Overview
- U.S. special forces seized Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores in a pre-dawn raid in Caracas after airstrikes on military sites, and prosecutors unsealed narco‑terrorism and weapons indictments.
- Trump pledged to oversee Venezuela’s transition and revive its oil sector with U.S. companies, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized using leverage and policy control rather than direct governing.
- Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to act as interim leader; after denouncing the raid, she later called for cooperation even as opposition figures pressed claims to power.
- International backlash intensified as Russia and China condemned the operation and the U.N. Security Council set a Monday session, while U.S. lawmakers demanded legal justifications and briefings.
- Casualty figures remain unclear, with reports ranging from dozens killed to Cuba saying 32 of its nationals died; U.S. officials reported injuries to American personnel but no deaths.