The Trump administration launched a major military attack on Venezuela, bombing facilities and capturing leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. will temporarily “run” Venezuela and work to tap the country’s massive oil reserves. He didn’t provide more detail about how the U.S. would control Venezuela, saying a group of officials would be named to oversee it.
The ousted Venezuelan president arrived in New York on Saturday afternoon and will appear in court on Monday. He and his wife are charged in the U.S. with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and weapons offenses. Maduro is expected to be held in a federal jail in Brooklyn.
U.S. is at war 'against drug trafficking,' not Venezuela, Rubio says
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News’ “Meet the Press that the goal of the U.S. military operation that led to Maduro’s capture was primarily to halt drug trafficking into the U.S. and that holding elections in Venezuela would be “premature at this point.”
Rubio said that “there’s not a war” between the U.S. and Venezuela. “I mean, we are at war against drug trafficking organizations, not a war against Venezuela,” he added.
Rubio also reiterated a warning to Cuba, telling moderator Kristen Welker that he thinks “they’re in a lot of trouble.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pushed back on the secretary of state’s remarks later in the program, denying Rubio’s assertion that the attack wasn’t an act of war.
Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., slammed the operation, saying that it was part of “the same Washington playbook that we are so sick and tired of that doesn’t serve the American people.”
Inside the capture
Trump gave the Venezuelan leader one last chance to step down in a private phone call a week ago. But Maduro’s defiance set in motion the final phase of a secret and risky plan to evict him by force.
By that point, an armada of U.S. warships was floating off Venezuela’s shores. A CIA team had crept into the country, tracking Maduro’s movements and habits: where he slept, what he ate, where he traveled.
Elite troops trained for months, going so far as to use a replica of the presidential compound based on intelligence that the U.S. had gathered, Trump said. They trained with what Trump called “massive blowtorches” in case they had to cut through steel walls in Maduro’s safe room.
Here’s what else we know about “Operation Absolute Resolve.”
More Venezuela news:
- Analysis: Trump’s use of the U.S. military to oust Maduro and his threats of potentially similar operations elsewhere are a dramatic shift from his past “America First” rhetoric, NBC News’ Dan De Luce and Peter Nicholas write, underscoring the president’s pursuit of a more interventionist foreign policy in his second term.
- Trump issues threat: The president laid out a stark warning to Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s interim leader, telling The Atlantic that “if she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.”
- Bipartisan pushback: Trump is facing questions from Capitol Hill about the legality and the wisdom of the attack, with critics fearing it could drag the U.S. into another costly war with no end in sight.
- International reaction: U.S. allies and adversaries alike fear Maduro’s capture sets a precedent for more American intervention.
Notable quote
My heart is racing — this is the biggest miracle that has happened in my lifetime.
Rossaly Nava, 43, A Venezuela native living in Cincinnati
The news of Maduro’s capture sparked spontaneous celebration among Venezuelans in the U.S. Crowds came out in the middle of the night to wave flags, dance, sing and cry. But amid the relief, there were also questions and concerns about what happens next.
Politics in brief
- Delayed, not denied: The Supreme Court has put off direct conflict with Trump, but history suggests that will soon change.
- An unpopular choice: Stephen Schwartz, composer of the hit musical “Wicked,” is no longer hosting a gala at the Kennedy Center this year following the Trump administration’s takeover of the performing arts venue.
Influencers descend on day cares across the U.S. after Minnesota fraud claims
A social media frenzy that began in Minnesota over allegations of day care fraud has rippled across the nation over the past week, as conservative journalists and right-wing influencers embrace the idea that they should investigate state-subsidized child care centers.
Videos from Ohio to Washington show influencers standing outside child care facilities as they try to interview employees and express suspicion over whether the centers are legitimate businesses. Like Minnesota, both states also have significant Somali populations.
The videos have sparked a national debate about the tactics. Some Republicans praise the conservative creators for spotting potential red flags, while some Democrats and immigrant advocates warn of harassment.
Alaska's court system built an AI chatbot. It didn't go smoothly.
Dealing with a loved one’s belongings after their death is never easy. But as Alaska’s state courts have discovered, an inaccurate or misleading artificial intelligence chatbot can easily make matters worse.
For more than a year, Alaska’s court system has been designing a pioneering generative AI chatbot termed the Alaska Virtual Assistant (AVA) to help residents navigate the tangled web of forms and procedures involved in probate, the judicial process of transferring property away from a deceased person.
Yet what was meant to be a quick, AI-powered leap forward in increasing access to justice has spiraled into a protracted, yearlong journey plagued by false starts and false answers.
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