On January 3, after American special forces captured and removed Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the U.S. would take over the management of the country until a "safe and reasonable transfer of power," although details of this process were not disclosed.
Trump also did not rule out the possibility of deploying American troops in Venezuela and carrying out a "second wave" of strikes, although he noted that this would likely not be necessary. He added that American companies are ready to invest billions of dollars in restoring the country's oil infrastructure.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump's national security team is already developing a governance structure for Venezuela, which includes Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Against this backdrop, the Supreme Court of Venezuela appointed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as the interim head of state, who condemned the actions of the U.S., calling them "military aggression," and stated that Nicolas Maduro remains the only legitimate president of the country.
President Trump noted that the presence of American troops in Venezuela would become unnecessary if Delcy Rodriguez "acts according to our expectations." At the same time, he dismissed the possibility of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado participating in the future governance of Venezuela.
