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Donald Trump has made the most brazen foreign policy move during his second presidency, capturing and toppling Venezuelan strongman leader Nicolas Maduro in an operation to assert American dominance in the Western Hemisphere.
The US strike in Caracas to extract Maduro and bring him to the US to face criminal charges was accompanied by Trump’s pledge that Washington would “walk” Venezuela until further notice and take control of its oil fields.
The move comes after months of escalating US confrontation with Caracas, including boat strikes against alleged drug traffickers and a naval blockade to enforce sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports.
By late evening on the US East Coast, Venezuela’s president for more than a decade had arrived by helicopter in New York City to face federal charges – less than 24 hours after being taken from his bedroom in Caracas by US special forces.
US television showed live footage of the Venezuelan leader’s flight from Manhattan to a US federal detention center in Brooklyn on Saturday evening, with police helicopters flying over the Statue of Liberty.
The dramatic events demonstrated Trump’s willingness to use military power to achieve his goals, as he did in June when he authorized U.S. military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and in northern Nigeria in late December.
But the attack on Venezuela also underlines the US president’s determination to establish a clear sphere of geopolitical influence in the Western Hemisphere, which has been a hallmark of his second term in office.
It also draws the US into a possible new attempt at regime change – despite Trump’s pledge to keep the US out of new wars after ill-fated interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.
Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Saturday, Trump said the US would maintain control of the South American country until we can make a safe, just and prudent transition.
Trump also said that the US wants “peace, freedom and justice for the great people of Venezuela”, including those living in the US who “want to return to their country”.
But the US president made no reference to new elections in Venezuela as he focused on moves to free up the country’s vast oil reserves with a flood of investment from US energy groups.
He said, “We’re going to bring in our very big United States oil companies, the largest in the world, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country.”
US allies celebrated Maduro’s exit, but remained cautious about US plans to take control of the South American country, and questioned the legality of Trump’s actions under international law.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stressed “support for international law”, saying, “Britain has long supported regime change in Venezuela. We considered Maduro an illegitimate president and we shed no tears over the end of his regime.”
“The UK government will be discussing the evolving situation with US counterparts in the coming days as we seek a safe and peaceful transition to a legitimate government that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people,” Starmer said.
Top Republicans, including Vice President J.D. Vance, defended the legality of the move, which was not approved by the US Congress and has been criticized by Democrats.
New York’s Democratic Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani called Maduro’s capture an “act of war” and “a violation of federal and international law.”
Maduro was taken to the US Navy ship Iwo Jima, and then flown to New York to face narco-terrorism charges in the Southern District of New York.
What lies ahead for Venezuela, where years of political and economic turmoil have left the country impoverished, remains unclear – including who will emerge from the power vacuum to rule Caracas.
Following the attack, the country’s Vice President Delcy RodrÃguez appeared on state television on Saturday afternoon alongside the country’s defense and foreign ministers, and called for the release of Maduro and his wife from US custody.
“We will defend the dignity of those who cannot be given up,” Rodriguez said. “We will not become anyone’s colony; what is being done to Venezuela is barbaric.”
But Trump said he had spoken to Rubio and he had no choice but to cooperate with the US.
“He said, ‘Whatever you want, we’ll do,'” Trump said. “She was kind enough, but she really doesn’t have a choice.”
