President Donald Trump said the Venezuelan opposition leader does not have the country’s “respect” to govern after the overthrow of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The United States led a series of attacks in the South American country early Saturday, eventually capturing Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and bringing them to the United States to face narcoterrorism charges.
Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado celebrated the operation and capture in a statement, calling it “hour of freedom.”
“As of today, Nicolás Maduro faces international justice for the atrocious crimes committed against the Venezuelan people and against citizens of many other nations. Given his refusal to accept a negotiated solution, the United States Government has fulfilled its promise to defend the rule of law,” said Machado.
Trump, who said he has not been in contact with Machado, said during a news conference Saturday that he does not believe she can take on the leadership role in Venezuela.
“I think it would be very difficult for her to be a leader. She doesn’t have the support or respect within the country. She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect,” Trump said.
María Corina Machado, winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, speaks during a press conference in Oslo, Norway, on December 11, 2025.
Lars Martin Hunstad/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE
Trump also announced that the United States will “lead the country” in its transition to new leadership.
“We are going to govern the country until such time as we can make a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said. “And it has to be judicious, because that’s what it’s about. We want peace, freedom and justice for the great people of Venezuela.”
Venezuelans react to the overthrow of Maduro
Political analyst Liz Alarcón, with experience in Latin America and American Latinos, rejected the idea that Machado does not have the respect of the country during an appearance on ABC News Live.
When asked if there is any possibility of Machado ruling the country, Alarcón responded: “That is exactly what already exists.”
“What we want to see is, of course, the support of the entire international community, including the United States, to expel an illegitimate leader like Nicolás Maduro from the country… but we also want our will as Venezuelans to be respected inside and outside the country,” he said.
Alarcón said that will include Venezuela being governed by leaders like Machado or Edmundo González Urrutia, who ran against Maduro in last July’s elections.
In his statement, Machado called on the military to recognize González Urrutia as the legitimate president of Venezuela.
In this June 10, 2025 file photo, Venezuela’s president-elect Edmundo González speaks during the “Venezuela, Memory and Justice” event at the European Parliament headquarters in Madrid, Spain.
Europa Press News/Europa Press via Getty Images
Independent exit polls showed González Urrutia receiving two-thirds of the vote, and the United States said “overwhelming evidence” supported his victory, but Maduro claimed he won the election and did not cede power.
ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz said on “Good Morning America Weekend” that it is unclear how the military will respond to Maduro’s ouster and that the United States is monitoring the situation.
“Today we are ready to enforce our mandate and take power. Let us remain vigilant, active and organized until the Democratic Transition is achieved, a transition that requires each and every one of us.” Machado said.
Alarcón told ABC News Live that many Venezuelans are celebrating Maduro’s fall but want to ensure that his regime is not replaced by a similar one.
This includes not installing any of Maduro’s allies who are still in Venezuela or any other figure who does not respect the “democratic will of the Venezuelan people,” he explained.
People celebrate in Caracas’ Bolívar Square on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
Luis Acosta/AFP via Getty Images
“What I would like to see is for those who are still in power in Venezuela to receive guarantees, leave peacefully and make way for the freedom that so many Venezuelans here in Doral, where I live… were shouting and singing and wishing for and that means freedom for all and seeing the country governed by those we elect,” he said.
Venezuelan-American journalist José Enrique Arrioja, speaking to ABC News’ Gio Benítez, called the operation a “series of shocking events” and a “historic moment” for both Venezuela and Latin America.
Arrioja, who has been covering financial markets and politics in Latin America for more than two decades and is editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly magazine, said the operation showed a bold new strategy that the Trump administration would be adopting in the region.
“It has been very [mixed] reaction. The situation in Caracas as we speak now, Gio, is calm. “People buying food and essentials in advance could be uncertain for the next week, if not months,” Arrioja said.
“We have a regime that has been very unpopular since last year, when they usurped power after the July 28 elections,” he continued. “It’s just dealing with more repression, a more authoritarian regime.”
Maduro supporters condemn US operation
While many detractors celebrated Maduro’s capture, his supporters condemned the United States for carrying out the operation.
Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez addressed the nation on state television demanding Maduro’s release and saying he is the country’s only president.
“We had already warned that an attack was taking place with false excuses, with false pretexts, and that the masks had fallen and it had only one objective: regime change in Venezuela and the capture of our energy, mineral and natural resources,” he said in a speech in Spanish. “That is the real goal, and the world and the international community must know it.”
“We have convened this National Defense Council… From here we demand the immediate release of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The only president of Venezuela: President Nicolás Maduro.”
Rodríguez called on civilians and armed forces throughout the country to mobilize and defend the country.
In this March 10, 2025, file photo, Venezuelan Vice President and Petroleum Minister Delcy Rodríguez addresses the media in Caracas, Venezuela.
Leonardo Fernández Viloria/Reuters, FILE
“United as a nation, the Venezuelan people will find a path of peace and tranquility. “Those who resort to force, those who resort to violating international law, do not have law or reason on their side,” he stated. “We have historical right and moral right on our side, and we will remain firm in the defense of peace. calm, the future of Venezuela, the people’s claim to their homeland and their right to hope and social well-being.”
Rodriguez’s comments demanding Maduro’s “immediate release” contradict what Trump said he told Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a “long” phone conversation on Saturday.
Trump said Saturday that Rodriguez said she is ready to work with Washington and is “essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.”
ABC News.
