Trump Declares U.S. ‘In Charge’ of Venezuela, Says Goal Is to ‘Run It, Fix It’
President Donald Trump doubled down Sunday on his promise to bring stability to Venezuela, making it unmistakably clear that the United States is “in charge” following the historic capture and extradition of dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump reaffirmed what Secretary of State Marco Rubio had outlined the day before — that Venezuela is no longer a rogue state ignored by Washington, but a top priority under American direction.
“We’re in charge,” Trump told reporters. “We’re going to run it, fix it. It’s a broken country. There’s no money. There’s inflation, like we would have had if I didn’t win this election — we would have been Venezuela on steroids.”
The President made clear that elections will come, but only “at the right time” — after order is restored and the Venezuelan people have a chance to rebuild from the devastation left by Maduro’s socialist regime.
Critics asked if this meant the U.S. was back in the nation-building business. Trump pushed back, saying this was about restoring order in the hemisphere, not some endless foreign adventure.
“We’re in the business of having countries around us that are viable, successful, and where the oil is allowed to freely come out, because that’s good,” he said. “It gets the prices down. That’s good for our country.”
Trump even coined a new term to describe his policy: the “Donroe Doctrine,” a Trump-era spin on the Monroe Doctrine that puts American strength front and center in the Western Hemisphere.
The President said his motivation was driven by national security — and by drugs. Over the past several months, the War Department has struck more than 30 drug-smuggling boats, many linked to Venezuela. Trump said the flow of drugs by sea into the U.S. is down 97% as a result.
“This is Venezuela. Our area,” Trump declared. “We had to act because the drugs were pouring in.”
He then turned his sights on Mexico, calling on the country to do more to combat the cartels operating within its borders.
“Mexico has to get their act together,” he warned. “They’re pouring through Mexico, and we’re gonna have to do something. We’d love Mexico to do it. They’re capable of doing it. But unfortunately, the cartels are very strong in Mexico.”
Trump also touched briefly on Greenland, when asked if he still had interest in acquiring the island. While he said his current focus is on Venezuela and Ukraine, he noted that Greenland is becoming a critical flashpoint in global security.
“We need Greenland from a national security situation,” he said. “It’s so strategic right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. And Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”
With Trump’s foreign policy once again reshaping the global order, his message is unmistakable: America leads, America acts, and under his watch, America decides what happens in its own backyard.