U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated on Sunday that the recent U.S. military operation in Venezuela, which resulted in the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro, is fundamentally different from the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
When asked by CBS News about comparisons between Saturday’s action against Maduro’s government and the earlier intervention in Iraq that removed Saddam Hussein from power, Hegseth responded: “It’s the exact opposite.”
“We spent decades and decades and purchased in blood, and got nothing economically in return, and President Trump flips the script,” Hegseth said.
He described the raid as “the most complicated, most successful joint special operations raid of all time,” adding that it would benefit both Venezuelans and Americans.
“Venezuela has a long history of being a rich and prosperous country,” Hegseth said. He attributed its decline to poor leadership: “it’s been stolen away from its people by horrific leadership.”
Hegseth also suggested changes ahead for Venezuela’s oil industry: “These oil depots have been operating at 20% capacity. That’s going to change,” he said.
President Donald Trump commented on Saturday that the United States will oversee Venezuela until a transition can be ensured. He also addressed plans for Venezuela’s oil sector.
“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies – the biggest anywhere in the world – go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure and start making money for the country,” Trump said.
According to U.S. officials, elite military units captured Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores during an overnight operation involving airstrikes before transferring them out of Venezuela via the USS Iwo Jima assault ship. Maduro is currently held at a detention facility in New York City where he faces charges including conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine.
