HAVANA: The capture by US forces of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and the killing in the operation of 32 Cubans assigned to protect him represent a major blow for the island&#39;s revered intelligence services, experts say.&nbsp;Fearful of betrayal by dissenters within Venezuela&#39;s ranks, the leftist Maduro, like his late mentor Hugo Chavez sourced his security detail in communist-ruled Cuba.&nbsp;But the Cubans proved little match for the US special forces sent by helicopter to snatch Maduro from a military compound after US jets had pummeled Venezuela&#39;s air defenses.&nbsp;Of the 32 Cubans killed, along with 23 Venezuelan troops, 21 were from the Cuban interior ministry, which oversees the intelligence services, officials said.&nbsp;The remaining 11 were from Cuba&#39;s military.&nbsp;Experts consulted by AFP agreed that the key to the seamless execution of the US operation meticulously prepared for months, in complete secrecy was the element of surprise.&nbsp;But former Venezuelan military officer Jose Gustavo Arocha of the Center for a Secure Free Society, a US think tank specializing in defense issues, also suggested that Cuba had misjudged the threat.&nbsp;Cuban intelligence &quot;convinced the Maduro regime and its security agencies that the United States would never attack on Venezuelan territory,&quot; Arocha said.&nbsp;Former US intelligence officer Fulton Armstrong, who is now a Latin America researcher at American University in Washington, also pointed to intelligence failures.&nbsp;Chief among them, he said, was the failure to anticipate the attack and then to detect helicopters entering Venezuela&#39;s airspace.&nbsp;&quot;Even a five- or 10-minute warning would have made a massive difference for the guards and for Maduro,&quot; the former CIA agent said.&nbsp;US forces however, had a major advantage in the form of stealth drones, used to monitor the Venezuelan leader&#39;s movements in real time, as well as more advanced weapons and combat gear.&nbsp;Paul Hare, a former British ambassador to Cuba and Venezuela, argued that Cuban intelligence underestimated US access to &quot;insider cooperation in Venezuela,&quot;&nbsp; an informant within Maduro&#39;s camp.&nbsp;Citing sources close to the operation, The New York Times reported that a CIA source within the Venezuelan government revealed Maduro&#39;s location.&nbsp;The United States had issued a reward of $50 million for information leading to his capture.&nbsp;Aura of invincibility&nbsp;For decades, the Cuban secret service, trained during the Soviet era by the KGB, enjoyed a reputation for invincibility.&nbsp;Besides having foiled some 600 assassination attempts against late leader Fidel Castro, Cuba was reputed for its ability to infiltrate foreign intelligence services and recruit high-ranking informants, particularly Americans.&nbsp;The most recent case to come to light was that of Victor Manuel Rocha, a former US diplomat sentenced in 2024 to 15 years in prison after working for over four decades for the Cuban state.&nbsp;But Cuba &quot;didn&#39;t adequately read the Trump administration,&quot; said Arocha, noting that the administration&#39;s National Security Strategy unveiled in December clearly articulated Trump&#39;s goal of asserting US dominance over Latin America.&nbsp;Washington had regularly denounced Cuba&#39;s role, since the 2000s, in the Venezuelan security apparatus.&nbsp;The routine response from Caracas and Havana was that Cuba, in return for Venezuelan oil supplies, provided its ally with doctors and humanitarian workers.&nbsp;Arocha argued that &quot;so many years... doing the same thing successfully&quot; blinded the Cubans to Trump&#39;s willingness to defy diplomacy and international law, so they did not see him coming.&nbsp;The Republican leader stunned the world by ordering the capture of the Venezuelan president in what his administration said was a law enforcement operation that did not require authorization from Congress.&nbsp;&quot;All the capabilities of Cuban intelligence were blocked for the first time in the region... because their traditional methods became irrelevant against this new decision-making style,&quot; Arocha said.

Americas

US forces captured Nicolas Maduro in a surprise operation that killed Cuban and Venezuelan guards. Experts say Cuban intelligence failed to anticipate the attack, underestimated US intentions, and was outmatched by secrecy, technology, and insider information.

How Cuba was blindsided by the operation to capture Maduro

WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic after pursuing it from off the coast of Venezuela, in an operation set to ratchet up tensions with Moscow. US officials say the tanker is part of a so-called shadow fleet that carries oil for countries such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran in violation of US sanctions. The ship had thwarted an earlier attempt to board it last month near Venezuela, where a US raid on Saturday toppled the country&#39;s authoritarian president, Nicolas Maduro. &quot;The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court,&quot; US European Command, which oversees American forces in the region, said in a statement on X. After the operation, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth posted that the US blockade on Venezuelan oil was in full effect &quot;anywhere in the world.&quot; Shortly after confirming the successful North Atlantic seizure, the US military announced a second sanctioned tanker ship had been seized in the Caribbean Sea. US special forces at the weekend snatched Maduro and his wife from Caracas and flew them to New York to face trial on drug charges. Since then, Trump has said that the United States will &quot;run&quot; Venezuela and US companies will control its critical oil industry. The North Atlantic operation came despite Russia sending a submarine to escort the empty tanker, saying the vessel was sailing under the Russian flag and was far from the US coast. &quot;For reasons unclear to us, the Russian vessel is receiving heightened attention from the US and NATO militaries &mdash; attention that is clearly disproportionate to its peaceful status,&quot; Russia&#39;s foreign ministry said, prior to the seizure. Venezuelan oil The vessel, formerly known as the Bella-1, switched its registration to Russia, changed its name to the Marinera and the tanker&#39;s crew reportedly painted a Russian flag on the tanker. The tanker had been en route to the South American country but was not carrying cargo before it evaded the US blockade. It has been under US sanctions since 2024 over alleged ties to Iran and Hezbollah. Trump said Tuesday that Venezuela will hand over tens of millions of barrels of oil to the United States after Maduro was seized. Trump said 30&ndash;50 million barrels of &quot;high‑quality, sanctioned&quot; Venezuelan crude will be shipped to US ports, with the revenue &mdash; perhaps more than $2 billion at current market prices &mdash;&nbsp;placed under his personal control. It was not clear whether Venezuela&#39;s new ruler &mdash; interim president Delcy Rodriguez &mdash; had agreed to hand over the oil, how the plan would work, or what its legal basis would be. Interim president Rodriguez &mdash; a long-time member of Maduro&#39;s inner circle as vice president and energy minister &mdash; has vowed cooperation with the United States amid fears that Trump could persue wider regime change. Trump has said Washington is now &quot;in charge&quot; of the South American nation and has vowed a new doctrine of US dominance in the western hemisphere.

US officials say the tanker is part of a 'shadow fleet' that carries oil for countries such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran in violation of US sanctions.

US seizes Russia-flagged oil tanker chased to North Atlantic

BERLIN: A group of European leaders on Tuesday underlined their support for Denmark after US President Donald Trump again voiced designs on its autonomous Arctic territory of Greenland. The leaders of France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain as well as Denmark said that sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders were &quot;universal principles, and we will not stop defending them&quot;. Washington&#39;s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears about Trump&#39;s designs on Greenland, which has untapped rare earth deposits and could be a vital player as polar ice melts, opening up new shipping routes. Greenland is on the shortest route for missiles between Russia and the United States, and Washington already has a military base there. With the situation in Venezuela more pressing, Trump quipped on Sunday that &quot;we&#39;ll worry about Greenland in about two months.&quot; The European leaders&#39; joint statement said: &quot;Arctic security remains a key priority for Europe and it is critical for international and transatlantic security. &quot;NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European allies are stepping up. &quot;We and many other allies have increased our presence, activities, and investments to keep the Arctic safe and to deter adversaries.&quot; They stressed that Denmark&mdash;including Greenland&mdash;was part of NATO. &quot;Security in the Arctic must therefore be achieved collectively, in conjunction with NATO allies including the United States, by upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders,&quot; the leaders said. &quot;These are universal principles, and we will not stop defending them.&quot; The statement was signed by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. They added that the US was &quot;an essential partner in this endeavor.&quot; &quot;Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland,&quot; they said. Canadian PM reaffirms supportCanadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also met with the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, according to a Canadian government statement. The leaders met on the margins of the Coalition of the Willing meeting in Paris, France. They affirmed their enduring support for Ukraine against Russian aggression and agreed on the imperative of achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, backed by robust security guarantees. Prime Minister Carney emphasized Canada&rsquo;s support for Denmark&#39;s sovereignty and territorial integrity, including Greenland. He affirmed Canada&rsquo;s support for the joint statement on Greenland by Denmark and European leaders.&nbsp; According to the statement, the future of Greenland is for Greenland and Denmark to determine. Canada will continue to work with Denmark, Greenland, and other partners in our shared responsibility for the security and resilience of the Arctic, it added.

A group of European leaders underlined their support for Denmark after US President Donald Trump again voiced designs on its autonomous Arctic territory of Greenland

European leaders rally behind Denmark after Trump claims on Greenland

Web Desk

Trump tasked ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips with fixing U.S. infrastructure and boosting profits, though they haven't discussed Maduro's ouster with his administration.

Trump eyes US oil giants to run Venezuela after Maduro

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for respect of nations&#39; political independence following a US military operation in Venezuela that Washington defended as a police action against Caracas&#39;s &quot;fugitive&quot; leader.&nbsp;US forces&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/explosions-heard-in-venezuelas-capital-afp-journalist" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">seized Nicolas Maduro and his wife</a>&nbsp;over the weekend, ending 12 years of increasingly authoritarian rule by the left-wing leader, whom Washington accused of running a cartel and targeted with a $50 million bounty.&nbsp;Guterres urges &quot;respect for the principles of sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of states,&quot; according to remarks read on his behalf by Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo during an emergency UN Security Council meeting on the crisis.&nbsp;&quot;I am deeply concerned about the possible intensification (of) instability in the country, the potential impact on the region, and the precedent it may set for how relations between and among states are conducted,&quot; the UN chief&#39;s remarks said.&nbsp;Colombia &mdash; a new member of the Security Council that formally requested the meeting, and whose leader, Gustavo Petro, has clashed with Donald Trump &mdash; also expressed concerns about US intentions.&nbsp;The UN Charter permits &quot;the use of force only under exceptional circumstances &mdash; in legitimate defense, in the face of an armed attack or when there is an express authorization by this Council,&quot; said Colombian ambassador Leonor Zalabata Torres.&nbsp;Even then, &quot;this does not amount to assuming political control of another state,&quot; she added.&nbsp;&#39;Era of lawlessness&#39;US Ambassador Mike Waltz defended what he described as a &quot;surgical law enforcement operation facilitated by the US military against two indicted fugitives of American justice, narco-terrorist Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores,&quot; his wife.&nbsp;&quot;As Secretary (of State Marco) Rubio has said, there is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying a country,&quot; Waltz said.&nbsp;He added, nonetheless, that &quot;you cannot continue to have the largest energy reserves in the world under the control of adversaries of the United States.&quot;&nbsp;US ally Britain called during the meeting for a &quot;safe and peaceful transition to a legitimate government,&quot; with its acting UN representative, James Kariuki, saying Venezuelans &quot;deserve a government which reflects their vote at the ballot box.&quot;&nbsp;Some Security Council members criticized Washington&#39;s actions, including Venezuelan allies&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/china-calls-on-us-to-immediately-release-venezuelas-maduro" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Russia and China</a>, which demanded Maduro&#39;s release.&nbsp;Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia slammed the US operation that seized Maduro as a &quot;harbinger of a turn back to the era of lawlessness and US domination by force.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;We hope that you will abandon double standards and that you will not attempt to justify such an egregious act of aggression,&quot; Nebenzia said.&nbsp;Venezuela&#39;s representative, Samuel Moncada, requested the Security Council&#39;s support in demanding that the United States &quot;fully respect the immunities of President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.&quot;&nbsp;Maduro and his wife both appeared at a New York court on Monday, entering pleas of not guilty.

Some Security Council members, including Venezuelan allies Russia and China, demand Maduro's release.

UN chief urges 'respect' for sovereignty at Venezuela emergency meeting

NEW YORK: Deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro pleaded not guilty to charges of narco-terrorism in a New York court on Monday, two days after being snatched by US forces in a stunning raid on his home in Caracas. Maduro, 63, told a federal judge in Manhattan that he had been &quot;kidnapped&quot; from Venezuela and said &quot;I&#39;m innocent, I&#39;m not guilty,&quot; US media reported. &quot;I&#39;m still the president of my country,&quot; he was quoted as saying. Maduro&#39;s wife Cilia Flores likewise pleaded not guilty. The pair were snatched by US commandos in the early hours of Saturday in an assault backed by warplanes and a heavy naval deployment. In a series of shock announcements over the weekend, President Donald Trump declared that the United States is now running Venezuela with an eye to rebuilding and controling its huge but decrepit oil industry. Amid international alarm, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told&nbsp;an emergency UN Security Council meeting that there should be &quot;respect for the principles of sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity.&quot; There was sharp criticism Monday from Mexico, where President Claudia Sheinbaum said the Americas &quot;do not belong&quot; to anyone. Colombian President Gustavo Petro issued a fiery statement saying that as a former guerrilla fighter he was ready to &quot;take up arms&quot; against Trump. Maduro became president in 2013, taking over from his equally hardline socialist predecessor Hugo Chavez. The United States and European Union say he stayed in power by rigging elections and imprisoning opponents, while overseeing rampant corruption. The end to a quarter century of leftist rule leaves Venezuela&#39;s approximately 30 million people facing uncertainty. Some 2,000 Maduro supporters, including rifle-wielding men on motorcycles, rallied Sunday in Caracas, waving Venezuelan flags. On Monday, deputies in the Venezuelan parliament shouted &quot;let&#39;s go Nico!&quot; in support for the ousted leader. For now, though, the Trump administration is indicating it wants continuity with the remainder of Maduro&#39;s entourage&mdash;provided they submit to US demands. Interim president Delcy Rodriguez, who was Maduro&#39;s vice president, dropped an initially defiant posture on Sunday, saying she was ready for &quot;cooperation.&quot; Trump has made clear there is no appetite for helping opposition candidates previously seen as the rightful winners of rigged elections to take power. &#39;Need access to oil&#39;When asked what he needs from interim leader Rodriguez, Trump said: &quot;We need total access. We need access to the oil and other things in their country that allow us to rebuild their country.&quot; Venezuela has the world&#39;s largest proven oil reserves. However the oil is difficult and expensive to produce and after years of international sanctions and mismanagement, the infrastructure is in poor shape. Shares in US oil majors Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips shares surged on Wall Street early Monday. Trump, who has shocked many Americans with his unprecedented moves to accumulate domestic power, also now appears increasingly emboldened in foreign policy. On Sunday, he said communist Cuba was &quot;ready to fall&quot; and he repeated that Greenland, which is part of US ally Denmark, should be controlled by the United States. He has lashed out at Colombia&#39;s Petro, saying he should &quot;watch his ass.&quot; Although there are no known US troops in Venezuela now, the Trump administration says it retains powerful economic leverage through an oil blockade. Trump has also threatened additional military attacks. A huge US naval presence, including an aircraft carrier, is deployed in the Caribbean. Details of the US operation in Caracas were still emerging Monday, with Havana saying 32 Cubans were killed in the attack. No US service members were killed but some were wounded, according to US officials. Protesting outside the New York court, leftist activist Sydney Loving, 31, said she stood &quot;with the people of Venezuela.&quot; &quot;We say no to US wars. We say no to US intervention. It&#39;s not in our benefit. It does not make the US safer, it makes it makes the people on Wall Street richer,&quot; she told AFP. However, Angel Montero, who moved to the United States from Venezuela, described the downfall of Maduro as &quot;the best gift I ever received.&quot; &quot;I&#39;m going to thank Donald Trump,&quot; Montero, 36, said.&nbsp;

Deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro pleaded not guilty to charges of narco-terrorism in a New York court, two days after being snatched by US forces in a stunning raid on his home in Caracas

Deposed Venezuelan leader pleads not guilty in US court

ISLAMABAD: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States (US) was not at war with Venezuela but was prepared to use sustained pressure, and limited force, to protect US national interests, prevent rival powers from controlling Venezuelan oil, and dismantle drug trafficking networks tied to the former government.&nbsp;Speaking on NBC&rsquo;s Meet the Press, Rubio described recent US actions as law enforcement operations rather than a military conflict.&nbsp;&ldquo;There&rsquo;s not a war. We are at war against drug trafficking organizations and not a war against Venezuela,&rdquo; Rubio said. &ldquo;We are enforcing American laws regarding oil sanctions.&rdquo;&nbsp;Rubio said Nicol&aacute;s Maduro, whom he labeled &ldquo;the leader of that cartel,&rdquo; was in US custody and facing prosecution in the Southern District of New York.&nbsp;He confirmed that US forces briefly entered Venezuela to carry out the operation.&nbsp;&ldquo;They were on the ground for two hours when they went to capture Maduro,&rdquo; Rubio said, adding that no Americans were killed.&nbsp;He rejected claims that Washington was now governing Venezuela but said the United States intended to shape outcomes in line with its security interests.&nbsp;&ldquo;We expect to see changes of all kinds, long-term and short-term, especially those in the interest of the United States,&rdquo; Rubio said. &ldquo;We intend to use every element of leverage to ensure that changes.&rdquo;&nbsp;Rubio described US policy as a coordinated effort involving the White House, the National Security Adviser, the Department of War, and the Department of Justice.&nbsp;&ldquo;This is a team effort to see changes that are beneficial to the United States first and foremost,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;He said elections were not an immediate priority and warned that US pressure would continue.&nbsp;&ldquo;To talk about elections is premature at this point,&rdquo; Rubio said. &ldquo;Until they are addressed, they will continue to face the oil quarantine and pressure from the United States.&rdquo;&nbsp;Rubio repeatedly emphasized Venezuela&rsquo;s oil reserves and warned against foreign control.&nbsp;&ldquo;You cannot have the largest oil reserves in the world controlled by adversaries and stolen by oligarchy,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t need Venezuela&rsquo;s oil, we have plenty, but we will not allow it to be controlled by competitors and rivals in the Western Hemisphere.&rdquo;&nbsp;He also raised concerns about Cuba, saying Havana had deeply embedded itself in Venezuela&rsquo;s security apparatus.&nbsp;&ldquo;His internal security apparatus is entirely controlled by Cubans,&rdquo; Rubio said. &ldquo;They are the ones who guarded him and spied on everyone inside.&rdquo;&nbsp;President Donald Trump reinforced the administration&rsquo;s hard line, warning Venezuela&rsquo;s interim leader Delcy Rodriguez that she would face severe consequences if she failed to cooperate with Washington.&nbsp;&ldquo;If she doesn&rsquo;t do what&rsquo;s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,&rdquo; Trump said in a telephone interview.&nbsp;Trump spoke after US forces carried out overnight strikes on military targets in Caracas and removed Maduro and his wife to face federal narcotrafficking charges in New York.&nbsp;He said the administration was willing to work with remaining Venezuelan officials if US goals were met, including opening access to American investment in the country&rsquo;s oil sector.&nbsp;Rodriguez was confirmed as interim president by Venezuela&rsquo;s Supreme Court and military officials following the raid. She struck a defiant tone, saying Maduro was the country&rsquo;s only legitimate leader and that Venezuela was ready &ldquo;to defend our natural resources.&rdquo;&nbsp;Trump, who had long criticized US nation-building abroad, said the situation justified a more direct role.&nbsp;&ldquo;Rebuilding there and regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a totally failed country.&rdquo;&nbsp;Rubio said the alternative would have been leaving a hostile criminal network in power.&nbsp;&ldquo;The alternative was to leave an illegitimate drug trafficker in place using nation-state power to facilitate drug trafficking into the United States,&rdquo; he said.

Says the US targets drug networks, detains Maduro, pressures Venezuela, blocks rivals from its oil, and warns Cuba and interim leaders against defiance.

Rubio signals tougher Venezuela policy, warns rivals over oil control

BEIJING: China called on the United States on Sunday to immediately release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro after Washington carried out a strike on Caracas and captured the leader. &quot;China calls on the US to ensure the personal safety of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, release them at once, stop toppling the government of Venezuela,&quot; the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement, calling the strike a &quot;clear violation of international law&quot;. Russia condemns Russia&#39;s Foreign Ministry also issued a statement concerning developments around Venezuela. &quot;In view of the confirmed reports about Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his spouse being in the United States, we strongly urge the US leadership to reconsider their position and release the legitimately elected president of a sovereign country and his spouse,&quot; it said. &quot;We highlight the need to create conditions for resolving any existing issues between the United States and Venezuela through dialogue.&quot;

'China calls on the US to ensure the personal safety of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, release them at once, stop toppling the government of Venezuela,' the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement, calling the strike a 'clear violation of international law'; Russia condemned the US intervention,saying it 'strongly urge[s] the US leadership to reconsider their position and release the legitimately elected president of a sovereign country and his spouse.'

China, Russia call on US to 'immediately release' Venezuela's Maduro

PALM BEACH: President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States will &quot;run&quot; Venezuela and tap its huge oil reserves after snatching leftist leader Nicolas Maduro out of the country during a bombing raid on Caracas. Trump&#39;s announcement came hours after a lightning attack in which special forces grabbed Maduro and his wife, while air strikes pounded sites in and around the capital city. <p style="color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 2;" id="isPasted">A US government plane carrying Maduro landed at a military base shortly after nightfall, and he was transported by helicopter to New York City, where the couple were to be arraigned on drug trafficking and weapons charges.<p style="color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 2;"> <p style="color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 2;">The White House posted a video on X of Maduro, handcuffed and in sandals, escorted by federal agents through a US Drug Enforcement Administration facility in New York.<p style="color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 2;"> <p style="color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 2;">&quot;Good night, happy new year,&quot; the 63-year-old leftist is heard saying in English. &#39;Not afraid of boots on the ground&#39;Despite the success of the risky operation, what happens next is highly uncertain. Trump said he was &quot;designating people&quot; from his cabinet to be in charge in Venezuela, but gave no details of how this would work. In another surprise, Trump indicated US troops could be deployed there in the future, saying Washington is &quot;not afraid of boots on the ground.&quot; But he appeared to reject the possibility of the country&#39;s repressed opposition taking power and said he could work instead with Maduro&#39;s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez. One aspect that became clearer was the White House&#39;s motivation, with Trump indicating regime change and Venezuela&#39;s oil riches were the major goals. &quot;We&#39;re going to have our very large United States oil companies ... spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure,&quot; he said. &quot;We&#39;ll be selling large amounts of oil.&quot; At Venezuela&#39;s request, the UN Security Council will meet on Monday to discuss the US operation to seize Maduro, the Somali presidency of the Council told AFP. Trump dismisses opposition leader&nbsp;US-backed opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, posted on social media that &quot;the hour of freedom has arrived.&quot; She called for the opposition&#39;s 2024 election candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, to &quot;immediately&quot; assume the presidency. But Trump was surprisingly cold on the prospect that Machado could become Venezuela&#39;s new leader, saying she doesn&#39;t have &quot;support or respect&quot; there. Instead, he touted Rodriguez, saying &quot;she&#39;s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.&quot; Rodriguez, however, poured cold water on that, demanding Maduro&#39;s release and vowing to &quot;defend&quot; the country. Supreme Court&#39;s order Venezuela&#39;s Supreme Court late Saturday ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to become the country&#39;s interim leader, after the United States seized President Nicolas Maduro and whisked him out of the country. The high court ruled that Rodriguez &quot;assume and exercise, in an acting capacity, all the attributes, duties and powers inherent to the office of President...to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the nation.&quot; The judges stopped short of declaring Maduro permanently absent from office, a ruling that requires holding elections within 30 days. Reflecting the confusion, Trump indicated that US involvement is likely to be long-term. &quot;We&#39;re there now, but we&#39;re going to stay until such time as the proper transition can take place,&quot; he said. China, a backer of Maduro&#39;s leftist regime, said it &quot;strongly condemns&quot; the US operation, while France warned a solution cannot &quot;be imposed from outside.&quot; United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was &quot;deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected.&quot; Blackout and bombing&nbsp;Venezuelans had been bracing for attacks as US forces spent months massing off the coast. Caracas residents woke to explosions and the whir of military helicopters around 2 am (0600 GMT). Air strikes hit a major military base and an airbase, among other sites, for nearly an hour, AFP journalists said. The top US military officer, General Dan Caine, said 150 aircraft took part in the operation, supporting troops helicoptering in to seize Maduro with the help of months of intelligence into the leader&#39;s daily habits &mdash; down to &quot;what he ate&quot; and what pets he kept. Maduro, 63, and his wife &quot;gave up&quot; without a struggle, and there was &quot;no loss of US life,&quot; he said. Several hours after the attacks, Venezuelan authorities had yet to release casualty figures. But Trump told a US media outlet that &quot;many&quot; Cubans who were part of Maduro&#39;s security detail were among the dead. Within hours of the operation, Caracas had fallen eerily quiet, with police stationed outside public buildings and a smell of smoke drifting through the streets. Shifting justifications&nbsp;The US and numerous European governments did not recognize Maduro&#39;s legitimacy, saying he stole elections in 2018 and 2024. Maduro &mdash; in power since 2013 after taking over from leftist mentor Hugo Chavez &mdash; long accused Trump of seeking regime change to control Venezuela&#39;s oil reserves. Trump has offered several justifications for the aggressive policy toward Venezuela, at times stressing illegal migration, narcotics trafficking, and the country&#39;s oil industry. But he had previously avoided openly calling for regime change. Several members of Congress quickly questioned the legality of the operation. However, Trump&#39;s key ally, Mike Johnson, the &nbsp;Republican speaker in the House of Representatives, said it was &quot;justified.&quot;

President Donald Trump says the US military caused a blackout in Caracas to carry out an operation capturing Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

Maduro now in New York jail as Trump says US to 'run' Venezuela

WASHINGTON: A throwaway remark last week by President Donald Trump has raised questions about whether US forces may have carried their first land strike against drug cartels in Venezuela.&nbsp;Trump said the US knocked out a &quot;big facility&quot; for producing trafficking boats, as he was discussing his pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in an interview broadcast Friday.&nbsp;&quot;They have a big plant or a big facility where they send, you know, where the ships come from,&quot; Trump said in an interview with billionaire supporter John Catsimatidis on the WABC radio station in New York.&nbsp;&quot;Two nights ago we knocked that out. So we hit them very hard.&quot;&nbsp;Trump did not say where the facility was located or give any other details. US forces have carried out numerous strikes in both the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September, killing more than 100 people.&nbsp;The Pentagon referred questions about Trump&#39;s remarks to the White House. The White House did not respond to requests for comment from AFP.&nbsp;There has been no official comment from the Venezuelan government.&nbsp;Trump has been saying for weeks that the United States will &quot;soon&quot; start carrying out land strikes targeting drug cartels in Latin America, but there have been no confirmed attacks to date.&nbsp;The Trump administration has been ramping up pressure on Maduro, accusing the Venezuelan leader of running a drug cartel himself and imposing an oil tanker blockade.&nbsp;Maduro has accused Washington of attempting regime change.

Trump claimed the US destroyed a major drug-boat production facility, sparking speculation of the first land strike in Venezuela, though no details or confirmations followed, as Washington intensifies pressure on President Nicolas Maduro and sanctions.

Articles tagged with "Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro"