U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that the United States would “run” Venezuela following an extraordinary U.S. operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

“We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition,” Trump, flanked by top cabinet officials, said in televised remarks from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “We can’t take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesn’t have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind.”

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that the United States would “run” Venezuela following an extraordinary U.S. operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

“We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition,” Trump, flanked by top cabinet officials, said in televised remarks from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “We can’t take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesn’t have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind.”

It’s unclear precisely how the United States intends to “run” Venezuela and whether that could involve a prolonged military occupation. Trump offered vague details on this, suggesting that he would designate people to oversee the process—signaling that U.S. officials would be directly involved.

The president said it was his understanding that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was just sworn in as Maduro’s replacement. Trump said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Rodríguez and that she’s ready to work with the United States. Reports on Saturday suggested that Rodríguez was in Russia, but the Russian government denied this.

Trump also did not rule out having boots on the ground in Venezuela and suggested that the United States could be involved in running the country for years. “We’re not afraid of boots on the ground. … We had boots on the ground last night,” Trump said.

The president lauded the operation that resulted in Maduro’s capture as one of the “most stunning, effective, and powerful displays of American military might” in history. Trump said no U.S. troops were killed and no military equipment was lost. The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, said the operation involved 150 aircraft launched from 20 different bases.

Trump also signaled that the White House could potentially order further military actions in Venezuela, sending a warning to Maduro’s allies who remain in the country. “All political and military figures in Venezuela should understand what happened to Maduro can happen to them,” he said.

The president also indicated that the United States would be assuming control of Venezuela’s oil industry. “We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies—the biggest........

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