Image: US President Donald Trump (79) appeared before the press on Saturday at Mar-a-Lago with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (54, left) and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (45).

“No one will mess with us now.”

DLNews Breaking News:

In a dramatic statement delivered Saturday afternoon from Mar-a-Lago, President Trump declared that the United States had seized political control of oil-rich Venezuela following what he described as a swift overnight military operation carried out by elite American forces. Speaking with visible confidence, the president said no nation on earth could have executed such an operation “except the USA,” framing the action as a decisive moment of American resolve and capability.

According to President Trump, the U.S. Army’s Delta Force conducted a targeted strike that resulted in the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The president said the operation unfolded with precision and speed, adding, “If you had seen what I saw, you would be very impressed.” He repeatedly credited the outcome to his direct leadership, stating that “under my command” the mission succeeded and calling it “the most spectacular attack since World War II.”

President Trump said the detained Maduro would be transported to New York to stand trial, describing the charges as “deadly narco-terrorism.” He accused the Venezuelan government of facilitating vast drug trafficking operations into the United States and claimed Maduro bore responsibility for the deaths of “hundreds of thousands of Americans.” “Maduro will never again be able to threaten innocent Americans or Venezuelans,” the president said, vowing that justice would now be served.

Appearing alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, President Trump announced that the United States would assume interim leadership of Venezuela to ensure what he called a “safe, orderly, and reasonable transition.” He emphasized the humanitarian dimension of the decision, saying the Venezuelan people had “suffered so much” and were now “happy” to see change after years of instability and economic collapse.

The president made clear that the United States was prepared to commit further resources if necessary. He said he would have “no problem with ground troops” and warned remaining political and military figures in Venezuela that similar action could follow. He compared the operation to two previous U.S. strikes during his first presidency, those that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, describing all three as decisive blows against major threats.

Outside observers reacted cautiously. Georgetown University political scientist Michael A. Bailey noted that a sustained U.S. military presence in Venezuela would mark a dramatic shift in American foreign engagement and come at enormous cost. “If the U.S. military actually occupies Venezuela, things will change dramatically,” Bailey said, pointing out that such an operation would depart sharply from the traditional boundaries of an “America First” doctrine.

President Trump concluded his remarks with a warning and a clarification. “Nobody’s going to mess with us,” he said, before adding, “in the Western Hemisphere.” He suggested that global rivals might still test American resolve elsewhere, openly criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin for what he called the “vicious” killing of civilians in Ukraine and describing the war there as having “turned into a bloodbath.”

Earlier in the day, speaking by phone with Fox News, President Trump described monitoring the Venezuelan operation live from a secure room at Mar-a-Lago. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “I was able to watch it in real time and observed every aspect of it. I literally watched it like a TV show.” The president framed the moment as one of unmatched American power, signaling, in his words, that the era of hesitation was over and that the United States had once again drawn a clear line no adversary should cross.