‘If I lived in Havana and I was in government, I’d be concerned’ – Rubiopublished at 17:45 GMT
The press conference is now finished, but we’re going to bring you a few more lines from it.
Fielding a question from a reporter who said he was from Cuba, Trump told him “Cuba is going to be something we’ll end up talking about”.
“We want to help the people in Cuba, we want to also help the people that were forced out of Cuba.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio interjected that “when the President speaks, you should take him seriously”, adding many of the guards who helped protect Maduro were Cuban.
“If I lived in Havana and I was in the government I’d be concerned at least,” Rubio added.
Trump says it would be ‘very tough’ for Machado to be Venezuela’s leaderpublished at 17:41 GMT
Trump is asked if he has been in contact with opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
He says he hasn’t spoken to her. It would be “very tough” for Machado to be the leader of Venezuela, he adds.
Though she is a “very nice woman”, he says, “she doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country”.
Trump pressed on how US will run Venezuelapublished at 17:31 GMT
Trump is now taking questions. He’s asked if the US running Venezuela means US troops will be on the ground.
He says “we’re not afraid of boots on the ground” and the US military had “boots on the ground last night at a very high level”.
“We’re going to make sure that country is run properly,” he adds.
Trump is also asked what exact mechanism he will be using to run the country. He says “we’re designating people right now” and “we’re going to let you know who those people are”.
He is then asked who will run Venezuela. He gestures his hand towards himself and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as he says “it’s largely going to be for a period time the people that are standing right behind me”.
Secretary of State Rubio says Maduro had ‘multiple opportunities’ to avoid thispublished at 17:28 GMT
We’re now hearing from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
He says Maduro is not the legitimate president. It is “not just us saying it”, he says, adding the first Trump administration and the Biden administration also said the same.
Maduro is also not recognised by the EU and multiple countries around world, Rubio says.
He describes the Venezuelan president as a “fugitive of American justice”, with a $50m reward.
“I guess we saved ourselves $50m,” Rubio says, before Trump chimes in with: “We should make sure… don’t let anybody claim it.”
Rubio continues by saying that Maduro had “multiple opportunities” to avoid this, but chose instead to “act like a wild man” and “play around”.
He describes Maduro as a man who decided to “invite Iran into his country” and “flood the US with gang members”.
Maduro thought nothing would happen, Rubio says, before adding that Trump is “not a game player”.
When Trump says he is going to address a problem, he actions it, Rubio adds.
Maduro and his wife ‘gave up’ before being taken into custody – Gen Cainepublished at 17:25 GMT
The US military maintained “totally the element of surprise”, having dismantled and disabled Venezuelan air defence systems, says General Caine.
He says they arrived at Maduro’s compound at 01:01 ET and isolated the area. On arrival there, the helicopters “came under fire”, and they responded with “overwhelming force”, he says.
One helicopter was hit but all US aircraft have been able to return home, he says.
Maduro and his wife then “gave up” and were taken into custody by the Department of Justice, says Caine, and at 03:29 ET they boarded the USS Iwo Jima.
Months of intelligence work to uncover where Maduro lived, Gen Caine sayspublished at 17:22 GMT
General Dan Caine now takes the podium. He shares some details of the planning for the operation, dubbed “operation absolute resolve”.
He calls it “discreet” and “precise”, and says it required “every component” of the joint forces, including soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and others “working in unison” with intelligence agencies and law enforcement.
He adds the operation leveraged “unmatched” intelligence capabilities and “years of experience in hunting terrorists”.
Gen Caine says the “extraction” was so precise it required more than 150 aircraft all coming together in the right place and time.
On the preparation work, he refers to “months” of intelligence work uncovering details about Maduro, including where he lived and what he ate.
America ‘safer’ and ‘prouder’ today – Trumppublished at 17:07 GMT
All political and military figures in Venezuela should understand that what happened to Maduro could happen to them, Trump says.
“Venezuelan people are free again,” he adds. He also says America is a “safer” and “prouder nation” today.
He then hands over to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who begins by describing the operation this morning as “a massive joint military and law enforcement raid, flawlessly executed”.
Maduro “had his chance, just like Iran had their chance”, Hegseth says, but adds that he “effed around” and found out.
US president describes achievements with typical bravadopublished at 16:59 GMT
Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent
Donald Trump is describing the successful military operation in Venezuela with typical bravado. It was a display of “overwhelming military power” and a “spectacular assault”.
He called it “one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history”.
Supporting those boasts is the fact that no American military personnel were killed and, by Trump’s account, no US military equipment was destroyed, while the objective – capturing Nicolas Maduro and his wife – was achieved.
It seems the US now owns Venezuela’s future – for better or worsepublished at 16:56 GMT
Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent
If there were any doubts about the breadth of American involvement in Venezuela after the US action to remove Nicolas Maduro from power, Donald Trump has laid them to rest.
“We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” he said.
It’s a bold statement to make, given the economic and political turmoil the South American nation now faces.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US invasion of Iraq, now seems to be in the business of nation-building – and dealing with the consequences of American military action.
In the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell, “If you break it, you own it.”
The US now owns Venezuela’s future – for better or worse.
Trump attacks Maduro as ‘illegitimate dictator’published at 16:56 GMT
Trump claims the US “partnership” with Venezuela will make the people of Venezuela “rich, independent and safe”, adding Venezuelans living in the US will be “extremely happy”.
“They’re not going to suffer any more,” he tells the news conference.
Trump calls Maduro an “illegitimate dictator” who was responsible for the bringing of “colossal amounts of deadly illicit drugs” into the US, and accuses him of overseeing the Cartel de los Soles cartel.
Maduro has previously vehemently denied being a cartel leader.
Trump adds that Maduro and his wife are on a ship heading to New York, and a decision “will be made soon” between New York and Miami.
US ready to stage second ‘much larger’ attack on Venezuela if needed, says Trumppublished at 16:51 GMT
Trump now turns now to oil. He claims the oil business in Venezuela has been a “bust”, and that large US companies are going to go into the country to fix the infrastructure and “start making money for the country”.
He adds the US is “ready” to stage a second “and much larger” attack on the country if needed.
He says they were initially prepared to do a “second wave” and had assumed it would be necessary, that but given the success of last night’s attack, it probably would now not be.
Trump says Venezuelan forces were ‘waiting for us’published at 16:49 GMT
Trump thanks the military for their “breathtaking speed, power, precision and competence”.
He says these “highly trained warriors” were operating in collaboration with US law enforcement.
Venezuelan forces were “waiting for us”, he says, with “many ships out”.
Despite being in a “ready position”, Trump says Venezuelan forces were “completely overwhelmed and very quickly incapacitated”.
Not a single US serviceman was killed, and no equipment was lost, he adds.
Trump says the US has “knocked out 97% of drugs coming in by sea”, and alleges that each boat carrying drugs kills 25,000 people on average.
He also alleges that most of the drugs come from Venezuela. The BBC has not verified these figures.
US will run Venezuela until ‘safe, proper and judicious transition’ – Trumppublished at 16:47 GMTBreaking
Trump says the US is “going to run” Venezuela until “such a time that we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition” of power.
Maduro and his wife ‘now face American justice’, says Trumppublished at 16:46 GMT
Trump says the US force went against “a heavily fortified military fortress” in the heart of Caracas to bring Maduro “to justice”.
He compares it to previous military operations against Iran – including against nuclear targets.
“No nation in the world could achieve what America achieved yesterday,” he says.
All Venezuelan military capabilities were “rendered powerless” in the attack, he says.
He adds the lights of Caracas were turned off during the operation “due to a certain expertise” that America has.
Both Maduro and his wife “now face American justice” says Trump, adding they have been indicted in the southern district of New York for their “campaign of deadly narco-terrorism” against the US and its citizens.
Trump calls Venezuela military operation ‘extraordinary’published at 16:43 GMT
Trump begins by referring to the “extraordinary” military operation conducted in the capital of Venezuela overnight and into this morning at his direction.
He says “overwhelming” American military power by “air, land and sea” was used.
Trump news conference beginspublished at 16:39 GMTBreaking
Stick with us as we bring you the key lines.
Maduro expected to land in New York later today, say sourcespublished at 16:35 GMT
Two sources tell the BBC’s US news partner, CBS, that the US military plane carrying Maduro is expected to land later today at New York Stewart airport.
It’s a public military international airport in Orange County, New York, located in the Hudson Valley, about 60 miles north of Manhattan.
The sources say he’s in custody of the US military and is expected to be turned over to federal authorities when he lands.
Maduro is expected to be arraigned in New York Federal court in the southern district of New York next week – possibly as early as Monday.
Trump shares image he says shows Maduro on board Iwo Jimapublished at 16:29 GMTBreaking
Trump has just shared a new image on Truth Social that he says shows “Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima” – this is the boat he earlier told Fox News was bringing the Venezuelan leader to the US.
The image shows what appears to be Maduro, with an eye mask and headphones on and wearing a grey tracksuit.
News conference at Mar-a-Lago to begin shortlypublished at 16:13 GMTBreaking
We’re expecting the news conference at Trump’s Florida residence Mar-a-Lago to begin shortly.
Earlier on, Trump told Fox News the conference would include Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine.
“We’re going to have a pretty open news conference,” he said.
We’ll bring you the key lines – stick with us.
CIA source helped US track Maduro’s locationpublished at 16:13 GMT
A CIA source inside the Venezuelan government helped the US track Nicolas Maduro’s location in the lead-up to his capture by the US Army’s elite Delta Force, CBS News has learned, as first reported by NYT.
The human source was part of an extensive network of other intelligence inputs, including overhead and signals intelligence, that informed the operation, which was the result of months of meticulous planning and partnership between the CIA and Department of Defense.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe has previously said the agency would prioritise the recruitment of human sources.
It could not be immediately determined when the source was recruited.
The US government had offered a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest.
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