Maduro lands in New York before helicopter transfer amid high security
Hello, this is Rebecca Ratcliffe in Bangkok, taking over from my colleagues in London. We’ll be bringing you the latest developments after the capture of Venezuelan leader Maduro by US troops.
Images from agencies appear to show the journey made by Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, as they were flown into the US.
A plane believed to have been carrying the couple landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York on Saturday evening. Maduro was escorted off the plane surrounded by FBI agents, according to a report by AFP.
Maduro was then taken by helicopter to the Westside Heliport in Manhattan, arriving just before 7pm according to the New York Times.
Heavy security awaited Maduro in Manhattan, images showed. He was due to be taken to the offices of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, then to the Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal facility in Brooklyn, according to US media. Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs was held at the same facility during his trial last year, as were other high profile prisoners including Ghislaine Maxwell.
Key events
What we learned – summary
It has been a huge day of news and developments after the dramatic US attack on Caracas and the capture of Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife. We’ll be starting a new blog soon to bring you the latest news. Here’s everything you need to know about what happened today.
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Maduro is now being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, according to US media reports. A plane believed to have been carrying Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, landed in New York on Saturday evening.
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The White House’s official rapid response account on X posted a video earlier which appeared to show Maduro handcuffed and escorted by agents at the US Drug Enforcement Administration offices. In the video, Maduro, who is wearing a black hooded top and hat, walks down a hallway with a carpet that says “DEA NYD”. He can be heard saying “Goodnight” and “Happy new year”.
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Donald Trump said “We’re going to run the country [Venezuela] until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition” during a press conference about the attack on Venezuela. He has not given further details.
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The US is going to be “very strongly involved” in Venezuela’s oil industry after the military operation, Trump said. “We have the greatest oil companies in the world, the biggest, the greatest, and we’re going to be very much involved in it.”
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Trump said his administration had not spoken to Venezuela’s exiled opposition leader María Corina Machado. He said he did not think she would be able to return to lead Venezuela, saying: “She does not have the support in Venezuela. She is a very nice woman but she does not have the support.”
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Venezuela’s supreme court has ordered vice-president Delcy Rodríguez to assume the role of acting president in Maduro’s absence.
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Asked about Trump’s comment that the US will “run” Venezuela temporarily, US defense secretary Pete Hegseth told CBS News: “President Trump sets the terms … But it means the drugs stop flowing. It means the oil that was taken from us is returned, ultimately, and that criminals are not sent to the United States.”
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The UN security council was due to hold an emergency meeting on Monday.
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The UN secretary general, António Guterres, is deeply alarmed by the US military action in Venezuela, his spokesperson has said, and considered the US intervention “a dangerous precedent”.
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The New York Times reported that at least 40 people, including civilians and soldiers, were killed in Saturday’s attack. The estimate came from a senior Venezuelan official who spoke on the condition of anonymity
This blog is now closing, you can follow our continued live coverage here.
Florida’s Venezuelan community celebrates Maduro’s capture
Hundreds of people from the Venezuelan community in Doral, South Florida gathered on Saturday to celebrate the capture of Nicolás Maduro by US troops, waving the Venezuelan flag and chanting “liberty”.
Associated Press spoke to those who turned out, including some who hope they will be able to return home and reunite with their families.
David Nuñez told AP he fled to the US six years ago after being persecuted in Venezuela for his political activism. He has not seen his daughters — ages 8 and 17 — since then.
“The most important thing is that we’re going to be able to be with our families soon,” Nuñez said. “At least for me, I haven’t seen my daughters in six years so I have a lot of mixed feelings. I’ve cried a lot. I’m really happy because I know that I’m going to be able to return to Venezuela very soon.”
Roughly half the population of Doral is of Venezuelan descent, and people began to gather as soon as news broke.
“We’re like everybody — it’s a combination of feelings, of course,” Alejandra Arrieta, who came to the US in 1997, told AP. “There’s fears. There’s excitement. There’s so many years that we’ve been waiting for this. Something had to happen in Venezuela. We all need the freedom.”
Trump said earlier on Saturday that the US will “run” Venezuela until there can be “a safe, proper and judicious transition”, but did not give further details.
About 8 million people have fled Venezuela since 2014, with the majority hosted in Latin American and Caribbean countries, though many have also made treacherous journeys to the US.
In South Florida, deep-seated concerns among the Venezuelan community about Trump’s immigration crackdowns gave way to celebrations after Maduro was deposed, AP reported.
Maduro ‘perp walked’
The White House’s official rapid response account on X has posted a video of what appears to be ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro handcuffed and escorted by DEA agents.
In the video, Maduro, who is wearing a black hooded top and hat, walks down a hallway with a carpet that says “DEA NYD”. He can be heard saying “Goodnight” and “Happy new year”.
The video was posted on X alongside the text “Perp walked” – where an individual who has been arrested is escorted in front of media so they can be photographed.
Venezuela court orders Delcy Rodriguez to temporarily assume presidency
Venezuela’s Supreme Court late on Saturday ordered the vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, to become the country’s interim leader, after the US seized president Nicolás Maduro and whisked him out of the country.
According to multiple reports, the high court ruled that Rodriguez “assume and exercise, in an acting capacity, all the attributes, duties and powers inherent to the office of President … to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the nation.”
The judges stopped short of declaring Maduro permanently absent from office, a ruling that requires holding elections within 30 days.
In case you missed it earlier, the Guardian’s senior international correspondent Julian Borger has written analysis on what he has framed as the ‘Putinzation’ of US foreign policy. Trump is no longer bending the rules, writes Borger, he is demolishing them, with consequences far beyond Caracas.
‘Blast smashed the entire roof of my house’
Twelve hours after the US attack on Caracas, locals are reflecting on what happened in the capital. Agence France-Presse has spoken to people about their experience early on Saturday morning, when many were awoken by the traumatic sound of explosions and aircraft flying overhead.
Alpidio Lovera, a 47-year-old resident, who ran to a hill with his pregnant wife and other residents to escape the strikes said: “Psssh, first we saw the flash and then the explosion.”
His sister Linda Unamuno, 39, burst into sobs as she recalled a nightmarish night.
“The blast smashed the entire roof of my house,” she said.
Unamuno’s first thoughts were that La Guaira was experiencing another natural disaster, 26 years ago after a landslide of biblical proportions swept away 10,000 people, many of them washed out to sea.
“I went out, that’s when I saw what was happening. I saw the fire from the airstrikes. It was traumatising,” she sobbed, adding she “wished it on no-one.”
Alirio Elista, a pensioner whose water tank was damaged in the strikes, said those who cheered the US intervention for bringing down the unpopular Maduro “don’t know what they’re talking about.”
He said he believed news of Maduro’s capture was “fake” – despite Donald Trump having posted a picture of him blindfolded and handcuffed on a US warship.
Maduro operation disrupts hundreds of flights across Caribbean
The US military operation that captured Nicolás Maduro and flew him out of the country early on Saturday has disrupted Caribbean travel at a busy travel time for the region.
No airline flights were crossing over Venezuela on Saturday, according to FlightRadar24.com. And major airlines cancelled hundreds of flights across the eastern Caribbean region and warned passengers that the disruptions could continue for days after the Federal Aviation Administration imposed restrictions.
Flights were cancelled to and from Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Aruba and more than a dozen other destinations in the Lesser Antilles island group that lies north of Venezuela. The airlines are waiving change fees for passengers who have to reschedule their flights this weekend.
‘President Trump sets the terms’: Hegseth speaks about next steps
The US defense secretary Pete Hegseth has spoken to CBS News about the US operation in Venezuela and what happens next.
Trump earlier said the US was going to “run” Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition”.
Asked about Trump’s comments, and whether this would mean US troops on the ground, Hegseth responded:
Well, it means we set the terms. President Trump sets the terms. And ultimately, he’ll decide what the iterations are of that. But it means the drugs stop flowing. It means the oil that was taken from us is returned, ultimately, and that criminals are not sent to the United States.
Hegseth told CBS the capture of Maduro was “the most sophisticated, most complicated, most successful joint special operations raid of all time”.
Hegseth, who was among the Trump officials who oversaw the operation, also appeared alongside the president at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, earlier on Saturday. During the press conference, Trump said the US would run Venezuela “with a group” and would be “designating various people” in charge while pointing to Hegseth, as well as the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio; and the joint chiefs of staff chair, Gen Dan “Razin” Caine, behind him.
Hegseth was also asked whether the Trump administration would seek approval for a full-scale US intervention to stabilise Venezuela – and whether he believed, legally, that was necessary. He responded:
Well, we’re postured. As the president said, the blockade continues: no oil going in and out, no drug boats allowed to traffic in the Caribbean or the Eastpac. We’re still poised there. This was a law enforcement exercise. It was the Department of War in support of the Department of Justice pulling out an indicted person who ultimately will face justice. And [US secretary of state] Marco [Rubio] was clear that this is not something you notify Congress about beforehand, but were there to be more extensions to this, of course, we’ll keep Congress involved. They’re our partners, and we would do.
Maduro lands in New York before helicopter transfer amid high security
Hello, this is Rebecca Ratcliffe in Bangkok, taking over from my colleagues in London. We’ll be bringing you the latest developments after the capture of Venezuelan leader Maduro by US troops.
Images from agencies appear to show the journey made by Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, as they were flown into the US.
A plane believed to have been carrying the couple landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York on Saturday evening. Maduro was escorted off the plane surrounded by FBI agents, according to a report by AFP.
Maduro was then taken by helicopter to the Westside Heliport in Manhattan, arriving just before 7pm according to the New York Times.
Heavy security awaited Maduro in Manhattan, images showed. He was due to be taken to the offices of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, then to the Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal facility in Brooklyn, according to US media. Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs was held at the same facility during his trial last year, as were other high profile prisoners including Ghislaine Maxwell.
At least 40 killed in attack on Caracas: report
Tom Phillips
The New York Times has reported that at least 40 people, including civilians and soldiers, were killed in Saturday’s US attack on Venezuela. The estimate comes from a senior Venezuelan official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The victims reportedly include a woman called Rosa González, who was killed when her three-story apartment complex was hit by a strike. Another resident was reportedly severely injured.
Callum Jones
US oil giants have so far remained silent on Donald Trump’s claim that they are primed to spend “billions and billions of dollars” rebuilding the Venezuelan oil industry following the ouster of Nicolás Maduro.
Chevron, the only US oil company still operating in Venezuela, committed only to following “relevant laws and regulations” after the US president suggested American energy multinationals would be central to his plans for the country.
Venezuela’s vast oil reserves – reputedly the world’s largest – will be modernized and exploited, Trump claimed in interviews and a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate. US oil firms will invest heavily to reconstruct “rotted” infrastructure, ramp up production and sell “large amounts … to other countries”, he told reporters, adding: “We’re in the oil business.”
“We’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 and start making money for the country,” the president said. The firms would be “reimbursed”, he added, without providing more detail.
ExxonMobil, the biggest US oil company, and ConocoPhillips, another major player, did not respond to requests for comment.
A spokesperson for Chevron said: “Chevron remains focused on the safety and wellbeing of our employees, as well as the integrity of our assets. We continue to operate in full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations.”
Mark Carney: ‘Canada calls on all parties to respect international law’
In response to today’s events, Canada’s PM, Mark Carney, wrote on X: “One of the first actions taken by Canada’s new government in March 2025 was to impose additional sanctions on Nicolás Maduro’s brutally oppressive and criminal regime – unequivocally condemning his grave breaches of international peace and security, gross and systematic human rights violations, and corruption. Canada has not recognised the illegitimate regime of Maduro since it stole the 2018 election. The Canadian government therefore welcomes the opportunity for freedom, democracy, peace, and prosperity for the Venezuelan people.
“Canada has long supported a peaceful, negotiated, and Venezuelan-led transition process that respects the democratic will of the Venezuelan people. In keeping with our long-standing commitment to upholding the rule of law, sovereignty, and human rights, Canada calls on all parties to respect international law. We stand by the Venezuelan people’s sovereign right to decide and build their own future in a peaceful and democratic society.
“Canada attaches great importance to resolution of crises through multilateral engagement and is in close contact with international partners about ongoing developments. We are first and foremost ready to assist Canadians through our consular officials and our embassy in Bogotá, Colombia, and will continue to support Venezuelan refugees.”
