Overview
- U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro in Caracas in a raid that briefly put American troops on the ground and used lethal force.
- President Trump told the New York Times his only constraint is "my own morality," signaling scant regard for external legal limits.
- The Senate advanced legislation to restrict additional military operations in Venezuela, reflecting bipartisan pushback on the White House.
- European leaders, including Germany’s president, condemned the operation as a breach of international law, while analysts say it increases U.S. leverage over Venezuelan oil and Chinese investments.
- Administration rhetoric revived a Monroe-Doctrine posture, with Stephen Miller declining to rule out coercion over Greenland and Trump eyeing a much larger defense budget.