Europe Asia News

Some key points from the speech of U.S. President Donald Trump are as follows:

“On my orders, the U.S. Armed Forces carried out an extremely extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela. Air, land and naval forces were used in the operation. The world has not seen such an attack since World War II.

The operation was conducted to bring the illegal Nicolas Maduro to justice. We can cite this operation as an example of the most effective and overwhelming use of American military power in U.S. history.

No nation in the world could have achieved the success that the United States achieved. Venezuela’s military capacity was completely neutralized, and our soldiers, working together with law enforcement forces, successfully carried out the operation in darkness.

The reason for shutting off the lights in Caracas during the operation is a specific expertise possessed by America.

Maduro was captured together with his wife, and both will face American justice. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York had prepared indictments against them for deadly narco-terrorism crimes.

I congratulate the members of our armed forces for carrying out such a breathtaking and successful operation. Our warriors worked together with American law enforcement agencies.

The Venezuelan side knew what was coming and was prepared, but its capabilities were reduced to zero.

Many of our helicopters and personnel took part in this operation, but no American soldier lost his life, and no equipment or vehicles were lost. The U.S. military is the most powerful and most fearsome armed force in the world; with our equipment and capabilities, we truly hold a unique position.

Looking at the ships, we eliminated 97 percent of the drugs coming by sea, with each drug-carrying vessel causing the deaths of an average of 25,000 people. Many of them were coming from a place called Venezuela.

Until a safe and fair transition process is ensured, we will govern the country. We do not want someone else to come in and repeat the same situation. We will govern the country until a fair transfer of power is achieved, because we want peace and prosperity for the Venezuelan people.

The oil trade in Venezuela has been in serious trouble for a very long time. They were extracting oil at very low levels compared to the potential. From now on, America’s largest oil companies will enter the country, fix the extremely poor oil infrastructure, and begin generating revenue for the country.

We are also ready to carry out a second and much larger attack. The first wave was so successful that a second attack was not needed, but had it been otherwise, we would have been ready for an even larger wave.

We will make the Venezuelan people rich, independent and safe. Likewise, those who came from Venezuela and live in the United States will also be happy.

In addition to drug trafficking, Maduro was at the head of a major criminal cartel, the Cartel de los Soles. He was filling our nation with deadly poisons. Over the years, thousands of Americans lost their lives because of them.

Maduro and his wife will be tried on American soil. They are currently on a ship heading to New York. After his term as president of Venezuela ended, he did not relinquish power and carried out a full campaign of violence and terror, threatening the stability of the entire region.

The Venezuelan people will be free again. It has been a long time for them, but the United States of America is a safer nation for them.

We will ensure that Venezuela is governed properly together with a designated group and that the oil infrastructure is rebuilt. Oil will flow as it should. The Venezuelan people will be governed as they deserve.

We are not afraid to send troops to Venezuela. We did not do this in vain. The country will be governed correctly and fairly. We are appointing certain names for the country’s governing mechanism. We will announce these names to the public later.

Venezuela will be governed by the people you see behind me. We need to rebuild the country.”

Pete Hegseth emphasized that Maduro had an opportunity like Iran, but that he had exhausted that opportunity.

U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine provided the following information about the operation:

“Last night, on the orders of U.S. President Trump and with the support of the Attorney General, the U.S. Armed Forces carried out a capture operation in Caracas. Nicolas Maduro was the target. The operation was executed with perfect precision. It was an operation planned for months and one that only America could carry out.

For this operation, lessons learned from countless operations over decades were taken into account. The United States issued the operation order after 10:00 p.m., and this message was conveyed to the entire team. One hundred and fifty aircraft took off, each acting in close coordination and applying their effects layer by layer. As a result of months of intelligence work, we knew where Maduro was, where he was going, what he was eating—even down to his pets.

In early December, the right day was awaited to reduce potential harm to civilians and to deliver Maduro to justice without injury. Appropriate weather conditions were also awaited. Last night, the clouds cleared slightly, and when the order was given, everyone in the organization performed their duties perfectly.

At 01:01 Eastern Time, we arrived at the location, and after entering Maduro’s residence, Maduro and his wife surrendered.”