What to know about the U.S. military attack on Venezuela
- Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and brought to the U.S. They will appear in federal court at noon on Monday, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York.
- President Trump said in a Saturday press conference that the U.S. would “run” Venezuela temporarily during the transition, and “get the oil flowing.” He said Sunday the U.S. was “in charge” of Venezuela.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio signaled on Sunday the U.S. doesn’t plan to directly govern Venezuela, but will continue to enforce an “oil quarantine” as part of a plan to influence policy.
- Maduro and his wife landed in New York on Saturday hours after being captured during a U.S. military operation in Caracas. They are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and will face federal charges related to drug trafficking and working with gangs designated as terrorist organizations, which Maduro denies.
- The U.S. Army’s Delta Force, an elite special forces unit, carried out the operation to capture Maduro, officials told CBS News.
- The operation followed months of U.S. military buildup in the region, with the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and numerous other warships positioned in the Caribbean, and a series of deadly strikes on more than 30 boats the administration says were carrying drugs.
Venezuelan opposition leader Gonzalez says U.S. hasn’t gone far enough
Leading Venezuelan opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia said in a video on social media Sunday that the U.S. removal of Maduro was “an important step but not enough.”
“The normalization of the country can only be achieved after the release of all political prisoners,” said Gonzales, who was recognized by the U.S. as the winner of the last election in 2024 despite Maduro’s claim of victory.
“Once the will of the people is respected without ambiguity — which was expressed by the majority of the people on July 28 2024 — only then can a real process of democratic transition can really begin,” he said.
Fellow opposition leader MarĂa Corina Machado released a statement Saturday morning addressing the nation after Maduro’s capture calling for Gonzalez to be recognized as the legitimately elected president of Venezuela and for him to assume power over the government and military.
“That’s enough now!” says Greenland’s prime minister after Trump’s latest threats
“That’s enough now,” Greenland Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen said on social media late Sunday after repeated threats from President Trump to annex the autonomous Danish territory.
“No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation. We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussions. But this must happen through the proper channels and with respect for international law,” he wrote.
Since returning to White House a year ago, Mr. Trump has repeatedly claimed that making Greenland part of the United States would serve U.S. national security interests, given its strategic location in the Arctic. Greenland is also rich in key critical minerals used in high-tech sectors.
Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears about Greenland. In an interview with The Atlantic magazine published Sunday, Mr. Trump reiterated his interest: “We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense,” he told the magazine.
Sunday night aboard Air Force One, he told reporters, “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”
Iran says Maduro’s capture “nothing to be proud of”
Iran called for Maduro’s release Monday, according to French news agency AFP, which quoted foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei as saying at a weekly press conference that, “The president of a country and his wife were abducted. It’s nothing to be proud of; it’s an illegal act. As the Venezuelan people have emphasized, their president must be released.”
He also said Tehran’s relations with Venezuela, a close ally, remain unchanged. “Our relations with all countries, including Venezuela, are based on mutual respect and will remain so. We are in contact with the Venezuelan authorities.”
Iran condemned the attack on Saturday, calling it a “flagrant violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of” Venezuela, AFP reported.
Colombian president to Trump: “Stop slandering me”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro is rejecting threats from President Trump, who accused him of being a drug trafficker.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night, Mr. Trump threatened military action against Colombia like the U.S. took against Venezuela, saying Colombia is “very sick too” and “run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. He has cocaine mills and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long.”
When asked whether military intervention similar to Venezuela was on the cards for Colombia, Mr. Trump said, “It sounds good to me.”
Petro rebuffed the accusations, saying his “name does not appear in court records.”
“Stop slandering me, Mr. Trump,” Petro said on social media. “That’s not how you threaten a Latin American president who emerged from the armed struggle and then from the people of Colombia’s fight for Peace.”
Petro has harshly criticized the Trump administration’s military action in the region and accused Washington of abducting Maduro “without legal basis.”
32 Cubans killed during U.S. operation in Venezuela, Cuban government says
The Cuban government said Sunday that 32 Cubans, including military or intelligence personnel, were killed during the U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
In a statement, Cuba said they were “killed in combative actions,” and that they were “serving missions on behalf of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, at the request of counterpart bodies of the South American country.”
“Our compatriots fulfilled their duty dignifiedly and heroically and fell, after fierce resistance, in direct combat against the attackers or as a result of the bombing of the facilities,” Cuba said.
President Trump acknowledged their deaths aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, telling reporters, “A lot of Cubans were killed yesterday.”
Trump says he hasn’t spoken with Delcy Rodriguez, but that she’s cooperating with U.S.
Speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, President Trump said he has not spoken directly with Venezuela’s acting leader, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, but she was cooperating with the U.S.
Mr. Trump insisted the U.S. is “in charge” of Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, and said the U.S. had been prepared for further military action in Venezuela but it hadn’t been needed so far, adding that could change “if they don’t behave.”
The president said he’s spoken with several U.S. oil companies about commitments to rebuilding Venezuela’s infrastructure, saying they “wanna go in so bad.”
Mr. Trump also alluded to possible action against Colombian President Gustavo Petro, saying Colombia is “very sick too, run by a very sick man.” Mr. Trump said he felt Petro is “not going to be doing it for very long,” and when asked if he would carry out a military operation there as well, the president responded, “Sounds good to me.”
