Overview
- President Donald Trump says Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores are in US custody en route to face narcotics and related charges in New York, and he declared the US would temporarily run Venezuela and tap its oil reserves.
- Venezuela’s vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, condemned the operation as a kidnapping and insisted Maduro remains the country’s only president, leaving control on the ground uncertain.
- Australia’s Smartraveller advises do not travel to Venezuela, urges those in-country to consider leaving if safe, warns of possible flight disruptions and airspace closures, and notes consular support is severely limited with no embassy in Caracas.
- Australian cities saw both anti-US demonstrations and pro-opposition gatherings, with NSW Police reporting three arrests at an unauthorised protest in Sydney under recently invoked public assembly restrictions.
- Casualty numbers from the US strikes have not been confirmed, with the New York Times citing an unnamed Venezuelan official who reported at least 40 deaths.