Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro is in a New York detention center facing US drug charges after a dramatic raid ordered by former President Donald Trump, who announced the United States would temporarily take control of the oil-rich nation. The 63-year-old former president was captured in Caracas alongside his wife, Cilia Flores, in the early hours of Saturday during US Special Forces operations that included strikes on military installations.
Images released by US authorities showed Maduro blindfolded and handcuffed as he was transported to the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn. The operation, which Trump described as “safe and judicious,” stunned the international community and is considered Washington’s most controversial intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama. Maduro is scheduled to appear in Manhattan federal court tomorrow.
Trump said the US would oversee Venezuela, home to about 30 million people and the world’s largest oil reserves, until a transition can be arranged. “We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” he said at a Mar-a-Lago press conference. He also indicated that major US oil companies would be deployed to refurbish Venezuela’s aging infrastructure.
While Maduro’s allies remain in control in Caracas and denounced the seizure as a “kidnapping,” Trump rejected calls to install opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, citing her lack of support. Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, had been banned from standing in the 2024 election. Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, was declared interim president by a Venezuelan court and has refused to recognize US authority.
The operation has raised questions over legality and international law. Western governments urged caution, while Democrats in Congress said they had not been fully briefed and called for clarity on the US strategy moving forward. UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the raid sets a “dangerous precedent,” while China and Russia condemned the intervention as a violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty.
The move triggered mixed reactions inside Venezuela. Maduro opponents celebrated cautiously, while some supporters held small rallies. Residents stocked up on food and fuel amid uncertainty, and soldiers patrolled parts of the country. The nation, once one of Latin America’s wealthiest, has endured economic collapse under Maduro, with roughly one in five citizens leaving abroad.
The capture comes as global oil markets remain volatile. OPEC+ announced it would maintain steady oil output despite the political upheaval, following a steep 18% decline in prices last year. Members Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UAE, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria, and Oman had raised output by nearly 3% of global demand in 2025 but paused further increases for early 2026. Venezuela’s situation was not discussed in the meeting.
Experts caution that Trump’s plan to oversee Venezuela, including potential military presence and oil operations, could mirror past prolonged interventions like Iraq and Afghanistan. Questions remain over the practicalities of US administration in a country with entrenched political factions and ongoing economic turmoil.
