First visuals released by US authorities show Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in handcuffs, flanked by armed personnel, walking through a corridor inside the US Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters in New York City, hours after he was captured in a dramatic US military operation and flown out of Venezuela along with his wife, Cilia Flores.
White House released visuals after Maduro and Flores were captured and brought to New York following what US officials described as a swift, highly coordinated operation that unfolded early Saturday and ended Maduro’s rule within hours.
Both are held in federal custody and face criminal charges linked to a long-standing US Justice Department indictment accusing them of involvement in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.
A Reuters report said the operation, named Operation Absolute Resolve, had been planned and rehearsed for months. Once launched, it was completed in under 30 minutes.
US forces carried out air raids on multiple targets in and around Venezuela’s capital Caracas before detaining Maduro and his wife and flying them out of the country. At least 40 people were killed during the airstrikes in Caracas, a Venezuelan official told The New York Times.
Speaking after the capture, US President Donald Trump said the United States would run Venezuela “at least temporarily” until a transition could be put in place. “We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition,” Trump said at a press conference, adding that Washington would tap Venezuela’s vast oil reserves and sell “large amounts” to other countries.
Maduro and his wife, seized overnight from their home on a military base, were first taken aboard a US warship on their way to face prosecution for a Justice Department indictment accusing them of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.
A plane carrying the deposed leader landed around 4:30 pm (EST) on Saturday at an airport in New York City's northern suburbs.
Maduro was escorted off the jet, gingerly making his way down a stairway before being led across the tarmac surrounded by federal agents. Several agents filmed him on their phones as he walked.
He was then flown by helicopter to Manhattan, where a convoy of law enforcement vehicles, including an armored car, was waiting to whisk him to a nearby US Drug Enforcement Administration office.
A video posted on social media by a White House account showed Maduro, smiling, as he was escorted through that office by two DEA agents grasping his arms. He was expected to be detained while awaiting trial at a federal jail in Brooklyn.
Maria Corina Machado, the US‑backed opposition leader and last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, posted on social media that “the hour of freedom has arrived” and called for the opposition’s 2024 election candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, to “immediately” assume the presidency.
However, Trump quickly dismissed any expectations that Machado could become Venezuela’s new leader, saying she did not have “support or respect” inside the country.
Instead, he publicly praised Vice President Delcy Rodríguez , appointed acting president by Venezuela’s Supreme Court saying “she’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.”
The Venezuelan Supreme Court said it would debate the legal framework required to guarantee the continuity of the state, governance and national defence in light of the “forced absence” of the president.
The US military action has triggered widespread international reaction.
The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to meet on Monday at the request of Colombia, backed by Russia and China, to discuss the situation. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern that the US move sets a “dangerous precedent”.
The Security Council had already met twice in recent months over escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas.
Protests were reported both inside and outside the United States following the operation. NBC News reported that demonstrators holding placards reading “No war on Venezuela” gathered outside the Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, where Maduro’s aircraft landed.
In Washington, the developments have sparked sharp political debate.
AP reported that House Democrats are set to hold an emergency caucus meeting to discuss the implications of the operation.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris criticised the move, saying it did not make the United States safer or stronger and warning that regime-change wars often end in chaos. In a post on X, she accused the Trump administration of acting without clear legal authority or an exit plan.
Meanwhile, senior US officials defended the operation, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio hinting that a further action could follow elsewhere in the region, saying Cuban officials would have “reason to be concerned” after Maduro’s capture.
Legal experts cited by Reuters said the case against Maduro is likely to raise complex constitutional and international law questions, given that a sitting foreign head of state has been seized and transferred to US custody.
Top criminal defence lawyers are already seeking to represent Maduro in what is expected to be a high-stakes trial in Manhattan federal court.
The US Embassy has reiterated its Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory for Venezuela, warning that the security situation remains fluid and that no commercial flights are operating in or out of the country. Consular services remain unavailable, the embassy said.
