Overview
- U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a large-scale operation and flew them to New York to face Southern District of New York narcotics- and weapons-related indictments.
- A Justice Department official confirmed Maduro arrived in New York, with video showing a convoy to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and an initial federal court appearance expected in Manhattan on Monday.
- New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the operation an act of war, said he phoned President Trump to register opposition, and announced the city is monitoring potential impacts on Venezuelan New Yorkers after briefings with senior officials.
- President Trump defended the mission as lawful and said the United States would temporarily run Venezuela during a transition, also touting renewed involvement of U.S. oil companies, while Caracas called the action a colonial grab.
- Gov. Kathy Hochul and Democratic congressional leaders criticized the lack of congressional authorization and demanded immediate briefings, as Republican lawmakers blasted Mamdani’s remarks and wider legal questions over war powers intensified.