Caracas, Venezuela – Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro He arrived in the United States to face criminal charges after being arrested in A daring night military operation Which President Donald Trump said would prepare the United States to “manage” the South American country and take advantage of its vast oil reserves to sell to other countries.
Maduro landed on Saturday evening at a small airport in New York after midnight The operation that took him and his wife outCelia Flores, from their home on a military base in the capital, Caracas — an act that Maduro’s government has described as “imperialist.” The couple faces US charges of participating in a terrorism and drug conspiracy.
The dramatic work culminated in Intense pressure campaign by the Trump administration on the authoritarian Venezuelan leader and months of secret planning, leading to the most assertive US action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Legal experts raised questions About the legality of the operation that took place without the approval of Congress. Meanwhile, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez called on the United States to release Maduro and… He described him as the legitimate leader of the country The Supreme Court in her country appointed her as interim president.
Rodriguez, who did not give a number, said some Venezuelan civilians and military personnel were killed. Trump said some US troops were injured, but no one was killed.
Speaking to reporters hours after Maduro’s arrest, Trump revealed his plans to exploit the leadership vacuum to “reform” the country’s oil infrastructure and sell “large amounts” of oil to other countries.
The Trump administration touted the ouster as a step toward reducing the flow of dangerous drugs into the United States. The president touted what he saw as other potential benefits, including a leadership stake in the country and greater control of oil.
Trump claimed that the US government would help lead the country, and it has already done so, although there are no clear signs of this. Venezuelan state television broadcast propaganda in support of Maduro and broadcast live images of his supporters taking to the streets in Caracas in protest.
“We will run the country until such time as we can make a safe, sound, and wise transition,” Trump said at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago. He boasted that this “highly successful operation should serve as a warning to anyone who threatens American sovereignty or endangers American lives.”
Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on terrorism and drug conspiracy charges, and the Justice Department issued a new indictment Saturday against Maduro and his wife that portrays his administration as a “corrupt and illegitimate government” fueled by a drug trafficking operation that has flooded the United States with cocaine. The US government does not recognize Maduro as the country’s leader.
The Trump administration has spent months building up US forces in the region and carrying out attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean allegedly transporting drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind A Drone strike In a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels – the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US campaign began in September.
Thirty-six years after Panamanian leader Manuel Antonio Noriega surrendered in 1990 and was arrested following the US invasion, the operation in Venezuela unfolded under the cover of darkness early Saturday. Trump said the United States turned off “almost all the lights” in Caracas as troops moved to remove Maduro and his wife.
Gen. Dan Kean, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces trained for their maneuvers for months, learning everything about Maduro — where he was and what he ate, as well as details about his pets and clothing.
“We think, we evolve, we practice, we practice, we debrief, we practice over and over again,” Keane said. “Not to get it right, but to make sure we can’t get it wrong.”
Several explosions rang out that morning, and planes flew low over Caracas. Maduro’s government accused the United States of striking civilian and military facilities, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets. Explosions – at least seven explosions – It sent people running into the streetsWhile others took to social media to report what they saw and heard.
Under Venezuelan law, Rodriguez will take power from Maduro. However, Rodriguez confirmed during an appearance Saturday on state television that she had no plans to take power, before Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered her to become interim president.
“There is only one president in Venezuela, and his name is Nicolas Maduro Moros,” Rodriguez said.
Venezuela’s ruling party has been in power since 1999, when Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez, took office, promising to uplift the poor and then implement a self-described socialist revolution.
Maduro took power when Chavez died in 2013. His re-election in 2018 was widely seen as a sham because the main opposition parties were barred from participating. During the 2024 elections, electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party announced its victory hours after the polls closed, but the opposition gathered. Conclusive evidence that he lost A difference of more than 2 to 1.
In a demonstration of how polarized Maduro is, people took to the streets in various forms to protest his arrest, while others celebrated him. At a protest in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, the city’s mayor, Carmen Melendez, joined a crowd demanding the return of Maduro.
“Maduro, wait, the people are rising up!” The crowd cheered. “We’re here, Nicolas Maduro. If you can hear us, we’re here!”
In other parts of the city, the streets were empty hours after the attack.
“How do I feel? Scared like everyone else,” said Caracas resident Norris Prada, who was sitting on an empty street looking at his phone. “Venezuelans woke up terrified. Many families couldn’t sleep.”
In Doral, Florida, home to greater Venezuelan community in the United StatesPeople wrapped themselves in Venezuelan flags, ate fried snacks and cheered as music played. At one point, the crowd chanted “Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!”
Whether the United States violated any laws, international or otherwise, remained in question early Sunday. “There are a number of international legal concepts that the United States may have violated by arresting Maduro,” said Ilan Katz, an international law analyst.
In New York, the UN Security Council, based on an emergency request from Colombia, intends to hold a meeting on US operations in Venezuela on Monday morning. This came according to a council diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a meeting that has not yet been announced.
Lawmakers from both US political parties have raised reservations and explicit objections to US attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling. Congress did not agree to authorize 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 saw no evidence to justify Trump striking Venezuela without congressional approval, and demanded an immediate briefing from the administration on “its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision.”
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Torobin and Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jorge Rueda in Caracas, Venezuela; Lisa Mascaro, Michelle L. Price, Seung-Min Kim, and Alana Durkin Richer in Washington; Farnoush Amiri in New York; Larry Neumeister in South Amboy, New Jersey, contributed to this report.