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Venezuela Crisis Live: Maduro Arrives In US After Stunning Capture

Maduro Arrives In US After Stunning Capture In Operation That Trump Says Will Let US Run Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela: Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro arrived in the United States to face criminal charges after being captured in an audacious nighttime military operation that President Donald Trump said would set the U.S. up to “run” the South American country and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.

Maduro landed late Saturday afternoon at a small airport in New York following the middle-of-the-night operation that extracted him and his wife , Cilia Flores, from their home in a military base in the capital, Caracas — an act that Maduro's government called “imperialist.” The couple faces U.S. charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

The dramatic action capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on Venezuela's autocratic leader and months of secret planning, resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Legal experts raised questions about the lawfulness of the operation, which was done without congressional approval. Venezuela's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, meanwhile, demanded that the United States free Maduro and called him the country’s rightful leader as her nation's high court named her interim president.

Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed, said Rodríguez, who didn’t give a number. Trump said some U.S. forces were injured, but none was killed.

Speaking to reporters hours after Maduro's capture, Trump revealed his plans to exploit the leadership void to “fix” the country’s oil infrastructure and sell “large amounts” of oil to other countries.

After arriving at a small airport in New York City's northern suburbs, Maduro was flown by helicopter to Manhattan, where a convoy of law enforcement vehicles, including an armored car, was waiting to whisk him to a nearby U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office.

A video posted on social media by a White House account showed Maduro, smiling, as he was escorted through that office by two DEA agents grasping his arms.

Trump says US will ‘run the country’ The Trump administration promoted the ouster as a step toward reducing the flow of dangerous drugs into the U.S. The president touted what he saw as other potential benefits, including a leadership stake in the country and greater control of oil.

Trump claimed the U.S. government would help lead the country and was already doing so, though there were no immediate visible signs of that. Venezuelan state TV aired pro-Maduro propaganda and broadcast live images of supporters taking to the streets in Caracas in protest.

“We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference. He boasted that this “extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives.”

Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, and the Justice Department released a new indictment Saturday of Maduro and his wife that painted his administration as a “corrupt, illegitimate government” fueled by a drug-trafficking operation that flooded the U.S with cocaine. The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as the country's leader.

The Trump administration spent months building up American forces in the region and carrying out attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean for allegedly ferrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels — the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. campaign began in September.

Early morning attack Taking place 36 years to the day after the 1990 surrender and seizure of Panama leader Manuel Antonio Noriega following a U.S. invasion, the Venezuela operation unfolded under the cover of darkness early Saturday. Trump said the U.S. turned off “almost all of the lights" in Caracas while forces moved in to extract Maduro and his wife.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces had rehearsed their maneuvers for months, learning everything about Maduro — where he was and what he ate, as well as details of his pets and his clothes.

“We think, we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again,” Caine said. “Not to get it right, but to ensure we cannot get it wrong.”

Multiple explosions rang out that morning, and low-flying aircraft swept through Caracas. Maduro's government accused the United States of hitting civilian and military installations, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets. The explosions — at least seven blasts — sent people rushing into the streets , while others took to social media to report what they saw and heard.

Restrictions imposed by the U.S. government on airspace around Venezuela and the Caribbean expired early Sunday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X, an announcement that suggested any further immediate major U.S. military action was unlikely. “Airlines are informed, and will update their schedules quickly,” he posted.

Under Venezuelan law, Rodríguez would take over from Maduro. Rodríguez, however, stressed during a Saturday appearance on state television that she did not plan to assume power, before Venezuela’s high court ordered that she become interim president.

“There is only one president in Venezuela," Rodriguez said, “and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros.”

Some streets in Caracas fill up Venezuela’s ruling party has held power since 1999, when Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez, took office, promising to uplift poor people and later to implement a self-described socialist revolution.

Maduro took over when Chávez died in 2013. His 2018 reelection was widely considered a sham because the main opposition parties were banned from participating. During the 2024 election, electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared him the winner hours after polls closed, but the opposition gathered overwhelming evidence that he lost by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

Venezuela’s capital remained unusually quiet Sunday with few vehicles moving around and convenience stores, gas stations and other businesses closed. A road typically filled with runners, cyclists and other fitness enthusiasts on Sundays only had a handful of people working out the day after Maduro was deposed.

The presidential palace was guarded by armed civilians and members of the military. At a nearby plaza, only a street sweeper and a soldier stood, and across the street, a church remained close for a second day in a row.

Caracas resident David Leal arrived to the lot where he parks vehicles for a living only to quickly realize that he would likely not see any clients for a second day.

“People are still shaken,” Leal, 77, said.

Questions of legality linger Whether the United States violated any laws, international or otherwise, was still a question early Sunday. “There are a number of international legal concepts which the United States might have broken by capturing Maduro,” said Ilan Katz, an international law analyst.

Pope Leo XIV, who last month had expressed concern about growing U.S. threats of military intervention in Venezuela, raised alarms during his Sunday noon blessing and said the good of the Venezuelan people must prevail above everything else. History’s first U.S. pope demanded an end to violence and for Venezuela’s sovereignty to be guaranteed.

In New York, the U.N. Security Council, acting on an emergency request from Colombia, planned to hold a meeting on U.S. operations in Venezuela on Monday morning.

Lawmakers from both American political parties have raised reservations and flat-out objections to the U.S. attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling. Congress has not approved an authorization for the use of military force for such operations in the region.

Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had seen no evidence that would justify Trump striking Venezuela without approval from Congress and demanded an immediate briefing by the administration on "its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision.”  — AP

UNSC to hold emergency meeting on Venezuela

New York [US]: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is set to convene an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the recent military operation and capture of the deposed Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife by the United States.According to the Council presidency, the meeting is scheduled for 10 am (local time) under the agenda of "Threats to international peace and security"."The presidency intends to hold the emergency meeting on Monday morning at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT)," said the spokeswoman for the Somali Permanent Mission to the UN, Khadija Ahmed, as quoted by Xinhua.Somalia is currently serving as the rotating president of the 15-member UN Security Council, comprising five permanent and 10 non-permanent members, for the month of January.Colombian President Gustavo Petro was the first to call for an emergency UN session after the US strikes on Venezuela, during which Washington captured Maduro and his wife on Saturday and removed them from the country."As members of the United Nations Security Council, we seek to convene the Council. The Government of Colombia rejects the aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and of Latin America. Internal conflicts between people are resolved by those same people in peace. That is the principle of the self-determination of peoples, which forms the foundation of the United Nations system," Petro said in a post on X. On Saturday, US President Donald Trump stated that Washington had carried out a "large-scale strike against Venezuela" and that the deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been captured and taken out of the country.Trump also posted a photograph on Truth Social showing Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after his capture. Video footage later released by the White House-affiliated Rapid Response showed Maduro in handcuffs during a staged perp walk.In the footage, he was seen wishing law enforcement authorities "Happy New Year" and "Good Night" as he was led into custody.Following the attack, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep alarm over the situation in Venezuela, warning that the developments could have profound implications for the wider region.In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, Guterres said that, irrespective of the situation in Venezuela, such actions set a dangerous precedent and underscored the need for full respect for international law by all parties, including adherence to the UN Charter.Meanwhile, developments in Caracas followed swiftly after Maduro's removal.Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the powers and duties of the acting president, according to CNN. The order, announced late Saturday night (local time), concluded that Maduro is in a "material and temporary impossibility to exercise his functions."  — ANI

North Korea Denounces US Capture Of Maduro As Serious Encroachment Of Sovereignty

SEOUL: North Korea denounced on Sunday the United States' capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as a "serious encroachment of sovereignty", state media said.

Pyongyang's foreign ministry "strongly denounces the US hegemony-seeking act committed in Venezuela", said a ministry spokesperson in a statement carried by the official KCNA.

"The incident is another example that clearly confirms once again the rogue and brutal nature of the US," they added.

Following their capture and transport to the United States, Maduro and his wife were flown by helicopter to New York City, where they face drug-trafficking and weapons charges.

They were seized by US special forces during a pre-dawn attack Saturday in which air strikes pounded sites in and around the Venezuelan capital Caracas.

The raid represents a nightmare scenario for North Korea's leadership, which has long accused Washington of seeking to remove it from power.

Pyongyang has for decades justified its nuclear and missile programmes as a deterrent against alleged regime change efforts by Washington.

And it was a vocal backer of Maduro's socialist regime in Caracas.

Pyongyang described his removal as a "wanton violation of the UN Charter and international laws with respect for sovereignty, non-interference and territorial integrity as their main purpose".

It called for "voices of due protest and denunciation against the US habituated violation of sovereignty of other countries".  — AFP

China called on the United States on Sunday to immediately release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro after Washington carried out a strike on Caracas and captured the leader.

"China calls on the US to ensure the personal safety of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, release them at once, stop toppling the government of Venezuela," the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement, calling the strike a "clear violation of international law".

Nicolas Maduro is Venezuela's "only president" his vice president Delcy Rodriguez said Saturday, demanding the United States release the strongman arrested in a military operation Saturday

The United States lifted airspace restrictions over the Caribbean late on Saturday after barring commercial flights during a US military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Revelers chanted “liberty” and draped Venezuelan flags over their shoulders in South Florida on Saturday to celebrate the U.S. military operation to capture Nicolás Maduro and remove him from the country — a stunning outcome they had longed for but left them wondering what comes next in their troubled homeland.

Billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday expressed support for the people of Venezuela as SpaceX-owned Starlink announced it was providing free broadband internet services in the country for a limited period, as Venezuela remains gripped by fast-moving political developments.

Starlink is providing free broadband service to the people of Venezuela through February 3, ensuring continued connectivity.

— Starlink (@Starlink) January 4, 2026

I hope people now understand. The President of the United States is not a game player. When he tells you he's going to do something and address a problem, he means it. pic.twitter.com/bVhtqcoPWP

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) January 3, 2026

Former US Vice President Kamala Harris slammed US President Donald Trump over the capture of Former Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, saying the operation was driven by oil interests and not by concerns over drugs.

Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable.

That Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator does not change the fact that this action was both unlawful and unwise. We’ve seen this movie before. Wars for regime change or oil that…

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 4, 2026