President Donald Trump defended the U.S. military operation in Caracas, Venezuela, early Saturday morning to arrest President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who are being transported to New York to face trial for drug trafficking.

Before his press conference In a press conference, Trump said he followed the operation in Venezuela “like a TV show.” “If you had seen what happened—I literally saw it, like I was watching a TV show. And if you had seen the speed of the violence, you know, they say the speed of the violence, they use that term,” Trump added in an interview on Fox News. “It was amazing, an amazing job that these people did. Nobody else could have done anything like it. The team did an incredible job.” In his press conference, the US president celebrated the US military operation to arrest Maduro, who arrived in New York and will face narcoterrorism charges before the Southern District Court. “I’m not sure you’ll ever see it,” Trump said, referring to footage of the operation. “But it was incredible to see that not a single American soldier was killed, not a single piece of American equipment was lost; many helicopters, many planes, so many people involved in that fight.”

The details of the operation in Venezuela were given at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's personal residence, where he is for the New Year's celebrations.

“The United States military is by far the strongest and fiercest on the planet, with capabilities and skills that our enemies can scarcely imagine,” Trump emphasized.

The FBI was present with soldiers from U.S. Delta Force during the operation, according to several reports.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine,He stated that a U.S. aircraft was hit during the operation to capture Maduro in Venezuela, but remained operational throughout the mission. “One of our aircraft was hit, but remained operational. As the President said today, all of our aircraft returned home, and that aircraft remained operational for the remainder of the mission, while the operation was underway in the complex,” Caine stated. The operation was conducted in coordination with ground and air intelligence teams, Caine indicated. “Our air and ground intelligence teams provided real-time updates to the ground force, ensuring they could safely transit the complex environment without unnecessary risks,” he asserted. “There were multiple self-defense engagements as the force began to withdraw from Venezuela.” will control Venezuela and oil production

President Trump announced that the U.S. would take control of Venezuela, although later the country's Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez, seemed to contradict him and demand Maduro's release.

“We are going to govern the country [Venezuela] until we can make a safe, proper, and sensible transition. So we don't want to get involved with somebody else's intrusion and continue in the same situation we've had for the last few years,” said Trump, who seemed to rule out Maria Corina Machado assuming leadership.

“I think it would be very difficult for her to be a leader. She doesn't have the support or the respect of the country. She's a very nice woman, but she doesn't have the respect necessary to be a leader,” said Trump. “We will stay until the proper transition takes place.”

Trump indicated that his administration will ensure the establishment of American companies for oil production in Venezuela.

“As everyone knows, the oil business in Venezuela has been a failure, a total failure, for a long time. They were producing almost nothing, compared to what they could have been producing and what could have happened,” he stated. “We will have our great American oil companies, the greatest in the world, come in, spend billions of dollars, repair the oil infrastructure, which is badly deteriorated, and start generating revenue for the country.”

A Second Strike and the Legal Implications

President Trump asserted that his administration is ready for a “second strike” in Venezuela, if necessary.

“We are ready to mount a much larger second strike if necessary,” he added. “So we were prepared for a second wave if necessary. In fact, we assumed it would be necessary. But now it’s probably not the first wave, if you can even call it that.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the military attack in Venezuela and cited the UN Charter, particularly Article 2, which clearly stipulates that all Members of the United Nations shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State.

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine (Virginia) pointed to possible legal violations in the Trump Administration's actions, beginning with a lack of congressional authorization.

“The participation of the U.S. military in military actions requires both domestic and international legal justification. The administration has not provided me with any domestic or legal justification for this action,” he stated at a press conference in response to a direct question from this newspaper. “Under our constitutional form of government, the United States cannot undertake military action against another nation. Venezuela is a sovereign nation; regardless of whether we like its leader or not, we cannot take action against that nation or its leaders without a vote from Congress, unless such action is necessary to defend the United States from an ongoing or imminent military attack.” He added that with its actions, the U.S. would be violating international law. “I can speculate about the illegality of this attack under international law. Generally, nations must refrain from invading the sovereignty of others,” Kaine stated. “That is why the United States supports Ukraine against Russia’s illegal invasion. It is an illegal invasion of the sovereignty of another sovereign nation that violates international law, and I believe the same would be true in this case.”Venezuela is a sovereign nation; regardless of whether we like its leader or not, we cannot take action against that nation or its leaders without a vote from Congress, unless such action is necessary to defend the United States from an ongoing or imminent military attack.”

He added that with its actions, the U.S. would be violating international law.

“I can speculate about the illegality of this attack under international law. Generally, nations must refrain from invading the sovereignty of others,” Kaine stated. “That is why the United States supports Ukraine against Russia’s illegal invasion. It is an illegal invasion of the sovereignty of another sovereign nation that violates international law, and I believe the same would be true in this case.”