A peaceful transition of power should be reached “quickly” in Venezuela, a Cabinet minister has said after Donald Trump said the US will “run” the country until a new government takes over.
Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones declined to say whether he thought the American strikes on Caracas were legal, insisting it was for “international courts” to judge.
The UK, which has a historically deep intelligence-sharing relationship with the US, was not informed of the operation, which included the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, before it was carried out on Saturday.
“The first thing to say is it was an American operation. The United Kingdom was not involved in any way,” Mr Jones told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme.
“We were not informed of it beforehand. So it’s not for us to judge whether it’s been a success or not. That’s for the Americans to speak to.”
The minister and close ally of Sir Keir Starmer added: “I think the important thing now, given the events that have unfolded over the last 48 hours, is that we are quickly able to get to a point where we can get to a peaceful transition to a president in Venezuela that has the support of the people of Venezuela.”
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the US president said Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been flown out of Caracas and indicted on “narco-terrorism” charges in New York, where he was taken into custody.
"Maduro and his wife will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil." - President Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/aFag9QOkpH
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 3, 2026
The US will “run” the country until “a safe, proper and judicious transition” transfer of power can take place, Mr Trump said, without giving a timeline.
He also revealed his plans to exploit the leadership vacuum to “fix” the nation’s oil infrastructure, and sell “large amounts” of the fuel to other nations.
“I’d like to do it quickly but it takes a period of time, you know, we’re rebuilding, we have to rebuild their whole infrastructure,” he said.
The action, described as the most assertive US intervention to achieve regime change since the 2003 Iraq invasion, followed months of pressure from Washington on the country and its autocratic leader.
Mr Trump claimed the American presence in Venezuela was already in place, though there were no immediate signs that the US was running the country, according to the Associated Press.
Mr Jones said the UK Government was “not entirely clear” what Mr Trump meant when he said America would run the nation, but insisted it was not for a “third country” to decide on its future government.
“It’s for the Americans now and for Venezuela to set out what happens in the coming days,” he said.
Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said the UK should “absolutely” have anticipated what was going to happen and that the political direction of travel had been “pretty clear”.
She cited a major build-up of American forces in the waters off South America over recent months and attacks on boats accused of carrying drugs.
“The United States of America under President Trump has been really putting together one hell of an armada around Venezuela,” she said. “So we should have anticipated this, absolutely.”
Sir Keir has resisted calls from within his own party, as well as some opposition critics, to take a tougher stance on the US president, arguing that a close relationship with America is critical for security and defence.
Asked whether he would condemn the military action on Saturday, Sir Keir said he wanted to wait to “establish the facts” and speak to Mr Trump, and later insisted the UK would “shed no tears” over the end of Mr Maduro’s regime.
In an interview with the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, the Prime Minister said: “We do have differences of views on various things, but on the other hand, I constantly remind myself that 24/7 our defence, our security and our intelligence relationship with the US matters probably more than any other relationship we’ve got in the world, and it would not be in our national interest to weaken that in any way.
“Of course, it doesn’t mean I agree with President Trump on everything he says and does, any more than he would agree with everything that I say or do, and we openly accept that that’s the nature of the relationship we have.
“But we have made the relationship work. We do get along with each other and have the ability to spend time, one-to-one discussion, with world issues, and that is to the benefit of the UK.”
Read MoreBurnham is Labour’s best hope of keeping Farage out of No10, UK’s top pollster says
What’s next for Venezuela – and who is in charge of the country?
Why has Trump attacked Venezuela? What we know so far as Maduro captured
Inmate charged after prison escape but convicted murderer remains on the run
King meets child on a tricycle after Sandringham church service