Trump says US has to run Venezuela with “law and order”

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that “law and order” must be restored in Venezuela before presidential elections can be held.

None of the country’s opposition leaders currently has sufficient support to lead the country, he told The New York Post (NYP).

Rather than rushing into elections, stabilising the country should be the priority, Trump believes. In his view, this would be a mutually beneficial situation for both the United States and Venezuela.

“We should run the country with law and order. We should run the country where we can take advantage of the economics of what they have — which is valuable oil and valuable other things,” Trump said.

The U.S. president said Venezuela’s economy is on the brink of collapse after decades of plunder and mismanagement by the socialists, NYP reports.

Trump also stated that the United States is effectively running Venezuela. According to him, Venezuela’s vice president and acting head of state, Delcy Rodríguez, is cooperating with the American side.

Speaking to reporters on January 4 evening on board Air Force One, Trump said, "We're dealing with the people who just got sworn in. Don't ask me who's in charge because I'll give you an answer and it'll be very controversial."

He clarified that it is the United States that is running Venezuela. The American president added that he personally has not been in contact with Delcy Rodríguez.

President Donald Trump is also convinced that his military operation in Venezuela will not affect his relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

“I don’t think so. I have a very good relationship (with Xi),” Trump said. “We have the power of tariffs and he has other powers on us.”

Trump said he is planning on travelling to visit Xi in April.

China previously called on the US to “immediately” release Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, who are in custody in the US. 

By Khagan Isayev