What Trump and Rubio said about Venezuela — and what the facts show
President Donald Trump said a U.S. military assault succeeded in capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, both facing U.S. charges related to cocaine trafficking under newly unsealed indictments.
In a Jan. 3 press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said the U.S. would “run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”
Trump also said Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as interim president. Trump said Rodríguez had talked to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and was “essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.”
However, Rodríguez criticized the U.S. military action as “brutal aggression” on state television and called for Maduro’s immediate release.
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