A dramatic overnight raid in Caracas has ended with the apprehension of Nicolás Maduro by American special forces. As he awaits trial in New York, the White House is already outlining plans for a new era of governance and resource management in Venezuela.
The image of the 63-year-old Maduro blindfolded and handcuffed en route to the U.S. has stunned Venezuelans and was Washington's most controversial intervention in Latin America since the invasion of Panama 37 years ago.
He is due to appear in a Manhattan court on Monday.
U.S. TO RUN VENEZUELA UNTIL TRANSITION, TRUMP SAYS
Trump said the U.S. would for now manage the South American nation of about 30 million people plus its oil reserves, the largest in the world. But he gave few details of how.
"We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he told a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort, hailing the extraordinary extraction of Maduro just as he was at the door of a safe room.
Maduro allies remain in charge in Caracas and have denounced his "kidnapping."
"There is only one president in Venezuela, and his name is Nicolas Maduro," Delcy Rodriguez, who took over Venezuela's interim presidency, said in a defiant message to the U.S. despite Trump's assertions she was open to working with them.
U.S. Special Forces swooped in on helicopters to seize Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores under darkness in the early hours of Saturday after strikes on military installations in Caracas and elsewhere.
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 said as part of the takeover, major U.S. oil companies would move back into Venezuela and refurbish badly degraded oil infrastructure, a process experts said could take years.
"We're not afraid of boots on the ground," he added.
A plane carrying Maduro landed near New York City on Saturday night, and he was helicoptered to the city before being taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Images released by U.S. authorities showed him being led down a hallway at the offices of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, where he was heard wishing a "happy New Year.
TRUMP'S VENEZUELA PLAN MAY ALIENATE SUPPORTERS
It is unclear how Trump plans to oversee Venezuela where a court ordered Rodriguez, Maduro's vice president, to assume the interim presidency.
In Venezuela, there was a rush for groceries and fuel as people wondered what would come next.
Maduro opponents were fearful of celebrating while some of his supporters held small rallies. Soldiers patrolled some parts.
The UN Security Council planned to meet on Monday to discuss the U.S. move, which Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described as "a dangerous precedent."
Russia and China, both major backers of Venezuela, criticised the U.S.
"China firmly opposes such hegemonic behavior by the U.S., which seriously violates international law, violates Venezuela's sovereignty and threatens peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean," China's foreign ministry said.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged drone attacks targeting their capitals early on Thursday, as U.S. envoys prepared to meet Russian President Vladimir P...
Armenia has been stripped of its voting rights in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) over unpaid membership fees, in an...
Investigators found a sticky note bearing the names and mobile phone numbers of four left-wing public figures while searching the home of the suspe...
Delegations from Russia, Ukraine and the United States met in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday for their first formal talks in nine months. They did so with no agreement on what a ceasefire would be tied to or who gets to keep the land currently under Russian control.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered a stark warning at this year's COP31 summit, saying the climate crisis iss advancing faster than governments' efforts to contain it.
At least 17 people have been reported killed in an explosion at a steel plant in western Türkiye, after a crane collapsed during maintenance work. The disaster has prompted a criminal investigation into what went wrong at the industrial facility.
U.S. envoy Jared Kushner said Washington believes the Russian President is prepared to reach a peace agreement under the right conditions, as U.S., Russian and Ukrainian delegations began trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday 10 November.
Armenia could lose its voting rights within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on 11 November after failing to pay membership fees for more than two years, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged drone attacks targeting their capitals early on Thursday, as U.S. envoys prepared to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow following two days of peace talks that ended without a breakthrough on major issues.
Investigators found a sticky note bearing the names and mobile phone numbers of four left-wing public figures while searching the home of the suspect in last month’s deadly shooting near Paris, France’s national anti-terrorism prosecution office (PNAT) said on Wednesday.
The United States and China should have “no illusions” about their differences on artificial intelligence, even as they work together to manage the technology’s risks, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said.
Pope Leo arrived in Peru on Wednesday for an emotional homecoming, the first Peruvian citizen to lead the Catholic Church, after wrapping up a visit to Argentina that drew a record six million people over three days.
Iran will not let a single particle of its enriched nuclear material leave the country, and any new U.S. attack would be met with strikes on distant American bases, Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei has said.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment