In a dramatic operation that stunned governments and observers worldwide, US forces arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas and flew them to New York to face criminal charges. The move immediately escalated tensions across the region and raised serious questions about US intervention abroad.
Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday, President Donald Trump said the United States would temporarily assume control of Venezuela while a transition is arranged.
“We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said. “We can’t take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela who doesn’t have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind.”
US Takes Control as Questions Mount
Trump said the interim administration of Venezuela would involve senior US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine. However, he offered few specifics about how the plan would work or how long US oversight would last.
At one point, Trump claimed Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, had been sworn in as Maduro’s successor and was willing to cooperate with Washington. Venezuelan authorities have not confirmed that any such swearing-in took place.
The announcement marked a sharp escalation after months of speculation over whether the US would take direct military action against Venezuela. Trump made clear that further force was not off the table.
“We’re not afraid of boots on the ground,” he said, adding that US oil companies would be brought in to repair Venezuela’s damaged energy infrastructure. “We are ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to.”
Legal Justification and Congressional Fallout
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the operation as a law enforcement action rather than a military invasion, arguing that Congressional approval was not required.
“This was not the kind of mission that you can do Congressional notification on,” Rubio said, noting that Maduro was indicted in the United States in 2020 and was considered a fugitive. He added that Maduro carried a $50 million US reward, joking that the arrest saved American taxpayers money.
Trump suggested Congress had not been informed in advance because of fears that details of the operation could leak.
Democrats in Washington swiftly criticized the move. Senator Mark Warner, vice chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, warned the arrest set a dangerous precedent.
“If the United States claims the right to use military force to abduct foreign leaders it accuses of crimes, what stops China from doing the same in Taiwan or Russia doing it in Ukraine?” Warner said. “Once this line is crossed, the rules that restrain global chaos begin to collapse.”
Warner also accused the administration of hypocrisy, pointing to Trump’s past pardon of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been convicted in a US court on drug trafficking charges.
Uncertain Future for Venezuela and the Region
Republicans largely rallied behind the president. Senator Roger Wicker, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, praised Trump for what he called a successful mission and said the arrest marked the culmination of efforts to dismantle “narco-terrorist organizations” linked to Maduro.
“The Venezuelan people must now act swiftly to put their country back on a path to peace and prosperity,” Wicker said.
Policy experts warn the consequences could be unpredictable. Daniel DePetris of the Defense Priorities think tank said the operation could trigger instability rather than reform.
“A split in the Venezuelan military, the expansion of criminal groups, civil war, or the rise of an even worse autocrat are all possible,” he said. “None of these outcomes would be good for regional stability or US interests.”
DePetris also questioned the shifting rationale behind Washington’s pressure campaign, which has alternated between fighting drug trafficking, reclaiming oil assets, and promoting democracy.
“Venezuela is being treated as a major security threat,” he said, “but in reality it is a bankrupt state whose economy has collapsed over the past decade.”
As the world watches closely, the arrest of Maduro and the US move to oversee Venezuela have opened a volatile new chapter in hemispheric politics—one whose long-term consequences remain deeply uncertain.
