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Akbar Novruz

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US President Donald Trump has said he cannot specify how long the United States intends to maintain political control over Venezuela, stating that Washington’s role in the country will continue for an extended period.

In a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times, Trump said that “only time will tell” how long the United States will remain involved in governing Venezuela. When pressed on whether US control would last several months or more than a year, Trump responded that it would likely continue “much longer.”

Trump also declined to clarify the conditions under which the United States might deploy ground forces to Venezuela, including scenarios in which the Venezuelan authorities could obstruct access to oil resources.

“I really don’t want to talk about that,” Trump said, adding that relations with the current Venezuelan administration were “very good” and that Caracas had shown “a lot of respect” toward Washington.

The comments follow Trump’s announcement last Saturday that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had been captured during a joint US military operation conducted overnight in the capital, Caracas. According to the announcement, Maduro was detained and transferred following the operation.

The capture marks a dramatic escalation in long-standing tensions between Washington and Caracas, which date back to the late 1990s with the rise to power of former Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. US officials have frequently cited Venezuela’s alliances with Cuba, Iran and Russia as a source of strategic concern.

International reactions to Maduro’s capture have been mixed. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government would “shed no tears” over the end of Maduro’s rule, while several Latin American governments condemned the US action as a violation of sovereignty.

Russia and China, long-time allies of Venezuela, strongly criticised the operation. Beijing said it was “deeply shocked” and condemned what it described as the use of force against a sovereign state.

The European Union called for restraint and respect for international law. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc had consistently questioned Maduro’s legitimacy but stressed that all actions must comply with the principles of the UN Charter.

“Under all circumstances, international law must be respected,” Kallas said, urging all sides to avoid further escalation.