(The Hill) — President Donald Trump, in an interview with The New York Times, said the U.S. could be in control of Venezuela for years.
“I would say much longer,” Trump told The Times in a two-hour interview published Thursday, when asked if the U.S. would oversee Venezuela for months, a year or longer.
He added, “Only time will tell.”
The president continued, noting the U.S. is looking to “rebuild” Venezuela “in a very profitable way.”
“We’re going to be using oil, and we’re going to be taking oil,” he told the outlet. “We’re getting oil prices down, and we’re going to be giving money to Venezuela, which they desperately need.”
Trump added that his administration is in “constant communication” with Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez, formerly the vice president, noting Secretary of State Marco Rubio “speaks with her all the time.”
The lengthy interview comes as questions grow over what U.S. control of the South American nation will look like following the capture and superseding indictment of the country’s former leader, Nicolás Maduro, over the weekend.
The president has increasingly talked about the role oil will play in the U.S. takeover of the country, announcing earlier this week that Venezuela will turn over 30-50 million barrels of oil.
Additionally, there are questions about what the U.S. action in Venezuela means for other Latin American countries. Trump raised eyebrows on Sunday when he told reporters a U.S. operation in Colombia “sounds good” and that Cuba is “ready to fall.”
During the Times interview, Trump took a call from Colombian President Gustavo Petro, which was off the record.
Petro and Trump have exchanged verbal barbs following the US operation in Venezuela but the president later said on Truth Social it was an “honor” to speak with the Colombian leader.
“I appreciated his call and tone, and look forward to meeting him in the near future,” he wrote, adding that arrangements are being made for Rubio and Petro to meet in Washington in the future.