Overview
- The Constitutional Chamber ordered Rodríguez to assume the presidency to guarantee administrative continuity while it weighs the legal framework for Maduro’s forced absence.
- U.S. authorities say Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores were seized in a pre-dawn operation, moved onto U.S. naval assets, and flown to New York to face Southern District of New York narco-terrorism charges.
- President Donald Trump said the United States will run Venezuela on an interim basis and dispatch major U.S. oil companies to repair the country’s damaged infrastructure.
- A senior Venezuelan official reported at least 40 deaths from the U.S. strikes, while Trump said no U.S. troops were killed; Gen. Dan Caine said extraction helicopters took fire and one was hit but remained flyable.
- Rodríguez condemned the operation, demanded proof of life for Maduro and Flores, and questions persist over whether Venezuela’s constitutionally required election timetable applies in this scenario.