American troops’ deployment in Venezuela unlikely: Speaker

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top officials briefed leaders in Congress late on Monday on the striking military operation in Venezuela amid mounting concerns that President Donald Trump is embarking on a new era of US expansionism without consultation with lawmakers or a clear vision for running the South American country.

After the briefing, House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he doesn’t expect the United States to deploy troops to Venezuela, emphasizing that U.S. actions there are “not a regime change” operation.

Democratic leaders said the session lacked clarity about the Trump administration’s plans for Venezuela.

Trump has made broad but vague assertions that the United States is going to “run” Venezuela after the ouster of Maduro but has offered almost no details about how it will do so, raising questions among some lawmakers and former officials about the administration’s level of planning for the country after Maduro was gone.

Seemingly contradictory statements from Trump and Rubio have suggested at once that the US now controls the levers of Venezuelan power or that the US has no intention of assuming day-to-day governance and will allow Maduro’s subordinates to remain in leadership positions for now.

MACHADO SEEKS ELECTIONS: Venezuela’s main opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, has vowed to return home quickly, praising Trump for toppling her enemy Maduro and declaring her movement ready to win a free election.

People attend a rally in support of ousted Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in Caracas, Venezuela, on Tuesday. AFP

Trump appears, however, to hope for now to work with interim President Delcy Rodriguez and other senior officials from Maduro’s government, disappointing the opposition and contributing to nervousness in Venezuela.

“I’m planning to go back to Venezuela as soon as possible,” said Machado, ‍58, who escaped from Venezuela in ‌disguise in October to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, which she dedicated to Trump.

“We believe that this transition should move forward,” she told Fox News’ “Hannity” program.

“In free and ⁠fair elections, we will win over 90% of the votes.”

Trump has ‍said the US needs to help address Venezuela’s problems before an election, calling a 30-day timeline unrealistic.

“We have to fix the country first ... There’s no way the people could even vote,” Trump told NBC.

55 KILLED: Fifty-five Cuban and Venezuelan military personnel were killed during the US raid to seize Maduro, according to tolls published on Tuesday by the two Latin American allies.

During his 12 volatile years in power, Maduro - like his predecessor Hugo Chavez - employed specialised Cuban soldiers for his protection.

Venezuela’s Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said on Sunday that Maduro’s presidential guard was largely wiped out “in cold blood” by US troops who bombarded the capital and seized him from his home.

Cuba published the names of 32 members of its military who died in the nighttime assault that led to Maduro’s capture in Caracas on Jan.3.

A woman shouts slogans during a rally in support of ousted Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on Tuesday. AFP

They included three senior officers from the Cuban interior ministry.

The Venezuelan military published online a list of 23 of its personnel who were also killed, including five admirals.

MADURO LAWYER: The lawyer defending deposed Maduro is a veteran trial attorney who previously represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Barry Pollack, 61, appeared beside Maduro during his arraignment in a New York courtroom on Monday on drug trafficking and other charges.

Maduro pleaded not guilty and it will be up to Pollack to try to convince a federal jury to render that verdict when the case eventually goes to trial.

Smiling as he entered the courtroom and wearing an orange shirt with beige trousers, Maduro spoke softly.

“I’m president of the Republic of Venezuela and I’m here kidnapped since January 3, Saturday,” Maduro told the court, speaking in Spanish through an interpreter. “I was captured at my home in Caracas, Venezuela.”

Maduro’s wife Cilia Flores likewise pleaded not guilty. The judge ordered both to remain behind bars and set a new hearing date of March 17.

In 2024, Pollack secured the release of Assange from a British prison after negotiating a plea deal with the US Justice Department that saw the Australian plead guilty to violating the Espionage Act by unlawfully disclosing national defense material.

COLOMBIA’S STANCE: Colombia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Rosa Villavicencio said on Tuesday she’ll meet with the US embassy’s Charge D’Affaires in Bogota to present him with a formal complaint over the recent “threats” issued by the United States against Colombia.

On Sunday, Trump said he wasn’t ruling out an attack on Colombia and described its president, who’s been an outspoken critic of US operations in Venezuela, as a “sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States.”

Agencies