Washington/Caracas: US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned that the United States is prepared to launch a second and “much larger attack” on Venezuela if circumstances demand, while stressing that such action may not be necessary following what he described as the success of the initial operation.

Addressing the reporters, Trump said US planners had anticipated the possibility of follow-up military action but were reassessing the need for it in light of the outcome.

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“We actually assumed that a second wave would be necessary but it’s probably not,” Trump said. “The first attack was so successful that we probably don’t have to do a second.”

Trump also announced that US will "run" Venezuela until a political transition can occur.

"We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump told a press conference, adding that US forces were ready to conduct a second, "much bigger" wave of strikes if necessary.

The United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and flew him out of the country in a stunning military operation early Saturday that plucked a sitting leader from office — the culmination of months of escalating Trump administration pressure on the oil-rich South American nation.

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Maduro and his wife, taken overnight from their home on a military base, were aboard a U.S. warship on their way to New York, where they were to face criminal charges.

Early Saturday, multiple explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through the Venezuelan capital. Maduro's government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets.

The attack lasted less than 30 minutes and the explosions — at least seven blasts — sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they’d seen and heard. Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed, said Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, without giving a number. Trump said some U.S. forces were injured in Venezuela but he believed none were killed.

Video obtained from Caracas and an unidentified coastal city showed tracers and smoke clouding the landscape as repeated muted explosions illuminated the night sky. Other footage showed cars passing on a highway as blasts illuminated the hills behind them. The videos were verified by The Associated Press.