US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is not a legitimate president and that he had the opportunity to prevent today's arrest by the Americans.
"It's not just us who are saying this," he adds, noting that both the first Trump administration and the Biden administration said the same thing.
Rubio says Maduro is also not recognized by the EU and many other countries in the world.
He describes the Venezuelan president as a "fugitive from American justice," with a $50 million reward.
“I think we saved $50 million,” Rubio says of the operation, before Trump adds: “We have to make sure… we don’t let anyone take the bounty.”
Rubio continued at the press conference, saying that Maduro had "many opportunities" to avoid this, but chose instead to "act like a wild man" and "play with the situation," acting "strong."
He describes Maduro as a man who decided to "invite Iran to his country" and "fill the US with gang members."
Rubio says Maduro thought nothing would happen to him, and adds that President Trump "is not a gamer."
When Trump says he's going to deal with a problem, "he acts immediately," Rubio adds.