US President Donald Trump has said that Venezuela will not hold new elections within the next 30 days, arguing that the country must first be stabilised following recent US actions.
"We have to fix the country first. You can’t have an election. There’s no way the people could even vote," Trump said in an interview with NBC News.
"No, it’s going to take a period of time. We have to nurse the country back to health," he added.
Trump said on Saturday that US military action had led to the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and that Washington would assert control over Venezuela for the time being, with US troops if necessary.
He stressed that the United States was not at war with Venezuela.
"No, we’re not," Trump said.
"We’re at war with people that sell drugs."
Oil focus
Trump also said the US could help subsidise oil companies’ efforts to rebuild Venezuela’s energy infrastructure, estimating the process could take less than 18 months.
"I think we can do it in less time than that, but it’ll be a lot of money," he said.
"A tremendous amount of money will have to be spent."
Separately, a senior White House official confirmed that talks between the Trump administration and American oil firms over new opportunities in Venezuela have already begun.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Energy Secretary Chris Wright would lead the discussions.
"President Donald Trump has said he looks forward to working with America’s oil companies on new investments and opportunities in Venezuela," White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said.
Following Maduro’s detention, Venezuela’s Supreme Court directed Vice President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez to assume the role of acting president.
She was sworn in on Monday, referring to Maduro and Flores as being held in the United States.
Maduro and Flores were flown to New York after an early-morning US operation on Saturday and later appeared in an initial court hearing, where they pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges.
