Overview
- U.S. special operations captured Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores in a pre-dawn operation in Caracas, with both now in U.S. custody.
- Attorney General Pam Bondi said SDNY charged them with narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy, and machine gun and explosive offenses.
- Trump said U.S. teams will “run” Venezuela temporarily until a “safe, proper” transition, a pledge that drew immediate questions about authority from lawmakers.
- Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine described a large, precision extraction that coordinated more than 150 aircraft across the hemisphere.
- European officials and other critics warned of breaches of international law, as analysts noted parallels to the 1989 U.S. removal of Panama’s Manuel Noriega.