Trump hints at his next target for a military operation after stunning capture of Maduro
President Donald Trump said at a news conference on the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro that communist-run Cuba could be the next country to carry out American-made regime change.
Asked if the operation in Venezuela had a message for the island nation, Trump said: “I think Cuba will be something we eventually talk about, because Cuba right now is a failed country, a country that’s failed very badly, and we want to help the people.”
‘This system has not been a very good system for Cuba,’ the President continued. ‘People there suffered for many years.’
After Joe Biden removed Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism last year, Trump quickly reinstated the designation and reimposed economic sanctions in his first days in office.
U.S.-Cuban relations remain strained as the island nation remains under a strict embargo, preventing goods from reaching the socialist state.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban refugees who fled during the country’s communist revolution, doubled down, warning that the country’s leaders should be concerned.
“Suffice to say, Cuba is a disaster,” Rubio said at the press conference. ‘Ruled by incompetent, senile men.’
‘If I lived in Havana and was in government, I would be at least a little worried,’ the Foreign Minister added.
President Donald Trump warned that the next targets could be the leaders of Cuba and Colombia after the US military captured former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday morning. Trump says Colombian President Gustavo Petro ‘needs to watch himself’
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Trump watch U.S. troops carry out Operation Absolute Resolve early Saturday morning
The US military operation used approximately 150 military aircraft and resulted in the successful capture of Maduro and his wife Cilia, who are now en route to New York to face drug trafficking and firearms charges.
The stern warning came after the US military launched a daring operation to capture Venezuela’s former socialist dictator Maduro.
Trump authorized overnight a dramatic mission called Operation Absolute Resolve, which used 150 planes and hundreds of soldiers to launch attacks in the South American country and capture Maduro and his wife alive.
The two are now being extradited to the United States, where they will face narco terrorism and firearms charges.
The extraordinary mission was successful, and Maduro, who had ruled the country as a socialist dictator since 2013, was taken by helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima before arriving in New York for trial.
The president said he authorized the operation around 22:45 on Friday.
Within hours, while hundreds of US troops were in the skies over Venezuela, Delta Force experts burst into Maduro’s compound and arrested the former leader and his wife after a firefight.
Shortly before the press conference, Trump posted a photo of Maduro, blindfolded and handcuffed, in custody aboard an American ship.
The Republican also warned that other leaders involved in narco-terrorism in recent months could be targets of US military operations.
Trump and Rubio note how Colombian and Cuban leaders should be concerned
Trump published this photo of Maduro in US custody
The president authorized the operation around 22:45 on Friday night. Within hours, while hundreds of US troops were in the skies over Venezuela, Delta Force experts burst into Maduro’s compound and arrested the former leader and his wife after a firefight.
On Saturday, Trump also notified Colombia’s president.
Trump said of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, “There are cocaine factories.” ‘They have factories where they produce cocaine.’
He noted how the country sends its cocaine to the US and therefore Petro needs to ‘watch itself’.
‘Conclusion from today: Brazil would be better off having a nuclear program. Colombia may want to talk to Brazil about this issue. According to Trump, they are next, said Bruno Macaes, author of the book ‘Latest Geopolitics’.
Thousands of people chanted ‘Down with imperialism!’ in Havana, Cuba, on Saturday afternoon. he shouted. and we declared solidarity with Maduro.
Trump stated that he did not inform Congress about the upcoming attacks because they could threaten the operational security of the mission.
He noted that when he told Congress something, secret plans tended to ‘leak’ and this could threaten the lives of American soldiers.
Trump said at the event that the United States will rule Venezuela indefinitely.
‘We will govern the country until we can make a safe, convenient and reasonable transition,’ he said.
‘We don’t want to get involved with anyone else coming in and we have the same situation as we have for the last many years.
‘Therefore, we will govern the country until we achieve a safe, convenient and reasonable transition.’
Trump gave few details about the logistics of governing Venezuela, which has a population of 30 million, but suggested the country’s vast oil reserves would provide funds for its revitalization.
The president noted how Rubio and Hegseth would be tasked with temporarily overseeing the country and that oil executives could be given control at a later date, but few details were given about which companies and why.
