Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been captured by US troops and flown to New York, where they are now being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The dramatic operation saw Maduro escorted off a plane at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, surrounded by FBI agents, before being taken by helicopter to Manhattan.
Maduro was then transferred to the offices of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, and later to the federal detention facility in Brooklyn. The same facility has previously held high-profile prisoners including Ghislaine Maxwell and rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs. The White House released a video showing Maduro handcuffed and walking through a DEA office, where he could be heard saying 'Goodnight' and 'Happy new year'.
President Donald Trump announced that the US would 'run the country [Venezuela] until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition'. He also stated that the US would be 'very strongly involved' in Venezuela's oil industry following the military operation. Trump confirmed that his administration had not spoken to exiled opposition leader María Corina Machado, and suggested she lacked sufficient support in Venezuela.
Venezuela's supreme court has ordered Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez to assume the role of acting president in Maduro's absence. The UN Security Council is due to hold an emergency meeting on Monday, with Secretary General António Guterres expressing deep alarm at the US action, calling it 'a dangerous precedent'. The New York Times reported that at least 40 people, including civilians and soldiers, were killed in Saturday's attack, according to a senior Venezuelan official.
Celebrations broke out among the Venezuelan community in Doral, South Florida, where hundreds gathered waving flags and chanting 'liberty'. David Nuñez, who fled Venezuela six years ago, told the Associated Press he hopes to reunite with his daughters, whom he has not seen since. 'The most important thing is that we’re going to be able to be with our families soon,' he said.
