Trump claims US will 'run' Venezuela after Maduro captured

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The United States carried out a large-scale strike in Venezuela early Saturday. President Donald Trump said the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife Cilia Flores had been captured and flown out of the country.

Here's the latest:

READ MORE: Who is Nicolás Maduro? Venezuelan president captured by US forces

 

Maduro arrives at Brooklyn detention center

8:45 p.m. ET- Ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife arrived late Saturday at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after being transported by helicopter from the Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters in Manhattan, where they were processed.

The helicopter passed the Statue of Liberty en route to Brooklyn, a moment carried live during the transfer.

Outside the detention center, onlookers gathered behind barricades, some cheering and jeering as they waved Venezuelan and American flags and recorded the arrival on their phones.

Maduro is expected to remain in federal custody as he prepares to face narcoterrorism and weapons charges in the Southern District of New York.

Maduro arrives in NYC by helicopter, motorcade heads to Brooklyn detention center

7:10 p.m. ET- Helicopters carrying ousted Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have landed at the West Side Heliport in New York City, according to Fox News.

The motorcade is now moving from the heliport toward the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

Maduro lands in New York

4:45 p.m. ET- Nicolás Maduro has arrived on U.S. soil at Stewart International Airport in New York after being captured during Operation Absolute Resolve early Saturday morning in Caracas, Venezuela. 

Fox News can confirm the plane that arrived in New York is owned by and registered under the Department of Justice. Persons with FBI and DEA jackets waited on the tarmac.

Venezuela VP urges US to free Maduro, calls him rightful leader

2:25 p.m. ET-Venezuela’s vice president called on the United States to free President Nicolás Maduro, describing him as the country’s rightful leader during a speech.

Released photos show Trump, national security team monitoring Venezuela mission from Mar-a-Lago

1:08 p.m. ET- President Donald Trump released photos Saturday afternoon showing himself and senior members of his cabinet monitoring the early-morning U.S. military operation in Venezuela from Mar-a-Lago.

The images, posted to Trump’s Truth Social account, show Trump seated at a long table alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, with aides and security personnel standing nearby. Computer screens and communications equipment appear visible in several shots.

The photos were taken in the early hours of Saturday morning as U.S. forces carried out what he described as a "large-scale strike" in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

The images offer a rare behind-the-scenes look at Trump and his national security team tracking the operation in real time from Florida.

Rubio on why Congress wasn't notified

12:30 p.m. ET: Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave the following response when asked why members of Congress weren't notified before the strike:

"We call members of Congress immediately after," he said. "This is not the kind of mission that you can do congressional notification on. It was a trigger-based mission in which conditions had to be met night after night. We watched and monitored that for a number of days. So it's just simply not the kind of mission you can call people and say, hey, we may do this at some point in the next 15 days, but it's largely a loss function. Remember, at the end of the day, at its core, this was an arrest of two indicted fugitives of American justice, and the Department of War supported the Department of Justice in that job. Now, there are broader policy implications here, but it's just not the kind of mission that you can pre-notify because it endangers the mission."

Trump says ‘we’ will run Venezuela

11:45 a.m. ET: In a news conference Saturday, Trump said "we're going to run" Venezuela after U.S. forces captured Maduro and his wife. He claimed the American presence was already in place, though there were no immediate signs that the U.S. was running the country.

"We're going to run it until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump said. "So we don't want to be involved with having somebody else get in. And we have the same situation that we had for the last long period of years. So we are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition. And it has to be judicious because that's what we're all about. We want peace, liberty and justice for the great people of Venezuela, and that includes many from Venezuela that are now living in the United States and want to go back to their country. It's their homeland."

Trump also said U.S. oil companies will lead the charge in repairing oil infrastructure in Venezuela.

"We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go and spend billions of dollars to fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country," he said.

UN ‘deeply alarmed,’ says Venezuela strike may violate international law

11:40 a.m. ET: The United Nations said it was "deeply alarmed" by the U.S. strikes and reported detention of Maduro. It expressed concern that the escalation was a violation of international law.

"These developments constitute a dangerous precedent," Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general, said in a statement. Dujarric said the U.N. worried about the larger implications for Latin America and the Caribbean and called on "all actors in Venezuela" to respect human rights and the rule of law.

Trump says ‘a few’ US military members injured

11:40 a.m. ET: Trump said a helicopter was hit during the operation in Venezuela and a few U.S. members were injured, but he believed none were killed.

"A couple of guys were hit, but they came back and they’re supposed to be in pretty good shape," he said.

He said the U.S. lost no aircraft in the operation.

"We got it all back. One of them was hit pretty hard but—a helicopter—but we got it back.

"We had to do it because it’s a war," he added a few moments later.

Trump posts photo of Maduro after his capture

11:35 a.m. ET: In a post on Truth Social, Trump shared a photo of Maduro after his capture. He said Maduro and his wife are aborad the U.S. warship Iwo Jima.

Trump discusses Venezuela strike on Fox News

11:05 a.m. ET: Trump said in an interview Saturday morning that the United States will be making decisions on what is next for Venezuela after capturing Maduro and flying him out of the country.

"We’ll be involved in it very much" as to who will govern the country, Trump said in an interview with Fox News after the capture.

"We can’t take a chance in letting somebody else run and just take over what he left, or left off," Trump said.

Trump told Fox News that Maduro and Flores were aboard the U.S. warship Iwo Jima and headed to New York, where they will face prosecution.

Indictment of Maduro and wife released

11 a.m. ET: The indictment from the U.S. Justice Department accuses Maduro of leading "a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking." It alleges that the drug trafficking efforts "enriched and entrenched Venezuela’s political and military elite."

U.S. authorities allege that Maduro partnered with "some of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world" to bring tons of cocaine into the U.S., according to the indictment.

Authorities estimate that as much as 250 tons of cocaine were trafficked through Venezuela by 2020, according to the indictment. The drugs were moved on go-fast vessels, fishing boats and container ships or via planes from clandestine airstrips, authorities allege.

In August 2025, the U.S. announced a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest.

European leaders react to strike

9:27 a.m. ET: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X that she had spoken with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the EU ambassador in Caracas. "The EU has repeatedly stated that Mr Maduro lacks legitimacy and has defended a peaceful transition. Under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected. We call for restraint."

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for "de-escalation and responsibility. International Law and the principles of the United Nations Charter must be respected," Sánchez wrote on X.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it is "extremely alarmed" and called for "immediate clarification," according to a statement posted Saturday on the ministry’s Telegram channel. The ministry said such actions, if confirmed, would constitute "an unacceptable infringement on the sovereignty of an independent state."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the U.K. was not involved in the U.S. operation in Venezuela and that he would seek more information from Trump. Without condemning the U.S. action, Starmer said he always believes that international law should be upheld. "But I think at this stage, fast moving situation, let’s establish the facts and take it from there," he said.

Maduro, wife were home when US captured them

9:26 a.m. ET: Venezuelan ruling party leader Nahum Fernández told The Associated Press that Nicolás Maduro and his wife were at their home within the Ft. Tiuna military installation when they were captured.

"That’s where they bombed," he said. "And, there, they carried out what we could call a kidnapping of the president and the first lady of the country."

Maduro and wife to face charges

8:43 a.m. ET: U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi says Maduro and his wife will face criminal charges after an indictment in New York.

Bondi vowed in a social media post that the couple will "soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts."

Maduro was indicted in 2020 in New York, but it was not previously known that his wife had been.

Trump’s announcement

What we know:

Hours after the strike, President Donald Trump announced on social media that U.S. forces had captured Maduro and his wife and flown them out of Venezuela.

"Maduro has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country," Trump wrote, adding that the operation was carried out in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement. Trump said the strikes were carried out "successfully" and scheduled a news conference for later Saturday.

Maduro’s status unclear

What we don't know:

As of Saturday morning, it was not known whether there were deaths or injuries, whether additional military actions were planned, or who was exercising control of Venezuela’s government. The White House did not respond yet to questions about where Maduro and his wife were being taken.

The legal authority for the strike — and whether Trump consulted Congress beforehand — were also not immediately known, according to AP.

The Armed Services committees in Congress had not been formally notified, a person familiar with the matter told the AP. Lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns in recent months about U.S. military actions tied to drug interdiction near Venezuela.

What they're saying:

Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed him and said Maduro had been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial in the United States.

Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, said she did not know their location and demanded proof of life.

"We do not know the whereabouts of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores," Rodríguez said. "We demand proof of life."

Under Venezuelan law, Rodríguez would assume power if Maduro were removed, though there was no confirmation that had occurred.

Reaction in Venezuela

Big picture view:

Maduro’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations, calling the strike an "imperialist attack." Officials urged supporters to take to the streets.

In some neighborhoods long considered strongholds of the ruling party, armed individuals and civilian militia members rallied while holding posters of Maduro. In other parts of the city, streets remained largely empty hours after the strike.

The government declared a state of external disturbance, a form of emergency that allows authorities to suspend certain rights and expand the role of the armed forces.

Escalating pressure on Maduro

The backstory:

The strike followed months of escalating pressure by the Trump administration on Maduro’s government, including a buildup of U.S. forces near South America and attacks on boats accused of drug smuggling.

Maduro was indicted in March 2020 on U.S. charges related to narco-terrorism.

Trump has said the United States is engaged in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels and has justified recent military actions as necessary to stop drug trafficking.

International reaction

International reaction began to emerge quickly.

The other side:

Cuba condemned the strike, calling it a criminal attack, while Iran’s foreign ministry also denounced the operation. 

Argentina’s president praised Trump’s announcement, celebrating what he described as a blow against authoritarian rule.

What's next:

The situation remains fluid as governments around the world monitor developments. The FAA warned U.S. pilots that airspace over Venezuela and Curaçao was off limits due to safety risks tied to military activity.

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