The United States launched a military operation in Venezuela on Saturday, capturing long-serving president Nicolás Maduro and bringing him to New York, according to US officials. Donald Trump announced the country would be placed under temporary American control.
Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump said US Special Forces captured Maduro in or near one of his safe houses during an operation that knocked out electricity in parts of Caracas. 'We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,' he stated.
Trump hailed the attack, which the New York Times reported killed at least 40 people including civilians and Venezuelan soldiers, as 'an assault like people have not seen since world war two'. He added that US oil companies would be sent to fix Venezuela's infrastructure, claiming the occupation 'won't cost us a penny' due to oil revenues.
A plane carrying Maduro and his wife landed at Stewart air national guard base in upstate New York on Saturday evening. The former president is expected to appear in court by Monday and is being held at the Metropolitan detention center. Video from the White House showed Maduro in handcuffs escorted by DEA agents.
The intervention drew condemnation from Democrats and world leaders, who called it the most dangerous example of US imperialism since the Iraq war. Maduro’s government appeared to still be in charge, and Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez maintained a critical tone in a televised address, contradicting Trump’s claim that she had offered cooperation.
