President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the US had captured Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro after launching an attack on the country.
Speaking at a press conference, Mr Trump said the US would "run the country" until it can ensure a "safe, proper and judicious transition". US oil companies would go into Venezuela with the aim of making the country "rich, independent and safe", he added.
The US President announced the operation in a Truth Social post in the early hours of Saturday.
"We can't take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesn't have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind," he said. He indicated that a "group" would run the country, pointing to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others.
Mr Trump compared the extraction to US operations in which the Iranian Gen Qassem Suleimani and ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi were killed in his first term, as well as the strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities last year.
He said the US was prepared to carry out a second wave of strikes if necessary, but that this would probably not be needed. He added, however, that the US was "not afraid of boots on the ground".
"We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest and anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country," he said. Venezuela has the largest known oil reserves in the world.
"The Western Hemisphere is right now a much safer place to be," Mr Trump said. "It was an attack for justice."
The President earlier told Fox News that US forces had trained and practised for the extraction “like nobody's ever seen”, adding that he had watched events “like I was watching a television show”.
He said US forces had taken Mr Maduro and his wife from a “fortress” of a house as they were attempting to get to a panic room.
In an audio statement to Venezuela's state TV, vice president Delcy Rodriguez, Mr Maduro's presumed successor, said the government did not know the President's whereabouts and demanded “immediate proof of life”.
Reuters reported that Ms Rodriguez is believed to be in Russia, which is an ally of Venezuela, though Moscow has pushed back on that claim. Mr Trump said Mr Rubio had had a "long conversation" with a "gracious" Ms Rodriguez, who said she was willing to do whatever was needed.
Defence Minister Diosdado Cabello said in a video message to Venezuelans that the country would resist the presence of foreign troops. It is unknown if the US plans to put more boots on the ground in Venezuela.
Mr Maduro said last week that he had spoken to Mr Trump and offered to work to stop drug trafficking from the country and to offer US companies access to Venezuelan oil.
Mr Trump told Fox News: “I said, 'You have to give up. You have to surrender' – and he was close, but in the end, we had to do something that was really much more surgical, much more powerful.”
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Mr Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have been indicted, with the Venezuelan leader facing charges of “narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machineguns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices against the United States”.
Venezuela earlier declared a state of emergency and said it rejected “military aggression” by the US. It said civilians and military personnel had died in the strikes but did not give figures.
Attacks took place in the capital, Caracas, and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, the Venezuelan government had earlier said, prompting Mr Maduro to declare a state of emergency and call on social and political forces to “activate mobilisation plans”.
The presidency said Venezuelan National Armed Forces and police were “deployed to guarantee sovereignty and peace”. The US “will not succeed” in taking resources, the Venezuelan government added.
Before Ms Bondi announced the charges, Mr Rubio said that Mr Maduro is “not the President of Venezuela”, adding that his regime is illegitimate. The US official accused Mr Maduro of being a cartel kingpin.
“Maduro is the Cartel de Los Soles, a narco-terror organisation … he is under indictment for pushing drugs into the United States,' Mr Rubio said.
Vice president JD Vance said Mr Trump had “offered multiple off ramps” for Mr Maduro, but had been clear that “the drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States”.
“Maduro is the newest person to find out that President Trump means what he says,” Mr Vance wrote on social media.
The US Federal Aviation Authority said it had banned American commercial flights over Venezuela's airspace due to “ongoing military activity” before the explosions.
The American embassy in Bogota warned citizens against travelling to Venezuela, and told those inside the country to “shelter in place” and leave as soon as it is safe to do so. In 2019, the US withdrew all diplomatic personnel from Caracas and suspended consular services.
Iran, an ally of Venezuela, condemned the US “act of aggression”. Protests have been taking place in the Iran for the past 10 days, causing civilian deaths during a crackdown by security forces. The leader of Israel's opposition, Yair Lapid, said Iran “should pay close attention” to the events in Venezuela.
Mr Trump had repeatedly promised ground operations in Venezuela. The US has created a major military build-up in the region, including an aircraft carrier, warships and advanced fighter jets stationed in the Caribbean.
Mr Trump has announced a blockade of Venezuelan oil, expanded sanctions and staged more than two dozen strikes on vessels that the US alleges were involved in trafficking drugs in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
Last week, he said the US had “hit” an area in Venezuela where boats are loaded with drugs – the first known time Washington had carried out land operations in Venezuela since the pressure campaign began.
