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https://www.reuters.com/world/us/venezuelas-maduro-custody-trump-says-us-will-run-country-2026-01-04/
CARACAS/NEW YORK, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was in a New York detention center on Sunday after President Donald Trump ordered an audacious U.S. raid to capture the South American leader and take control of the country and its vast oil reserves.
As part of the dramatic operation early on Saturday that knocked out electricity in parts of Caracas and included strikes on military installations, U.S. Special Forces seized Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and transported them via helicopter to a U.S. Navy ship offshore before flying them to the U.S.
"We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump told a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
For months, his administration criticized Maduro, 63, over what it called his involvement in shipping drugs to the U.S. It ramped up pressure with a massive military build-up in the Caribbean and a series of deadly missile attacks on alleged drug-running boats. Maduro has denied any involvement in drug trafficking and says Trump wants Venezuela's oil.
>POTENTIAL POWER VACUUM IN VENEZUELA
While many Western allies oppose Maduro and say he stole Venezuela's 2024 election, there were numerous calls for the U.S. to respect international law and resolve the crisis diplomatically. Trump's boasts about controlling the nation and exploiting its oil also revived painful memories of past U.S. interventions in Latin America, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Some legal experts questioned the legality of an operation to seize the head of state of a foreign power, while Democrats who said they were misled during recent Congress briefings demanded a plan for what is to follow.
CARACAS/NEW YORK, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was in a New York detention center on Sunday after President Donald Trump ordered an audacious U.S. raid to capture the South American leader and take control of the country and its vast oil reserves.
As part of the dramatic operation early on Saturday that knocked out electricity in parts of Caracas and included strikes on military installations, U.S. Special Forces seized Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and transported them via helicopter to a U.S. Navy ship offshore before flying them to the U.S.
"We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump told a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
For months, his administration criticized Maduro, 63, over what it called his involvement in shipping drugs to the U.S. It ramped up pressure with a massive military build-up in the Caribbean and a series of deadly missile attacks on alleged drug-running boats. Maduro has denied any involvement in drug trafficking and says Trump wants Venezuela's oil.
>POTENTIAL POWER VACUUM IN VENEZUELA
While many Western allies oppose Maduro and say he stole Venezuela's 2024 election, there were numerous calls for the U.S. to respect international law and resolve the crisis diplomatically. Trump's boasts about controlling the nation and exploiting its oil also revived painful memories of past U.S. interventions in Latin America, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Some legal experts questioned the legality of an operation to seize the head of state of a foreign power, while Democrats who said they were misled during recent Congress briefings demanded a plan for what is to follow.
