Overview
- Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty in their first appearance in the Southern District of New York on narcotics and corruption charges.
- Speaking to Republican lawmakers at the Kennedy Center, President Trump joked about Maduro’s dance videos and described him as violent, framing the capture as a success.
- Advisers viewed Maduro’s English-language slogans and public dancing as taunts directed at Washington, a perception that The New York Times reports helped drive the operation’s authorization.
- The raid was executed by a Delta Force team supported by a major U.S. naval deployment in the Caribbean, with the pair seized from a bunker-style residence without reported public firefights.
- Trump said the United States will administer Venezuela on a temporary basis during a political transition, with Delcy Rodríguez designated as the interlocutor and interim leader for Caracas.