Overview
- Reuters and the Associated Press report that Nicolás Maduro arrived at Stewart Airport in New York to face narcotrafficking prosecution after being removed from Venezuela by U.S. forces.
- President Donald Trump announced the capture and said the United States would oversee Venezuela until a peaceful transition, a stance critics liken to the Noriega precedent and challenge on international-law grounds.
- María Corina Machado declared the "hour of freedom" and proposed a transitional government focused on restoring the rule of law and freeing political prisoners, while Edmundo González Urrutia cites 2024 vote tallies to assert an electoral mandate.
- Findings cited from the United Nations and the International Criminal Court document systematic abuses, including torture and mass detentions, with roughly 2,000 arrests—among them 198 minors—after the disputed 2024 election.
- Analysts highlight a profound economic collapse under chavismo: GDP down about 60%, poverty near 86%, oil output around 900,000 barrels per day, and roughly eight million Venezuelans displaced.