Overview
- Nicolás Maduro was flown to a U.S. air base near New York and is expected by U.S. media to be held in a Brooklyn facility to face federal charges in New York.
- The U.N. Security Council set an emergency meeting for Jan. 5 at the request of Venezuela and Colombia, as Secretary-General António Guterres voiced deep concern and urged respect for human rights and the rule of law.
- China issued a strong condemnation of the use of force against a sovereign leader, and the Washington Post reported a Chinese special envoy met Maduro in Caracas only hours before his detention.
- South Africa condemned the operation as a violation of the U.N. Charter, while leaders in the UK, Germany and France accepted Maduro’s detention yet avoided judging the legality of the attack.
- Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado welcomed the detention and urged citizens to push for a democratic transition, asserting the opposition’s 2024 candidate actually won.