U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed that American oil companies were informed in advance of the U.S. military raid in Venezuela that led to the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
The operation, carried out on Saturday by U.S. Delta Force, resulted in Maduro being flown to the United States, after which Venezuelan authorities recognized Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as acting president.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump addressed questions about Venezuela’s future governance and possible elections, saying, “We haven’t gotten to that. Right now, what we want to do is fix up the oil, fix up the country, bring the country back, and then have elections,” adding later, “We need total access. We need access to oil and to other things in their country that will allow us to rebuild their country.”
When asked whether major U.S. oil companies were tipped off before the operation, Trump replied, “Yeah,” and added: “Before and after. They want to go in and they’re going to do a great job for the people of Venezuela and they’re going to represent us.”
Outlining the role of private firms in post-raid plans, the president said, “We are going to have to have big investments by the oil companies to bring back the infrastructure,” noting that, “The oil companies are ready to go, they are going to build back the infrastructure.”
Meanwhile, Maduro is expected to appear in a New York courtroom at 12 p.m. ET, where he will face multiple drug trafficking charges.