Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro, was brought to New York City on Saturday afternoon to face federal drug charges, hours after the U.S. military seized him and his wife in a swift and overwhelming strike on Caracas, the culmination of a campaign by President Trump and his aides to oust him from power. At least 40 people, including civilians and soldiers, were killed in the attack, according to a senior Venezuelan official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe preliminary reports. More than 150 U.S. aircraft were dispatched to knock out air defenses, so that military helicopters could deliver the Special Operations forces who assaulted Mr. Maduro's compound at 2 a.m. local time, U.S. officials said. The whole operation took two hours and 20 minutes. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01/03/world/trump-united-states-strikes-venezuela Accessed: 3 January 2026 at 1853 MST

Hours after the raid, Mr. Trump said at a news conference the United States would "run the country" until a "safe, proper and judicious transition" of power could be arranged, raising the prospect of an open-ended military commitment. He did not say whether U.S. forces would occupy the country, although he added he was not afraid of "boots on the ground." Maduro's aides appeared to still be in power after the attack. There were no obvious signs of a U.S. military presence in Venezuela on Saturday afternoon, and Venezuela's top officials and state news media projected a message of defiance. Mr. Maduro, a self-described socialist, had led Venezuela since 2013, when the country's previous authoritarian leader, Hugo Chávez, died. The Biden administration accused Mr. Maduro of stealing the election that kept him in power last year. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01/03/world/trump-united-states-strikes-venezuela Accessed: 3 January 2026 at 1853 MST

Mr. Maduro's vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, who was sworn in as interim president at a secret ceremony in Caracas, said in a national address that Washington had invaded her country under false pretenses and that Mr. Maduro was still Venezuela's head of state. "There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros," said Ms. Rodríguez, appearing with her defense minister and other officials,. The main opposition leader, María Corina Machado, posted a statement urging that her political ally, Edmundo González, be recognized as Venezuela's president immediately. Though Mr. Maduro claims he defeated Mr. González in the last election, the United States and other international observers say the election was marred by fraud. "Today we are prepared to enforce our mandate and take power," said Ms. Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01/03/world/trump-united-states-strikes-venezuela Accessed: 3 January 2026 at 1853 MST

Mr. Trump avoided fully embracing either Ms. Rodriguez or Ms. Machado. He said his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, had spoken to Ms. Rodriguez and "she's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again." He also said Machado didn't have the support or respect to lead the country. One thing Mr. Trump made clear was his desire to open up Venezuela's vast state-controlled oil reserves to American oil companies. He spoke at length at the news conference about American oil companies rebuilding the country's energy infrastructure and, presumably, regaining rights they once held to Venezuela's vast oil reserves. "We are going to run the country right, " Mr. Trump said. "It's going to make a lot of money." Past Venezuelan governments, he said, "stole our oil" - an apparent reference to the country's nationalization of its oil industry. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01/03/world/trump-united-states-strikes-venezuela Accessed: 3 January 2026 at 1853 MST