic. “We have to fix the country first,” Trump said. “You can’t have an election if people can’t even vote.”

Trump said Washington’s focus is on restoring basic order and rebuilding the economy. Stating that the transition will take time, he said, “We must make the country healthy again.”

The president suggested that U.S. oil companies could play a central role in rebuilding Venezuela’s energy infrastructure, an effort that could take less than 18 months. He said the United States could subsidize some of the effort but insisted oil companies would ultimately cover the costs and recover their investments.

“A tremendous amount of money will have to be spent, and the oil companies will spend that money and then get reimbursed from us or through revenue,” Trump said.

Trump denied allegations that the United States was going to war with Venezuela. “No, we are not,” he said. “We are at war with people who sell drugs. We are at war with people who empty their prisons into our country, empty their drug addicts into our country, empty their mental hospitals into our country.”

Responsibility for Venezuela’s collapse, he said, lies with its leadership, which he accuses of exporting crime and instability. Maduro was captured during a US raid in Caracas and later went to trial in New York on charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy.

Trump said Rodríguez was cooperating with U.S. officials but denied there was any communication between Washington and his team before Maduro’s ouster.

“No, that is not the case,” Trump said, adding that a decision would be made soon on whether sanctions against Rodriguez would continue.

When asked who was ultimately responsible for Venezuela, Trump gave a one-word answer: “Me.”

Trump stated that Secretary of State Marco Rubio played a deep role in communicating with Venezuelan leaders, stating that Rubio “speaks Spanish fluently to him” and that “their relationship is very strong.”

Trump also said the United States was prepared to launch a second military operation if cooperation broke down, but he did not believe it would be necessary. “We are ready to do this,” he said. “We were actually expecting to do this.”

Trump rejected criticism that he failed to get congressional approval for the operation, saying lawmakers were aware of the US actions. “We have good support in Congress,” he said, declining to detail who knew what and when.