US-Venezuela: Donald Trump threatens Colombia with US action over cocaine, Nicolás Maduro in custody

US President Donald Trump says Venezuela was a “dead country” before he directed an attack on its capital and put other countries on notice, warning he “will have to do something”.

Sharing new details about what the US will do in Venezuela after the attack on Caracas and the capture of President Nicholas Maduro, Mr Trump said he will “fix” a “broken country”.

“We’re going to run it, fix it, we’ll have elections at the right time,” adding that the country had no money.

Mr Trump, speaking onboard Air Force One as he returned to the White House, said if he had not won the 2024 US presidential election, the US would have been “Venezuela on steroids”.

Justifying the US action, Mr Trump said Venezuela was “sick” and as a “neighbour”, he had to step in.

“This isn’t a country that is on the other side of the world. This is Venezuela, in our area.”

Mr Trump said the US was not in the business of nation-building, but Venezuela was “very sick” and needed help.

“We’re in the business of having countries around us that are viable and successful and where the oil is able to freely come out because that’s good. It gets the prices down. That’s good for our country.”

“We have a very sick neighbour. It’s not a neighbour, but it’s close to a neighbour, and that’s Venezuela.

“Columbia is very sick too. Run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. He’s not going to be doing it very long.“

Asked what that comment meant, Mr Trump repeated: “He’s not going to be doing it very long”.

A reported pushed him further, asking if there will be a US operation in Colombia, Mr Trump said: “Sounds good to me”.

Mr Trump reiterated that the US run Venezuela now.

Venezuela’s Supreme Court has ordered Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to immediately take on the role of President of Venezuela in an acting, interim capacity.

Following the order, Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino confirmed the army had relinquished temporary control, handing the country to Ms Rodríguez.

Initially, after the attack, Mr Trump said he was supportive of Ms Rodríguez, however, he added that the US would run Venezuela for some time, without further detail on that duration.

Ms Rodríguez, in the hours after Maduro’s capture, demanded his immediate release and said he was the “only president”.

Since those comments, Mr Trump’s support has shifted to a threat.

“If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” the US President told The Atlantic.

Speaking broadly on the US attack and capture, Mr Trump said the action could have many names.

“Regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now,” he added. “Can’t get any worse”.

Kristi Noem, Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, said the US President was talking with Ms Rodríguez, saying those conversations were “very matter-of-fact”.

“You can lead or you can get out of the way,” Ms Noem told Fox News on Sunday.

“We’re not going to allow you to continue to subvert our American influence.”

Drugs were one reason Mr Trump said the US stepped in and captured Maduro. Another reason, as confirmed in his Mar-a-Lago press conference on Saturday, was oil.

Venezuela is estimated to be sitting on around 300 billion barrels of crude oil. The US President says US oil giants will now be brought in to rebuild infrastructure and extract that oil, with money going to the US and in turn to support rebuilding Venezuela.

That plan, so far, lacks detail and public support from oil giants.

Experts say rebuilding infrastructure could take at least 10 years, a potentially dangerous period of time if political instability in the region continues.

Venezuela issues new demands

Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez on Sunday demanded that the captured president and the country’s First Lady be returned immediately, calling Mt Trump

“We demand the return of Maduro and the First Lady,” he said on Sunday.

“This is an act of aggression against the legitimate president of Venezuela and the First Lady.

“We demand her return and the return of our commander in chief, the president, and we draw attention to everything that is happening to Venezuela against its sovereignty.”

Mr Lopez, who some speculated could seize control of the country in the hours after the attack, said the US attack on Venezuela “represents a real threat to world order”.

“If today it was Venezuela, tomorrow it could be any state, any country,” he said at a news conference.

“We reject the colonialist ideas that they want to implement, in the spirit of the Monroe Doctrine, over Latin America and the Caribbean,” he said.

US attack and capture ‘not a war’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday attempted to water down the extent of the US attack, saying “this is not a war”.

“I mean, we are at war against drug trafficking organisations. That’s not a war against Venezuela,” he told NBC.

Mr Rubio, along with Mr Trump, has said that more attacks, bigger than the last, could still occur, but has expressed hope that they would not be needed.

Although further attacks on the country itself may not eventuate, Mr Rubio said attacks on drug boats would continue.

“Our number one objective is America,” Mr Rubio said, adding “no more drugs”.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi also pushed the message that drugs were central to the attack on Venezuela.

“This was a perfectly executed operation with intensive cooperation and trust among President Trump’s team,” Ms Bondi said on Sunday.

“The mission was conducted to support an ongoing criminal prosecution tied to large-scale narcotics trafficking and related offences that have fuelled violence, destabilised the region, and contributed directly to the drug crisis claiming American lives.”