Overview
- Special operations attributed to U.S. forces detained Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores, with reports indicating their transfer toward New York after President Trump said the U.S. will govern Venezuela until a safe transition.
- Secretary-General António Guterres voiced deep concern and called the move a dangerous precedent, as legal experts said the operation lacks UN Security Council authorization and does not meet self-defense criteria.
- Russia and China condemned the intervention as a sovereignty violation, the EU urged restraint and legal compliance, Spain offered to mediate, and Italy and Israel publicly backed Washington’s action.
- Venezuelan opposition leaders, including María Corina Machado, urged recognition of Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate president, while control inside the country remains uncertain.
- Venezuela’s defense minister alleged U.S. helicopter-fired missiles and rockets struck residential areas, with burned vehicles reported and casualty figures still unconfirmed.