January 6, 2026 | 06:17 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - U.S. President Donald Trump said Venezuela will not hold new general elections in the next 30 days. As reported in an interview with NBC News, he stated that elections are not feasible in a country that has just experienced a political upheaval.
"We have to fix the country first. You can’t have an election. There’s no way the people could even vote," he claimed.
Trump added, the recovery of Venezuela will take time. "No, it’s going to take a period of time. We have — we have to nurse the country back to health," he said.
This statement comes after the United States' military operation last Saturday abducted President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Trump emphasized that Washington is not at war with Venezuela.
"No, we're not," he said.
"We’re at war with people that sell drugs. We’re at war with people that empty their prisons into our country and empty their drug addicts and empty their mental institutions into our country," he claimed.
Control of Venezuela's Oil
In the report, Trump also stated that the United States could help subsidize oil companies to rebuild Venezuela's energy infrastructure, a process he estimates will be completed in less than 18 months.
"I think we can do it in less time than that, but it'll be a lot of money," he said.
Trump mentioned that several senior US officials would be involved in dealing with Venezuela, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
"It's a group of all. They have all expertise, different expertise," he said. When asked who has the final control, Trump answered shortly, "Me."
Political Situation in Venezuela
Meanwhile, according to a report by Anadolu, Maduro on Monday, January 5, pleaded not guilty to federal charges in New York, including narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine.
In Caracas, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as interim president after Maduro's abduction.
Trump said Rodriguez had worked with US officials but denied any contact prior to the operation.
"No, that’s not the case," he said. He added that the decision on the continuation or lifting of sanctions against Rodriguez would be determined soon.
When asked if there was an agreement with Venezuelan officials to oust Maduro, Trump answered, "Well, yeah, because a lot of people wanted to make a deal, but we decided to do it this way." Trump also opened the possibility of a second aggression if Rodríguez stops cooperating.
Read: Venezuela's Interim President: Who is Delcy Rodriguez?
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