Democrats decry Trump’s Venezuela operation while Republicans praise ‘outstanding’ effort after classified briefing – live | US attack on Venezuela
Democrats decry Venezuela operation after briefing from top administration officials
Several Democratic senators have emerged from the classified briefing from top administration officials on the capture of Nicolás Maduro, all criticizing the scope of the military operation.
“I heard no detailed plan,” said the senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. “It is just slightly different than the mistakes we made in Iraq and Afghanistan. There, we used our military as a means to try to micromanage the country. They waited us out, and as soon as we left, chaos erupted. Why would it be any difference under these circumstances?”
The Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, said that the “public needs answers” as he spoke to reporters. “What the hell is going on? We need answers as to how long this is going to last,” he said.
Key events
Leavitt says US controlling Greenland would deter China and Russia in the Arctic
Asked why the US hasn’t ruled out military force to acquire Greenland, Leavitt says Greenland is “being actively discussed” by Trump and his national security team and they’re talking about what a potential purchase could look like.
Trump, she says, has been clear that the US acquisition of Greenland “would deter Russian and Chinese aggression in the Arctic region”.
Trump’s first option, again, is diplomacy, she adds.
Russian vessel’s crew is subject to prosecution after US seizure, White House says
Asked whether the seizure of the Russian-flagged, Venezuelan-linked Bella-1/Marinera oil tanker risked a larger conflict with Russia, Leavitt doesn’t answer the question.
She says the vessel was transporting sanctioned oil, and that the US “will enforce all sanctions”.
“The vessel had a judicial seizure order … so that means the crew is now subject to prosecution for any applicable violation of federal law, and they will be brought to the United States for such prosecution, if necessary,” she says.
The Kremlin has already responded angrily to the US seizure, saying “no state has the right to use force against ships properly registered in the jurisdictions of other states”. The tanker had received a temporary permit to sail under the Russian flag on 24 December, it said in a statement.
Leavitt is going on about yesterday’s report in the New Yorker on JD Vance’s “notable absence” from the operation in Venezuela, which asked whether his “exclusion” was down to his “anti-interventionist ideology” or whether it was a political calculation.
Leavitt attacks the report as fake and says the vice-president “has been involved in all policy … including Venezuela policy”. She says he was “read in and deeply involved” in the operation from the beginning.
Asked how the US would ensure oil worker security in Venezuela and whether that could involve troops, Leavitt says that Trump “reserves the right to use the US military if necessary”.
Diplomacy is always the first option, she says, adding that Trump tried that with Nicolás Maduro “but unfortunately he was an illegitimate dictator and unserious person”.
“There is a long-term plan here,” Leavitt adds.
Trump to meet with oil executives on Friday
A meeting with oil executives will take place on Friday to discuss opportunities, Leavitt says.
Leavitt says the deal involves sanctioned oil that had been “just sitting in barrels, sitting on ships”.
She says the interim Venezuelan authorities have agreed to release that oil, and that it would be arriving in the US “very soon”.
The US has already begun marketing the Venezuelan oil, she says, adding that all proceeds will first settle in US-controlled accounts at globally recognized banks.
“Those funds will be dispersed for the benefit of the American people and the Venezuelan people at the discretion of the United States government,” she says.
Asked if the Venezuelan government had committed to turning over its oil to the US indefinitely and what happens if it doesn’t, Leavitt says the deal was made between Donald Trump and his team and the interim authorities in Venezuela.
She says the US energy secretary, Chris Wright, and the energy department are working with the private oil companies and the interim Venezuelan authorities to execute the “historic deal”.
“This will benefit the American people and the Venezuelan people,” she says.
Leavitt: Trump administration ‘in close correspondence’ with Venezuela’s interim authorities
Asked who is now in charge of Venezuela, interim leader Delcy Rodríguez – who yesterday said there was “no foreign agent” running the country – or the US, Leavitt says the Trump administration is “in close correspondence” with the interim authorities in Venezuela.
“We obviously have maximum leverage over the interim in authorities in Venezuela right now,” she says. “Their decisions are going to continue to be dictated by the United States.”
White House press briefing
And the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, is now taking questions from reporters, I’ll bring you all the key lines here.
On the question of cost, Marco Rubio said today that the military operation in Venezuela wouldn’t cost the US taxpayer “anything”.
The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, noted that the “level of sophistication” discussed at the classified briefing for senators today “is something only the United States of America can accomplish”.
“The world is taking notice of that. Certainly Venezuela is taking notice of that,” he added, while disparaging a question about the cost of the military operation from a CNN journalist. “The president, when he speaks, he means it. He’s not messing around. We are an administration of action to advance our interests, and that is on full display.”
Rubio didn’t discuss the administration’s recent posture on acquiring Greenland. He noted that he’ll be meeting with leaders of the territory and Denmark next week. Rubio underscored that Donald Trump has expressed his interest in Greenland since his first term in office, and that he “always retains the option” for military intervention in the event of a national security threat.
Secretary Rubio addresses reporters after briefing with senators on Venezuela
Speaking to reporters after today’s briefing, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said that the US is about to execute a deal to take “all the oil that is stuck in Venezuela”.
“We’re going to sell it in the marketplace, at market rates, not at the discounts Venezuela was getting. That money will then be handled in such a way that we will control how it is dispersed in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people, not corruption, not the regime,” Rubio added.
When pressed by reporters about whether the US is concerned about the interim leader’s loyalty to her deposed predecessor, Rubio remained resolute.
“The bottom line is that there is a process now in place where we have tremendous control and leverage over what those interim authorities are doing and are able to do,” the secretary of state said. “But obviously this will be a process of transition. In the end, it will be up to the Venezuelan people to transform their country. We are prepared under the right conditions, using the leverage that we have, which includes the fact that they cannot move any oil unless we allow them to move it.”
Democrats decry Venezuela operation after briefing from top administration officials
Several Democratic senators have emerged from the classified briefing from top administration officials on the capture of Nicolás Maduro, all criticizing the scope of the military operation.
“I heard no detailed plan,” said the senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. “It is just slightly different than the mistakes we made in Iraq and Afghanistan. There, we used our military as a means to try to micromanage the country. They waited us out, and as soon as we left, chaos erupted. Why would it be any difference under these circumstances?”
The Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, said that the “public needs answers” as he spoke to reporters. “What the hell is going on? We need answers as to how long this is going to last,” he said.
