VENEZUELA plunged into an unprecedented political crisis on Saturday as U.S. forces captured President Nicolás Maduro in a daring overnight operation, prompting the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court in Caracas to name Vice President Delcy Rodríguez (pic) as acting president.
Reuters reported on Sunday that the court ruling declared that Rodríguez would assume “the office of President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the Nation.”
It added that the matter would be further debated to “determine the applicable legal framework to guarantee the continuity of the State, the administration of government, and the defense of sovereignty in the face of the forced absence of the President of the Republic.”
The audacious removal of Maduro, carried out without congressional approval, marked the culmination of months of secret planning by the Trump administration and represented Washington’s most assertive move to achieve regime change in Venezuela since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized from their home and taken aboard a U.S. warship to face prosecution under a Justice Department indictment accusing them of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.
A plane carrying the ousted leader landed in New York’s northern suburbs around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. Maduro was escorted off the aircraft by federal agents and then flown by helicopter to Manhattan, where he was transported to a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office.
Social media footage showed Maduro smiling as he was led by DEA agents, before he was expected to be detained at a federal jail in Brooklyn while awaiting trial.
President Donald Trump said the United States would temporarily govern Venezuela, asserting that the operation would allow Washington to “fix” the country’s oil infrastructure and sell “large amounts” of oil to other nations.
“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago press conference. He described the mission as “extremely successful” and warned that it should serve as a deterrent to anyone threatening American sovereignty or endangering U.S. lives.
Legal experts immediately raised questions about the legitimacy of the incursion under international law, while Maduro’s vice president Rodríguez demanded his release, asserting that he remained Venezuela’s rightful leader.
Venezuelan state television continued broadcasting pro-Maduro messages and images of supporters taking to the streets in Caracas in protest.
The unfolding events have left Venezuela in a legal and political limbo, with Washington asserting control over the country’s leadership and oil resources while the Supreme Court seeks to maintain administrative continuity through Rodríguez’s temporary stewardship. - January 4, 2025
