Shortly after the United States took military action against Venezuela and captured its leader Maduro for several hours, President Donald Trump was interviewed by Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends Weekend" on Saturday morning local time. Trump said that he and military generals were in a room at Mar-a-Lago, watching the complex operation of Maduro's arrest in real time.

Trump said during the phone interview, "Real military men told me that no other country in the world could have done such a military move. If you had seen what was happening at that moment - I mean, I really watched it like a TV show."

Trump added, "If you had seen that speed, that violence - you know, they used 'speed' and 'violence' to describe it. It's incredible, these people did an amazing job. No one else could have done it."

Trump spent Christmas and New Year at his private club, Mar-a-Lago in Florida, and stated that he witnessed the U.S. military's capture of Maduro, including them breaking through steel doors.

Trump said, "We were in a room watching. We had a room where we saw every detail. There were many people around, including generals, who knew all the progress. The whole operation was extremely complex, very complex."

Trump continued, "Really, they just broke in, and they broke into a place that nobody could have broken into, into a steel door specifically installed for this purpose, and they were subdued within seconds. I've never seen anything like this before."

Trump mentioned that during the operation, the U.S. had "a lot" of aircraft available, including helicopters and fighter jets. Trump also confirmed in the interview that Maduro and his wife are being sent to New York, where they will be prosecuted.

Trump said, "They're going to New York. You know, they were indicted in New York." Trump revealed that the captured Maduro couple was first taken to the U.S. Navy's Iwo Jima amphibious assault ship, then "they will go to New York... they went by helicopter."

According to insiders who spoke to CNN, the Trump administration had been preparing for the strike against Venezuela and the arrest of Maduro as early as mid-December. An official said that the original plan to implement the action earlier was delayed due to weather factors and Trump's decision to strike Nigeria during Christmas.

After Maduro's arrest, Trump previewed his government's ideas about governance in Venezuela next.

Trump said during the phone interview, "Well, we're making this decision now. We can't take the risk of letting someone else take over and continue what he (Maduro) didn't finish. So we're making this decision now. We will be deeply involved. We want to fight for the freedom of the Venezuelan people."

Trump added, "I think the Venezuelan people are very, very happy. They were basically under a dictatorship - even worse." Trump said the Venezuelan people were very happy about Maduro's arrest, "because they love America," and that the country under Maduro's rule was "a dictatorship."

When asked, "Will you support opposition leader Machado? You remember she won the Nobel Peace Prize and dedicated it to you - will you fully support her in governing the country (Venezuela)?"

Trump replied, "Well, we need to look at it carefully. Now, they have a vice president there, you know. I don't know how that election went. Maduro's election was a disgrace, just like mine. 2020 was a disgrace - a total disgrace - the 2024 election was so huge that it couldn't be manipulated anymore..."

Trump mentioned that Maduro had tried to negotiate. "You know, he did try to negotiate at the end," Trump told Fox News. "But I said, 'No, we can't do that.' His approach on drug issues was terrible."

Trump said he had planned to raid and capture Maduro four days earlier (that is, on New Year's Eve), "but the weather wasn't ideal."

Trump also revealed that no Americans died in the operation to capture Maduro, although some American personnel were injured while trying to capture him at a heavily guarded location, according to Trump. Previously, a U.S. official had claimed that there were no casualties among U.S. personnel in the operation.

Trump told Fox News Channel, "I think we didn't have any deaths, because a few people were shot. But they came back, and reportedly their conditions are quite good."

Trump added that one helicopter was hit during the operation, but there were no losses of aircraft. Trump said, "We didn't lose any planes. All the planes were recovered. One of the helicopters was hit very hard, but we got it back."

Trump added, "However, last night we did something incredible, and we can't risk letting someone else take over - forcing us to do it again. We can definitely do it again, no one can stop us. No one has the military power we have. When I see the war in Russia continuing endlessly, seeing everyone dying constantly - it's so primitive, so primitive, so bad."

When asked by the Fox News Channel host whether the attack on Venezuela was intended as a warning to Mexican President Sheinbaum, Trump seemed to imply it might be. "Well, that wasn't my intention," he answered. "We have a good relationship with her, she's a good woman. But Mexico is now controlled by drug cartels - she doesn't control Mexico."

Trump claimed that Sheinbaum repeatedly refused his proposal to combat drug cartels. "I asked her many times, 'Do you want us to eliminate these drug cartels?'" he said, and pointed out "some measures must be taken against Mexico."

Even after his own officials praised Mexico for unprecedented progress in cooperation, and listed record numbers of drug cartel members arrested and successful confiscations of fentanyl, Trump still made those statements.

Source: rfi

Original: toutiao.com/article/7591184754620351022/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author themselves.