Overview
- U.S. airstrikes and Special Forces knocked out power in parts of Caracas before seizing Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores, who were transported via a Navy ship and flown to New York for an initial court appearance expected Monday.
- Unsealed federal indictments accuse Maduro and his wife of narco-terrorism, cocaine importation, and weapons offenses, as U.S. authorities released images confirming his detention at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center.
- President Trump said the United States will temporarily run Venezuela, raised the prospect of deploying troops, and pressed major U.S. oil companies to rebuild the country’s battered energy infrastructure and sell output.
- Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to assume interim powers, while officials condemned the U.S. action as a kidnapping and maintained that Maduro remains the country’s rightful president.
- Reports of deaths and infrastructure damage vary after the strikes, with U.S. officials reporting no American fatalities, and the U.N. Security Council set to meet Monday as foreign governments and legal experts question the operation’s legality.