US asserts control over Venezuela decisions as crude oil revenues flow into Washington

WASHINGTON, DC: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the US operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro for the first time from the briefing room podium this year, hailing the raid as definitive proof that “America is truly back.”

Speaking during the daily press briefing on Wednesday, January 7, Leavitt praised the “skill and might” of the US military under Donald Trump, casting the mission not only as a tactical success but as a geopolitical flex unmatched anywhere in the world.

“Let’s set the record straight: There isn’t another military in the world who could have pulled this off,” Leavitt said. “There isn’t another president in the world - or in our nation’s history - who had the courage to authorize such a mission.”

Karoline Leavitt says Washington holds decisive power

Leavitt made clear that the balance of power had shifted decisively in Washington’s favor. She confirmed that the administration was in “close correspondence” with Venezuela’s interim authorities, while dismissing any suggestion of parity between the two governments.

“We obviously have maximum leverage over the interim authorities in Venezuela right now,” she said. “And their decisions are going to continue to be dictated by the United States.”

Washington takes control of the revenue stream

Energy was central to Leavitt’s briefing. She announced that the US government had "already begun marketing Venezuelan crude oil" on the global market, effectively commandeering the country’s primary source of revenue.

“All proceeds from the sale of Venezuelan crude oil and products will first settle in US-controlled accounts at globally recognized banks,” Leavitt explained.

She said that the arrangement was designed to “guarantee the legitimacy and integrity” of how funds are handled.

Final authority over the money, however, would remain in Washington. 

The proceeds would be distributed “at the discretion of the United States government” - a move that followed Trump’s statement that the interim government would transfer between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to US control.

White House frames the raid as border security

Leavitt framed the operation as a direct extension of Trump’s campaign promises, tying the raid to border security and public safety at home.

She said that the president was “clear on the campaign” that he would not only crush foreign illegal substances groups, but also not tolerate an “illegitimate Venezuelan regime” that, in her words, enabled criminals and gang members.

By dismantling that regime, Leavitt argued, the administration delivered on a core pledge. “There could be nothing more America First,” she said.

Karoline Leavitt claims military action followed failed diplomacy

Despite the sweeping assertions of power, Leavitt insisted that military action was not the administration’s opening move. She emphasized that diplomacy was always Trump’s preferred option.

“The president’s first option always has been diplomacy,” she said, pointing to Trump’s past efforts to work with Maduro as evidence that non-military avenues were pursued before the operation.

Only after those efforts failed, Leavitt concluded, did the administration turn to what she described as the unmatched “might” of the US military to resolve the crisis.