“We set the terms. Trump will dictate the next steps.” Details of what will happen in Venezuela from a top official
The entrance to the Atanasio Girardot border bridge with Venezuela is pictured in Cucuta, Colombia on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Credit line: Raul ARBOLEDA / AFP / Profimedia
In an interview with CBS News on Saturday night, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praised the troops involved in the mission to capture Maduro and detailed what will happen next in Venezuela.
“I've seen the best of America, I've seen men and women who dedicate their lives to defending our country and fulfilling this mission,” he told CBS News, the BBC's American partner, on Saturday night after visiting Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. “President Trump gave them a clear mission, and they accomplished it,” he added.
Hegseth stressed that the “courageous decision” to capture the Venezuelan president was made in the name of “freedom, security and prosperity,” despite Trump's earlier suggestions that US oil interests influenced the decision.
“We set the conditions,” the defense secretary said, referring to what will happen next in Venezuela. “President Trump has shown American leadership and will be able to dictate the next steps.”
When asked if Trump would get congressional approval for his next steps on Venezuela, Hegseth said, “This was a law enforcement operation,” but added that “we're going to keep Congress involved.”
“What happens next will be in the hands of Venezuelans, but ultimately America will benefit in terms of security and prosperity, and we believe the Venezuelan people will benefit as well,” he said.
Hegseth praised Trump as a “president of action” and went on to say that “you cannot achieve peace in this dangerous world without force.” The defense secretary also talked about America's “oil prosperity” as another factor in the mission.
Donald Trump said in a press conference that “we will lead Venezuela” for a transition period, something unprecedented. Asked by the US press to say how he would do this, President Trump did not give details.
On Sunday, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Venezuela decided that Vice President Delcy Rodriguez will take over as interim President of the country in the absence of Nicolas Maduro.
Venezuela's Supreme Court has determined who takes over as president after Maduro's capture by the US
The doctrine invoked by Trump for the US to rule in Venezuela
After the capture of the Venezuelan president, the president of the United States claimed that the operation in Venezuela directly serves his “America First” priorities.
In a press conference, Trump claimed that the action proved that “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again.”
According to him, the intervention aligns with the Monroe Doctrine – formulated in the 19th century by the fifth US president, James Monroe – which Trump says has come to be mockingly nicknamed the “Donroe Doctrine”.
What is the Monroe Doctrine, which Donald Trump invoked for the US to rule in Venezuela after the ouster of President Maduro: “We are reasserting American power”
