U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday made a sweeping and unprecedented declaration, saying the United States will govern Venezuela until what he described as a “safe, proper and judicious transition” can take place, following a U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Speaking at a press conference to explain his administration’s decision to launch overnight military action in Venezuela, Trump said Maduro and Flores have been taken aboard a U.S. military vessel and will be transferred to the United States to face criminal charges.

“We are going to run the country until such a time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said. “We do not want to be involved with having somebody else come in and have the same situation as we have had, so we are going to run the country until we have a safe, proper and judicious transition.”