Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife have arrived in New York after U.S. forces seized them from their Caracas compound in an extraordinary military operation.<\/a><\/p>\n Video shared Saturday night by the White House showed Maduro entering the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he will be held before his first court appearance \u2013 which could be as early as Monday.<\/p>\n In the video, Maduro is seen in a black hoodie, walking down a hallway with a blue carpet labeled \u201cDEA NYD\u201d and wishing an onlooker a \u201cHappy New Year.\u201d<\/p>\n President Donald Trump has claimed the U.S. will \u201crun\u201d Venezuela<\/a> now that Maduro has been captured, and earlier shared a photograph of Maduro in handcuffs<\/a> en route to New York, where he has been indicted with several offenses<\/a> including Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy.<\/p>\n The president offered few details on who exactly would be in charge in Venezuela when pressed by reporters.<\/p>\n More than 150 aircraft, including fighter jets, helicopters and bombers, were involved in the attack on Caracas after Trump gave the order Friday night. Democrats have accused the president of launching the sweeping military action because of oil, not drugs.<\/p>\n With reporting from Rosali Hernandez in Caracas<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a>UK government ‘not clear’ on Trumps plans for Venezuela<\/p>\n The UK Government is \u201cnot entirely clear\u201d on what Donald Trump meant when he said the US would run Venezuela, Darren Jones said.<\/p>\n It was put to the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that the action sounded like colonialism. Asked whether Britain is in favour of colonialism, he told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News: \u201cWe\u2019re not in favour of colonialism and we\u2019re not entirely clear yet what President Trump meant by those comments.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cIt\u2019s for the Americans now and for Venezuela to set out what happens in the coming days.\u201d<\/p>\n It is not for a \u201cthird country\u201d to decide the future of Venezuela\u2019s government, Mr Jones said.<\/p>\n He also declined to say whether US action broke international law, insisting the matter is for \u201cinternational courts\u201d.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cIt\u2019s for the Americans to set out the legal basis for their operations.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think the Americans have done that yet. I\u2019m sure they will do in due course.\u201d<\/p>\n Athena Stavrou4 January 2026 10:18<\/p>\n <\/a>‘We learned everything about him’: Inside the meticulously planned operation to capture Maduro<\/p>\n US general Dan Caine has detailed how the military spent months learning everything about Maduro to ensure his successful capture.<\/p>\n The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said US forces rehearsed Operation “Absolute Resolve\u201d for months.<\/p>\n He said they learnt everything about Maduro \u2014 where he was and what he ate, as well as details of his pets and his clothes.<\/p>\n Caine said the mission was “meticulously planned” and was “the culmination of months of planning and rehearsals.”<\/p>\n “We think we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again, not to get it right, but to ensure that we cannot get it wrong. Our jobs are to integrate combat power so when the order comes, we can deliver overwhelming force at the time and the place of our choosing against any foe anywhere in the world,” he said.<\/p>\n Athena Stavrou4 January 2026 10:02<\/p>\n <\/a>How have Venezuelans responded to Maduro’s capture<\/p>\n In the hours after Maduro\u2019s capture, some people took to the streets to protest the US operation, while others celebrated it. <\/p>\n At a protest in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, Mayor Carmen Mel\u00efndez joined a crowd demanding Maduro’s return.<\/p>\n “Maduro, hold on, the people are rising up!” the crowd chanted. “We are here, Nicolas Maduro. If you can hear us, we are here!”<\/p>\n In other parts of the city, the streets were empty hours after the attack.<\/p>\n “How do I feel? Scared, like everyone,” said Caracas resident Noris Prada, who sat on an empty avenue looking at his phone. “Venezuelans woke up scared. Many families couldn’t sleep.”<\/p>\n In Doral, Florida, home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States, people wrapped themselves in Venezuelan flags, ate fried snacks and cheered as music played. At one point, the crowd chanted “Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!\u201d<\/p>\n Similar scenes were seen in other countries including Colombia and Argentina.<\/p>\n Athena Stavrou4 January 2026 09:40<\/p>\n <\/a>‘Captured’ Maduro walks DEA hallway: Official White House account releases video’Captured’ Maduro walks DEA hallway: Official White House account releases video<\/p>\n Athena Stavrou4 January 2026 09:27<\/p>\n <\/a>Close ally of Starmer refuses to say if he thinks Trump’s capture of Maduro was legal<\/p>\n The Independent\u2019s Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:<\/p>\n Darren Jones, the cabinet office minister and a close ally of Starmer, has refused to say if he thinks Trump’s capture of Maduro was legal.<\/p>\n He told Sky News it was \u201cfor international courts to make judgements on international law\u201d and it was \u201cfor the Americans\u201d to set out the legal basis for their action.<\/p>\n He also said it was important that the Venezuelan people decide their next President. <\/p>\n Athena Stavrou4 January 2026 08:56<\/p>\n <\/a>UN to discuss US operation on Monday<\/p>\n In New York, the UN Security Council, acting on an emergency request from Colombia, is planning to hold a meeting on US operations in Venezuela on Monday morning.<\/p>\n That was according to a council diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the meeting which has not yet been made public.<\/p>\n It comes amid mass criticism of the operation from around the world.<\/p>\n Athena Stavrou4 January 2026 08:41<\/p>\n <\/a>How the capture of Nicolas Maduro will upend the global order<\/p>\n The flagrant actions of the United States will incentivise power grabs by autocrats the world over \u2013 and Cuba may be the next country to be transformed by America\u2019s exploding sphere of influence, says Mary Dejevsky:<\/p>\n Athena Stavrou4 January 2026 08:26<\/p>\n <\/a>US oil companies to ‘spend billions’ in Venezuela<\/p>\n There have been vast amounts of speculation that oil was a key factor in Donald Trump\u2019s military intervention in Venezuela.<\/p>\n The South American country has the world’s largest estimated oil reserves.<\/p>\n Speaking on Saturday, the US president said: \u201cWe’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country.\u201d<\/p>\n Athena Stavrou4 January 2026 07:46<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/6e4f6b298c05439f95781eba92ae5370.jpg\")
(AP)<\/p>\n![\"Helicopters](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Helicopters-fly-past-plumes-of-smoke-rising-from-explosions-in-Caracas-Venezuela.jpeg\")
Helicopters fly past plumes of smoke rising from explosions, in Caracas, Venezuela (via REUTERS)<\/p>\n![\"At](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEI279532392.jpeg\")
At a protest in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, Mayor Carmen Mel\u00efndez joined a crowd demanding Maduro’s return. (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Venezuelans](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEI279577371.jpeg\")
Venezuelans living in Argentina celebrate at the Obelisk in Buenos Aires on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/6671d8f9877c3ababb994786c2580938Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzYxMTI2NDAz-2.81493703.jpg\")
(PA Wire)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Protest-against-U-S--military-action-in-Venezuela-in-Washington-b6uz2dm4.jpeg\")
(Reuters)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/APTOPIX-Venezuela-Oil-8v133tu3.jpeg\")
(AP)<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEI279566613.jpg\")
(X account of Rapid Response 47\/A)<\/p>\n![\"Venezuela's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/FILES-VENEZUELA-US-CONFLICT-CRISIS-e0bs4lui.jpeg\")
Venezuela’s vice president Delcy Rodriguez speaks during a meeting with the Diplomatic Corps, in Caracas (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n