Trump addresses press after .aduro, wife's arrest, says US to oversee political transition

The United States (US) President, Donald Trump, has confirmed the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, who will face drug trafficking and terrorism-related charges in the US.

Trump, who said the arrest was also to free Venezuela from his bad governance, addressed a world press conference on Saturday in Washington.

He said the US would be in the country until a smooth political transition is guaranteed.

Trump, who praised the American troops for a hitch-free military operation, said Maduro and his wife will be tried.in New York.

He said Maduro was increasingly becoming a threat to America by acquisition of weapons which, he said, they used last night.

“The future will be determined by national security and American sovereignty,” he said.

He said the US cannot allow any threat in the region, warning that what happened to Maduro can happen to any leader in the region.

He said he is proud of Secretary of War and all others who made the operation successful.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Attorney General, Pamela Bondi, in a post on X, stated that both Maduro and wife would soon face trial in the United States.

Bondi wrote that the couple “will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”

She also explained that the charges are not new, noting that the Maduros are already facing serious accusations in a New York federal court.

According to her, the existing cases include “Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy” charges linked to long-running investigations.

President Trump also confirmed the development in a post on his Truth Social account.

He claimed that U.S. forces had successfully captured Maduro and flown him out of Venezuela during the operation.

“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country,” Trump wrote.

He added that American law enforcement agencies worked closely with the military to carry out the operation.

“This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement,” he stated.

Trump further announced that he would speak more on the issue during a news conference scheduled for 11:00 a.m. (1600 GMT) at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

The announcement comes as the U.S. president is nearing the end of his two-week Christmas and New Year vacation at the Florida resort.

As of the time of the announcement, no additional details were provided about the charges or how the operation was carried out.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

See author's posts