Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodríguez addresses the media in Caracas, Venezuela, on March 10, 2025. (Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters)
Trump was also asked whether he had spoken directly with Venezuela’s newly sworn-in Vice President Delcy Rodríguez amid uncertainty about how the new government is functioning and what role the U.S. is playing.
While Trump said he has not personally spoken with Rodríguez, he suggested coordination is already underway between U.S. officials and the new leadership.
During the gaggle, Trump repeatedly portrayed Venezuela as a failed state that cannot immediately transition to democratic rule, arguing the country’s infrastructure and economy had been devastated by years of mismanagement.
TRUMP ISSUES DIRECT WARNING TO VENEZUELA'S NEW LEADER DELCY RODRÍGUEZ FOLLOWING MADURO CAPTURE
A coast guard boat of the Venezuelan Navy operates off the Caribbean coast on Sept. 11, 2025. (Juan Carlos Hernandez/Reuters)
He stressed that American oil companies – not U.S. taxpayers – will finance the reconstruction, while the U.S. oversees the broader recovery.
"The oil companies are going to go in and rebuild this system. They’re going to spend billions of dollars, and they’re going to take the oil out of the ground, and we’re taking back what they sell," Trump said. "Remember, they stole our property. It was the greatest theft in the history of America. Nobody has ever stolen our property like they have. They took our oil away from us. They took the infrastructure away. And all that infrastructure is rotted and decayed."
Trump said elections will not take place until the country is stabilized, arguing that rushing a vote in a collapsed state would repeat past failures.
TRUMP REVEALS VENEZUELA’S MADURO WAS CAPTURED IN ‘FORTRESS’-LIKE HOUSE: ‘HE GOT BUM RUSHED SO FAST’
President Donald Trump shared a photo of captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after strikes on Venezuela, on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Donald Trump via Truth Social)
He tied the intervention to long-standing U.S. policy in the Western Hemisphere, invoking historical precedent.
"It’s about peace on Earth," Trump said. "You gotta have peace, it’s our hemisphere. The Monroe Doctrine was very important when it was done."
Trump went on to criticize past presidents for failing to enforce that doctrine, arguing his administration has restored it as a guiding principle.
"And other presidents, a lot of them, they lost sight of it," Trump added. "I didn’t. I didn’t lose sight. But it really is. It’s peace on Earth."
Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration arrived at the West 30th Street Heliport for the arrival of captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in New York. (Stefan Jeremiah/AP Photo)
Trump said the U.S. role in Venezuela will ultimately focus on rebuilding the country while caring for Venezuelans displaced by years of economic collapse.
He said that includes Venezuelans currently living in the U.S., many of whom he said were forced to flee.
"We’re gonna cherish a country," Trump said. "We’re going to take care of, more importantly, of the people, including Venezuelans that are living in our country that were forced to leave their country, and they’re going to be taken very good care of."
Trump made clear the comments on Venezuela were part of a broader foreign policy outlook, using the gaggle to issue warnings about instability elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere and overseas. He suggested the U.S. is prepared to respond forcefully to threats he said could endanger American security interests.
Trump singled out Colombia, describing the country as a growing security concern and accusing its leadership of enabling large-scale drug trafficking into the U.S.
"Colombia’s very sick too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he’s not going to be doing it very long," Trump said.
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When asked whether that meant U.S. action, Trump replied, "It sounds good to me."
Trump also addressed ongoing protests in Iran, warning that the U.S. is closely monitoring the situation and would respond if the Iranian government uses violence against demonstrators.
"We’re watching it very closely," he said. "If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they’re going to get hit very hard by the United States."
Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.
Story tips and ideas can be sent to Greg.Wehner@Fox.com and on Twitter @GregWehner.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-vows-us-in-charge-venezuela-he-reveals-hes-spoken-delcy-rodriguez