‘Have to fix it first’: Trump says Venezuela not ready for elections after Maduro's capture

New Delhi: US President Donald Trump on Monday asserted that elections will not be held in Venezuela over the next 30 days, saying the country must first be stabilised. Speaking in an interview, Trump stated that the US is not at war with Venezuela.

“We have to fix Venezuela first. You can’t have an election. There’s no way the people could even vote,” Trump said, adding that the process “is going to take a period of time. We have to nurse the country back to health.”

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Addressing the people of Venezuela, the US President said his administration would help rebuild the country’s energy and oil sectors and subsidise oil companies to restore infrastructure. “We can do it in less time than that, but it will need a lot of money,” he said. According to Trump, a huge amount of money would have to be spent, with oil companies making the investments and later being reimbursed by the US or through revenue.

Trump reiterated that the US is not at war with Venezuela but is instead fighting drug traffickers operating in the oil-rich country. “We’re at war with people who empty their prisons into our country, empty their drug addicts, and empty their mental institutions into our country,” he said.

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Trump said the entire US involvement would be spearheaded by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.

The development comes two days after the US captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in Caracas and flew them to New York City. The couple were questioned over their alleged involvement in narco-terrorism and cocaine importation. Maduro pleaded not guilty and claimed to retain leadership of the state even after Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as his successor and interim president.