State Department warns US citizens to leave Venezuela

Trump said that American oil companies are going to restart operations in Venezuela.

"As everyone knows, the oil business in Venezuela has been a bust, a total bust, for a long period of time. They were pumping almost nothing, by comparison to what they could have been pumping and what could have taken place," Trump said.

"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, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country," Trump added.

When asked by a reporter how long the U.S. plans on staying in Venezuela and how soon he would like the country to hold elections, Trump responded, "I'd like to do it quickly, but it takes a period of time."

The president cited infrastructure improvements, contending that it was "old, rotted."

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the operation in Venezuela was known as Operation Absolute Resolve and involved more than 150 aircraft across the Western Hemisphere.

Caine said it was the "culmination of months of planning and rehearsal" adding that the operation could only have been conducted by the U.S. military.

"Maduro and his wife, both indicted, gave up and were taken into custody by the Department of Justice, assisted by our incredible U.S. military with professionalism and precision, with no loss of U.S. life," Caine said.

Trump was asked by a reporter who was running Venezuela now.

"Well, we're going to be running it with a group, and we're going to make sure it's run properly," he responded.

When asked about troops on the ground, the president said, "We're not afraid of boots on the ground."

Trump said he was going to designate some people as part of the plan but did not give any specifics.

"We're going to run the country right," Trump added.