Breaking: Trump Updates World on 'Operation Absolute Resolve' – and Reveals Who Will Now Run Venezuela

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At a Saturday morning press conference from the Tea Room at Mar-a-Lago, President Trump, joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan "Raizin'" Caine, provided additional details on the U.S special forces mission that led to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

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Named "Operation Absolute Resolve," Trump called the joint action between U.S. special forces and federal law enforcement an "extraordinary military" action and revealed that "air, land and sea" were used to the launch the successful assault. 

“Overwhelming American military power — air, land and sea — was used to launch a spectacular assault. And it was an assault like people have not seen since World War II.”

He also said that all Venezuelan military forces were rendered incapacitated during the operation. Even better, said Trump, not a single U.S. service member was killed nor was any military equipment lost during the operation.

As for what happens next in Venezuela, the president said the United States is "going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition" of power. 

U.S. oil companies will now move into Venezuela, according to Trump, and spend "billions of dollars" to fix the broken oil infrastructure. “We are going to have our very large United States oil companies go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken oil infrastructure and start making money for the country," said the president.

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And if Venezuelans resist the efforts of the United States? We'll "stage a second, larger attack, if needed," said the president. The goal is to make the people of Venezuela "rich, independent, and safe." “We want peace, liberty, and justice," he concluded.

READ MORE: Trump Announces Venezuelan Leader Nicolas Maduro and His Wife Captured Following ‘Large Scale’ US Strike

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Secretary of War Hegseth echoed President Trump's praise for the successful assault, calling it "flawlessly executed." Gen. Caine revealed that the operation had been planned for several months and the mission "required every component of joint forces. It was, said Caine, an "audacious operation."

Shortly before the press conference began, President Trump released the first photo of Maduro in U.S. custody.

As RedState's Rusty Weiss reported earlier Saturday, U.S. military special forces, working in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement agencies, conducted a raid in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, to nab the Maduros as they slept. Trump offered some initial details at that time:

"The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolás Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country," Trump said on his Truth Social media platform. "This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement."

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January 3 is turning out to be a big day in U.S. foreign policy history. It was the day in 1989 that Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega turned himself into U.S. forces, and the day in 2020 when Qassem Soleimani was taken out by a U.S. military strike. 

This is a developing story – be sure to stick with RedState for all the latest.

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