Following months of military buildup in the seas around Venezuela, including the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and other warships, U.S. troops early Saturday morning captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, then flew them to New York, where they are likely to be criminally charged next week.
The arrests were accompanied by military strikes on multiple sites across Venezuela. In recent weeks, U.S. forces also seized two oil tankers off Venezuela’s coast and carried out deadly strikes on more than 30 boats the Trump administration claims were trafficking drugs.
President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States will temporarily take control of Venezuela “until there can be a transition.”
Maduro and his wife are expected to face federal charges in the United States, including allegations of narco-terrorism, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi. Maduro has in the past denied the accusations.
Caplin News will be following the story as it develops. Read down for earlier updates.
11:30 a.m., Saturday: Trump holds a press conference at Mar-a-Lago
At his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., Trump announced U.S plans for Venezuela.
“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said. “We don’t want to be involved with having someone else get in and have the same situation we’ve had for a long period of years.”
When asked who would run the country, Trump gestured behind him toward Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying, “It’s largely going to be for a period of time the people standing right behind me. We’re going to be running it.”
Trump said the U.S. would take control of Venezuela’s oil reserves and recruit American companies to invest in the industry, claiming the corporations would “spend billions of dollars” on the project.
Rubio told reporters that Congress was not notified in advance of the operation because doing so would have endangered the mission.
“Congress has a tendency to leak,” Trump said. “This would not be good.”
1:30 p.m. Saturday: New Venezuelan leader demands Maduro be freed
Less than two hours after Trump announced the Socialist Venezuelan Vice President had been sworn in, and that she would do the United States’ bidding, Delcy Rodriguez gave a fiery speech demanding Maduro’s return.
Trump said, “She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.”
But Rodriguez responded with, “What is being done to Venezuela is an atrocity that violates international law. History and justice will make the extremists who promoted this armed aggression pay. There is only one president in Venezuela and his name is Nicolás Maduro.”
1:37 p.m. Saturday: UN President criticizes U.S. action in Venezuela
The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the U.S. operation in Venezuela. The list of attendees has not been confirmed.
The announcement was followed quickly by a statement from German politician and UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock,“A peaceful, safe and just world for everyone is only possible if the rule of law prevails instead of might makes right,” she wrote on X.
Samuel Reinaldo Moncada Acosta, Venezuela’s envoy to the U.N., requested the emergency meeting of the Security Council to discuss “acts of aggression perpetrated by the United States of America.”
The meeting was also requested by Colombia, a temporary Security Council member, with the support of Russia and China, both permanent members of the council.
3:15 p.m. Saturday: Major US airlines cancel flights out of Caribbean
Hundreds of flights from Caribbean airports have been delayed or canceled following the U.S strikes in Venezuela.
“Early this morning in support of the Department of War, the FAA restricted the airspace in the Caribbean and Venezuela to ensure the SAFETY of the flying public,” said the Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a post on X. “When appropriate, these airspace restrictions will be lifted. Please work with your airlines directly if your flight has been impacted.”
5:25 p.m. Saturday: Maduro arrives at a New York military base
Around 5:25 p.m., Maduro and Flores arrived at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York, hours after their capture during a military operation in Caracas. They were escorted by three dozen federal agents across the tarmac. Several of the agents appeared to be filming the couple on their phones.
