Overview
- U.S. officials confirmed a military operation in Caracas that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
- Federal prosecutors filed charges in the Southern District of New York accusing Maduro and Flores of narcoterrorism and related cocaine‑trafficking offenses.
- In a Fox News interview, President Donald Trump said drug cartels “run Mexico,” asserted that “something has to be done,” and claimed President Claudia Sheinbaum declined U.S. offers to take on the cartels.
- Trump cited a U.S. drug death toll of 300,000 to argue for tougher action tied to narcotics flowing across the southern border.
- Trump said the United States would be “very strongly involved” in Venezuela’s oil industry following the operation.