Venezuela live updates: Maduro in New York jail ahead of court appearance as Trump says US will run country
Trump says U.S. officials will be running Venezuela ‘for a period of time’ but offers no specifics when pressed by reporters
Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife have arrived in New York after U.S. forces seized them from their Caracas compound in an extraordinary military operation.
Video shared Saturday night by the White House showed Maduro entering the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he will be held before his first court appearance – which could be as early as Monday.
In the video, Maduro is seen in a black hoodie, walking down a hallway with a blue carpet labeled “DEA NYD” and wishing an onlooker a “Happy New Year.”
President Donald Trump has claimed the U.S. will “run” Venezuela now that Maduro has been captured, and earlier shared a photograph of Maduro in handcuffs en route to New York, where he has been indicted with several offenses including Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy.
The president offered few details on who exactly would be in charge in Venezuela when pressed by reporters.
More than 150 aircraft, including fighter jets, helicopters and bombers, were involved in the attack on Caracas after Trump gave the order Friday night. Democrats have accused the president of launching the sweeping military action because of oil, not drugs.
With reporting from Rosali Hernandez in Caracas
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UK government 'not clear' on Trumps plans for Venezuela
The UK Government is “not entirely clear” on what Donald Trump meant when he said the US would run Venezuela, Darren Jones said.
It was put to the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that the action sounded like colonialism. Asked whether Britain is in favour of colonialism, he told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News: “We’re not in favour of colonialism and we’re not entirely clear yet what President Trump meant by those comments.”
He added: “It’s for the Americans now and for Venezuela to set out what happens in the coming days.”
It is not for a “third country” to decide the future of Venezuela’s government, Mr Jones said.
He also declined to say whether US action broke international law, insisting the matter is for “international courts”.
He said: “It’s for the Americans to set out the legal basis for their operations.
“I don’t think the Americans have done that yet. I’m sure they will do in due course.”
'We learned everything about him': Inside the meticulously planned operation to capture Maduro
US general Dan Caine has detailed how the military spent months learning everything about Maduro to ensure his successful capture.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said US forces rehearsed Operation "Absolute Resolve” for months.
He said they learnt everything about Maduro — where he was and what he ate, as well as details of his pets and his clothes.
Caine said the mission was "meticulously planned" and was "the culmination of months of planning and rehearsals."
"We think we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again, not to get it right, but to ensure that we cannot get it wrong. Our jobs are to integrate combat power so when the order comes, we can deliver overwhelming force at the time and the place of our choosing against any foe anywhere in the world," he said.
How have Venezuelans responded to Maduro's capture
In the hours after Maduro’s capture, some people took to the streets to protest the US operation, while others celebrated it.
At a protest in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, Mayor Carmen Melïndez joined a crowd demanding Maduro's return.
"Maduro, hold on, the people are rising up!" the crowd chanted. "We are here, Nicolas Maduro. If you can hear us, we are here!"
In other parts of the city, the streets were empty hours after the attack.
"How do I feel? Scared, like everyone," said Caracas resident Noris Prada, who sat on an empty avenue looking at his phone. "Venezuelans woke up scared. Many families couldn't sleep."
In Doral, Florida, home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States, people wrapped themselves in Venezuelan flags, ate fried snacks and cheered as music played. At one point, the crowd chanted "Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!”
Similar scenes were seen in other countries including Colombia and Argentina.
'Captured' Maduro walks DEA hallway: Official White House account releases video
Close ally of Starmer refuses to say if he thinks Trump's capture of Maduro was legal
The Independent’s Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:
Darren Jones, the cabinet office minister and a close ally of Starmer, has refused to say if he thinks Trump's capture of Maduro was legal.
He told Sky News it was “for international courts to make judgements on international law” and it was “for the Americans” to set out the legal basis for their action.
He also said it was important that the Venezuelan people decide their next President.
UN to discuss US operation on Monday
In New York, the UN Security Council, acting on an emergency request from Colombia, is planning to hold a meeting on US operations in Venezuela on Monday morning.
That was according to a council diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the meeting which has not yet been made public.
It comes amid mass criticism of the operation from around the world.
How the capture of Nicolas Maduro will upend the global order
The flagrant actions of the United States will incentivise power grabs by autocrats the world over – and Cuba may be the next country to be transformed by America’s exploding sphere of influence, says Mary Dejevsky:
How the capture of Nicolas Maduro will upend the global order
US oil companies to 'spend billions' in Venezuela
There have been vast amounts of speculation that oil was a key factor in Donald Trump’s military intervention in Venezuela.
The South American country has the world's largest estimated oil reserves.
Speaking on Saturday, the US president said: “We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country.”
When will Maduro appear in court?
Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has arrived at a New York detention centre to face U.S. criminal charges after being captured by American forces.
He will stay at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn until he appears in court.
This could happen as soon as Monday, reports suggest.
Who is Delcy Rodríguez – the interim president of Venezuela
Delcy Rodríguez was installed as Venezuela’s acting president on Saturday after the Supreme Court said she would take over following the detention of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces.
The Constitutional Chamber ordered that the vice president assume “the office of President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the Nation”.
It said judges would meet to “determine the applicable legal framework to guarantee the continuity of the State, the administration of government, and the defense of sovereignty in the face of the forced absence of the President of the Republic”.
Ms Rodríguez, who also oversees finance and oil policy, moved quickly into the role. Hours after Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured, she chaired the National Defence Council and called for their “immediate release”, denouncing the US operation as illegal.
“We call on the peoples of the great homeland to remain united, because what was done to Venezuela can be done to anyone. That brutal use of force to bend the will of the people can be carried out against any country,” she said on state television.
Born in Caracas, the 56-year-old lawyer has been a central figure in chavismo for more than two decades. A close ally of Mr Maduro, she has served as communications minister, foreign minister, head of the Constituent Assembly and vice president.
The opposition rejects Mr Maduro’s legitimacy after the disputed 2024 election, backing former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia instead.
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