What Does Donald Trump Want From Venezuela; What Will The US Do Next? | World News

New Delhi: In his statement on Saturday, January 3, US President Donald Trump announced that the US will “govern Venezuela” until a “safe, appropriate and reasonable transition of power” occurs.

It’s not clear exactly how the United States plans to govern Venezuela or who will be involved in the effort, but President Donald Trump has called it a “joint” initiative. He said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who was later appointed interim president by the Venezuelan Supreme Court.

He claimed that Rodríguez had expressed a willingness to “do whatever America says.” But he later appeared on state television and insisted that Maduro was the country’s “only president” and demanded his immediate release.

Trump also confirmed that he has not met with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who he said does not have the support or respect to lead the country. Machado previously supported Edmundo Gonzalez’s presidential candidacy in 2024. Official vote counts showed Gonzalez winning by a landslide.

Trump’s accusations against Maduro

Since starting his second term in January last year, Trump has intensified pressure on the Venezuelan government. Early in his term, the administration doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture.

In September, US forces began targeting ships allegedly carrying drugs from South America. There were more than 30 attacks in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, killing more than 110 people.

The Trump administration blamed Maduro for the millions of Venezuelan immigrants coming to the United States. Without providing evidence, he accused the Venezuelan president of forcing inmates in prisons and psychiatric hospitals to emigrate to the United States.

The US president also claimed that the Venezuelan government was using revenue from the oil sector to finance drug-related crimes and described Maduro as a cartel leader.

On Saturday, U.S. Attorney Pamela Bondi announced the charges against Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The Venezuelan president is accused of “narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and dangerous devices, and conspiracy against the United States with machine guns and explosives.”

Trump later framed these allegations as part of Maduro’s “deadly narco-terrorism campaign” targeting the United States and its citizens. He called himself an “illegal dictator” and said he had demanded Maduro’s surrender a week before the attacks.

Bondi confirmed that Maduro and Flores will face US courts and justice on American soil. Both are currently being held in a detention center in New York and will appear in court on January 5.

Venezuela’s president denied the allegations and accused the United States of using the “war on drugs” as an excuse to remove him from power and gain control over Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

Maduro’s oil claims

Maduro has long claimed that the Trump administration was trying to seize Venezuela’s oil wealth. When the US seized the first Venezuelan oil tanker off the country’s coast, the US president told reporters: “I think we’ll keep the oil for ourselves.”

US officials have previously denied that measures taken against Maduro’s government are aimed at gaining control of Venezuela’s oil reserves. But sanctions and mismanagement have already affected investment in the state-owned oil company.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Venezuela accounts for just 0.8% of global crude oil production in 2023 and exports about 900,000 barrels per day, with China as its largest buyer.

Trump has made clear that he wants America to have access to Venezuela’s oil fields. Venezuela is estimated to have reserves of more than 300 billion barrels, the largest in the world. Most of this oil is heavy crude, expensive and difficult to extract, but Venezuela is the world’s fifth largest exporter. Despite the increased U.S. naval presence in the Caribbean, the country continued to export nearly a million barrels of oil per day to China, Southern Europe and the United States last month.

Political instability in recent months has affected production, and state-owned oil and gas company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) has been struggling with strikes, mismanagement and poor safety standards for decades. The United States has accused Maduro of using oil revenues to finance drug trafficking operations. While air strikes have so far protected Venezuela’s oil fields, the country’s energy sector is expected to play a central role in any future scenario.

What Happens Next?

As always in such cases, the answer to the question of what will happen next is unclear. There is a huge amount of uncertainty, ambiguity and risk. Trump’s initial statements surprised people both inside and outside the United States.

In the words of the US president, Washington will “govern Venezuela” until there is a “safe, appropriate and reasonable transition”. He noted that talks have already been held with Maduro’s allies and officials still in power, including Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who is now acting president in Caracas. Trump described their response as “positive.”

However, Rodríguez said on national television, “We will not be a colony of any empire,” emphasizing that the only president of Venezuela is Nicolas Maduro.

Trump also dismissed the Venezuelan opposition, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, despite international praise for supporting peace and democracy.

What will the “transition” be like? Venezuela’s military has long been a pillar of Maduro’s power. It’s unclear how it will move forward. Trump also hinted that he wasn’t worried about whether U.S. troops would need to be deployed in the field.

Trump’s statements contradict his promises that he would be a president who would prevent wars rather than start them in his second term.