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2d ago

Trump Says U.S. Will Run Venezuela After Maduro’s Capture, Pledges Oil Overhaul

Global critics question the raid’s legality.

Government supporters burn a U.S. flag in Caracas on Saturday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
Image
Wilman Gonzalez stands at his home, which he says was hit during US military operations to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in Catia La Mar, Venezuela.
Jesus Linares, 48, stands next to a local resident as he looks at his damaged apartment building, after the U.S. launched a strike on Venezuela, capturing its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Catia La Mar, Venezuela January 4, 2026.

Overview

  • Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are in U.S. custody in New York facing narcotics-related charges following a U.S. military operation.
  • President Trump said Washington would manage a transition, kept the oil embargo in place, and signaled U.S. energy firms will be authorized to rebuild Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.
  • Venezuela’s Supreme Court installed Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as interim leader; she denounced the operation and demanded Maduro’s release.
  • Senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, were tapped to help oversee the effort as U.S. forces remain on high readiness in the region.
  • U.S. lawmakers are demanding briefings and considering limits on further military action, while the United Nations expressed alarm over breaches of international law.