President Trump offered an advance warning to Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro months before the US captured him and his wife.
“He doesn’t want to f–k around with the United States,” the president said in an October press conference.
The Official White House Rapid Response account resurfaced the clip Saturday morning — just hours after handing down a litany of charges against the embattled dictator and his wife.
AFP via Getty ImagesTrump’s statement was in response to a reporter’s question about “remediation” between the two countries, and whether the president had any words for Maduro.
“He’s offered everything. You know why?” Trump said before dropping the crude remark.
The post came as new details emerged about the operation that led to Maduro’s arrest.
Trump said US forces carried out a “large-scale strike” in Venezuela, capturing Maduro and flying him out of the country to face charges in the US.
Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores were indicted in Manhattan federal court Saturday morning on charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation and weapons offenses, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
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Bondi said the pair would face “the full wrath of American justice” on US soil.
The Trump administration has accused Maduro of leading the so-called Cartel of the Suns and fueling drug trafficking into the US.
The strike followed months of escalating US military pressure in the Caribbean, including the deployment of warships, fighter jets, a nuclear submarine and thousands of troops.
Trump had previously authorized covert CIA operations inside Venezuela and approved strikes on vessels Washington said were tied to narcotics trafficking.
President Trump released the first picture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima en route to NYC for indictment via Truth Social. truthsocial/@realDonaldTrumpMaduro has repeatedly denied the allegations and accused the US of pursuing regime change, calling the military action a violation of Venezuelan sovereignty.
During a Saturday morning interview on Fox & Friends, Trump said the operation left several US personnel injured but no Americans killed, calling the mission “extremely complex” and saying he watched it unfold in real time.
“This is something that gee, I don’t know, is amazing and to have a few injuries but no death on our side was really amazing,” Trump said, speaking ahead of a planned 11 a.m. address from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
He said Maduro and his wife were being transported by ship to New York to stand trial.
Trump also warned remaining loyalists that their future would be “really bad” and signaled the US would take a heavy hand in deciding Venezuela’s governing structure and its oil sector moving forward.
