&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Maduro had his chances, he effed around, and he found out’: Pete Hegseth")
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth justified the US military action in Venezuela while blaming President Nicolás Maduro, who he said was given chances, but “he effed around, and he found out”. In his address on Saturday, Hegseth said that the US military raid in Venezuela was “flawlessly executed” as he praised Donald Trump’s leadership and extolled the efforts of the military and law enforcement. Hegseth said Trump is “deadly serious” about stopping the flow of drugs, gangs, and violence.
“Nicolás Maduro had his chance, just like Iran had their chance until they didn’t, and until he didn’t. He effed around, and he found out,” Hegseth said, adding, “Welcome to 2026, and under President Trump, America is back.”
Also Read: ‘We will run Venezuela till safe, proper transition; US firms will invest, make money for it’: Trump
‘Don’t play games with this president in office’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was with Trump and Hegseth, also told reporters that Maduro “had multiple opportunities to avoid this.”
“He was provided multiple very, very, very generous offers, and chose instead to act like a wild man,” Rubio said. “Chose instead to play around, and the result is what we saw tonight. The other message here is the following, you have a guy, like many people around the world, they like to play games.”
Also Read: ‘US fulfilled its promise,’ says exiled oppn leader Maria Corina Machado on Maduro’s capture
“But the president doesn’t go out looking for people to pick fights with. He generally wants to get along with everybody,” Rubio continued. “We’ll talk and meet with anybody. But don’t play games. Don’t play games with this president in office, because it’s not going to turn out well.”
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‘They now call it the Don-roe Doctrine’
In his address, Donald Trump emphasised the Monroe Doctrine, the policy set by former President James Monroe that blocked foreign countries from interfering with the Western Hemisphere. Trump said that his administration “superseded it by a lot, by a real lot” and quipped “they now call it the Don-roe Doctrine.”
