President Trump on Saturday told reporters that the United States is going to be “running” Venezuela following the arrest of former President Nicolas Maduro.
During a press conference after the US military executed strikes and a ground invasion to capture Maduro and his wife on Saturday at approximately 2 am local time, Trump said he plans to rebuild Venezuela’s oil structure with “boots on the ground” and private oil companies.
“we’re going to make sure that this is proper. We’re there now. We’re ready to go again if we have to. We’re going to run the country right. It’s going to run very judiciously, very fairly,” Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago.
“It’s going to make a lot of money, we’re going to give money to the people, we’re going to reimburse people that were taken advantage of, we’re going to take care of everybody. It’s very important. We couldn’t let them get away with it. You know, they stole our oil. We built that whole industry there, and they just took it over like we were nothing, and we had a president that decided not to do anything about it. So, we did something about it.”
“We have fantastic people, including people in the military. So we’re going to have a group of people running it until such time as it can be put back on track, make a lot of money for the people, and give people a great way of life, and also reimbursement for people in our country that were forced out of Venezuela,” he added.
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Trump: We’re going to be running it with a group, and we’re going to make sure it’s run properly. We’re going to rebuild the oil infrastructure, which will cost billions of dollars. It will be paid for by the oil companies directly. They will be reimbursed for what they’re doing, but it’s going to be paid, and we’re going to get the oil flowing the way it should be, as you know, it was just a minor flow. It was actually a minor flow for what they have, but we’re going to run it properly, and we’re going to make sure the people of Venezuela are taken care of. We’re going to make sure the people that were forced out of Venezuela by this thug are also taken care of.
Reporter: Does the US running the country mean that US troops will be on the ground? How will that work?
Trump: Well, you know, they always say boots on the ground. We’re not afraid of boots on the ground if we have to. We had boots on the ground last night at a very high level actually. We’re not afraid of it. We don’t mind saying it, but we’re going to make sure that that country is run properly. We’re not doing this in vain. This is not— this is a very dangerous attack. This is an attack that could have gone very, very badly, could have been very badly. We could have lost a lot of people last night. We could have lost a lot of dignity. We could have lost a lot of equipment. The equipment is less important, but we could have lost a lot.
And we’re going to make sure that this is proper. We’re there now. We’re ready to go again if we have to. We’re going to run the country right. It’s going to run very judiciously, very fairly. It’s going to make a lot of money, we’re going to give money to the people, we’re going to reimburse people that were taken advantage of, we’re going to take care of everybody. It’s very important. We couldn’t let them get away with it. You know, they stole our oil. We built that whole industry there, and they just took it over like we were nothing, and we had a president that decided not to do anything about it. So, we did something about it. We’re late, but we did something about it.
Reporter: Who would run Venezuela?
Trump: It’s largely going to be, for a period of time, the people that are standing right behind me. We’re going to be running it, we’re going to be bringing it back. It’s a dead— you know, I talk about a dead country. A year and a half ago, we were a dead country. Now, we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world. We’re a country doing better than any country anywhere in the world, and it required leadership. Venezuela has a lot of bad people in there, a lot of bad people that shouldn’t be leading. We’re not going to take a chance that one of those people take over for Maduro. So, you can look at— and others. We have fantastic people, including people in the military. So we’re going to have a group of people running it until such time as it can be put back on track, make a lot of money for the people, and give people a great way of life, and also reimbursement for people in our country that were forced out of Venezuela.
Later in the press conference, Trump confirmed that his team is going to work with the people of Venezuela to ensure a good leader takes over, not another Maduro. “We’re going to have this done right. We’re not going to just do this with Maduro then leave like everybody else, leave and say, you know, let it go to hell,” he said.
“We’ll run it properly, we’ll run it professionally, we’ll have the greatest oil companies in the world go in and invest billions and billions of dollars and take out money, use that money in Venezuela, and the biggest beneficiary are going to be the people of Venezuela.”
When asked how running a country in South America is America First, Trump replied, “It is because we want to surround ourselves with good neighbors, we want to surround ourselves with stability, we want to surround ourselves with energy.”
He continued, “We have tremendous energy in that country. It’s very important that we protect it. We need that for ourselves. We need that for the world, and we want to make sure we can protect it.”
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The post WATCH: Trump Says US Will Now RUN VENEZUELA Until it Can be “Put Back on Track” – “We’re Not Afraid of Boots on the Ground… We’re Going to Make Sure That that Country is Run Properly” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.