Maduro arrives in New York to face charges after US operation questioned by legal experts

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has arrived in the United States to face criminal charges after being arrested in a daring nighttime military operation that President Donald Trump said would position the United States to “run” the South American nation and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other countries.

He watches: Trump says US will run Venezuela after Maduro captured in surprise military strike

Maduro arrived late Saturday afternoon at a small airport in New York after the midnight operation that removed him and his wife, Celia Flores, from their home on a military base in the capital, Caracas — an act that Maduro’s government called “imperialist.” The couple faces US charges of participating in a terrorism and drug conspiracy.

The dramatic action capped the Trump administration’s intense pressure campaign on the authoritarian Venezuelan leader and months of covert planning, resulting in the most assertive US action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Legal experts have raised questions about the legality of the operation that took place without congressional approval. Meanwhile, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez called on the United States to release Maduro, describing him as the country’s legitimate leader, while her country’s Supreme Court appointed her as interim president.

Rodriguez, who did not give a number, said some Venezuelan civilians and military personnel were killed. Trump said some US troops were injured, but no one was killed.

Speaking to reporters hours after Maduro’s arrest, Trump revealed his plans to exploit the leadership vacuum to “reform” the country’s oil infrastructure and sell “large amounts” of oil to other countries.

After arriving at a small airport in the northern suburbs of New York City, Maduro was flown by helicopter to Manhattan, where a convoy of law enforcement vehicles, including an armored car, was waiting to take him to a nearby US Drug Enforcement Administration office.

A video posted by a White House social media account showed Maduro smiling as two DEA agents escorted him through that office, holding his arms.

Trump says the United States will run the country

The Trump administration touted the ouster as a step toward reducing the flow of dangerous drugs into the United States. The president touted what he saw as other potential benefits, including a leadership stake in the country and greater control of oil.

Trump claimed that the US government would help lead the country, and it has already done so, although there are no clear signs of this. Venezuelan state television broadcast propaganda in support of Maduro and broadcast live images of his supporters taking to the streets in Caracas in protest.

“We will run the country until such time as we can make a safe, sound, and wise transition,” Trump said at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago. He boasted that this “highly successful operation should serve as a warning to anyone who threatens American sovereignty or endangers American lives.”

Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on terrorism and drug conspiracy charges, and the Justice Department issued a new indictment Saturday against Maduro and his wife that portrays his administration as a “corrupt and illegitimate government” fueled by a drug trafficking operation that has flooded the United States with cocaine. The US government does not recognize Maduro as the country’s leader.

The Trump administration has spent months building up US forces in the region and carrying out attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean allegedly transporting drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone attack on a docking area believed to be used by Venezuelan drug cartels — the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US campaign began in September.

Early morning attack

Thirty-six years after Panamanian leader Manuel Antonio Noriega surrendered in 1990 and was arrested following the US invasion, the operation in Venezuela unfolded under the cover of darkness early Saturday. Trump said the United States turned off “almost all the lights” in Caracas as troops moved to remove Maduro and his wife.

Gen. Dan Kean, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces trained for their maneuvers for months, learning everything about Maduro — where he was and what he ate, as well as details about his pets and clothing.

“We think, we evolve, we practice, we practice, we debrief, we practice over and over again,” Keane said. “Not to get things right, but to make sure we can’t get them wrong.”

Several explosions rang out that morning, and planes flew low over Caracas. Maduro’s government accused the United States of bombing civilian and military facilities, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets. The explosions – at least seven – sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they saw and heard.

U.S. government restrictions on airspace around Venezuela and the Caribbean ended early Sunday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Sunday, an announcement that suggested any immediate major U.S. military action was unlikely. He added: “The airlines have been informed and will update their schedules quickly.”

Under Venezuelan law, Rodriguez will take power from Maduro. However, Rodriguez confirmed during an appearance Saturday on state television that she had no plans to take power, before Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered her to become interim president.

“There is only one president in Venezuela, and his name is Nicolas Maduro Moros,” Rodriguez said.

Some streets in Caracas were full

Venezuela’s ruling party has been in power since 1999, when Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez, took office, promising to uplift the poor and then implement a self-described socialist revolution.

Maduro took power when Chavez died in 2013. His re-election in 2018 was widely seen as a sham because the main opposition parties were barred from participating. During the 2024 elections, electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared him the winner hours after the polls closed, but the opposition gathered compelling evidence that he lost by a margin of more than 2 to 1.

The Venezuelan capital remained unusually quiet on Sunday with few vehicles moving and stores, gas stations and other businesses closed. The road was usually filled with runners, cyclists and other fitness enthusiasts on Sundays, and there were only a few people exercising the day after Maduro was deposed.

Read more: A tense calm prevails in Venezuela a day after the US military took control of Maduro

The presidential palace was guarded by armed civilians and members of the army. In a nearby square, only a sweeper and a soldier stood, and on the opposite side of the street, a church remained nearby for the second day in a row.

Caracas resident David Leal arrived at the parking lot where he parks his cars for a living, only to quickly realize he likely wouldn’t see any customers for a second day.

“People are still shaken,” Leal, 77, said.

Questions of legitimacy remain

Whether the United States violated any laws, international or otherwise, remained in question early Sunday. “There are a number of international legal concepts that the United States may have violated by arresting Maduro,” said Ilan Katz, an international law analyst.

Pope Leo The first US pope in history called for an end to the violence and to ensure Venezuela’s sovereignty.

In New York, the UN Security Council, based on an emergency request from Colombia, intends to hold a meeting on US operations in Venezuela on Monday morning.

Lawmakers from both US political parties have raised reservations and explicit objections to US attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling. Congress did not agree to authorize the use of military force for such operations in the region.

Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he saw no evidence to justify Trump striking Venezuela without congressional approval and demanded an immediate briefing from the administration on “its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision.”

Torobin and Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jorge Rueda in Caracas, Venezuela; Lisa Mascaro, Michelle L. Price, Seung Min Kim, and Alana Durkin Richer in Washington; Farnoush Amiri in New York; Larry Neumeister in South Amboy, New Jersey, and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.