Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been in the Metropolitan Prison in Brooklyn, New York, since Saturday evening after being detained by US special forces during a large-scale military operation ordered by US President Donald Trump.
He was briefly held at the headquarters of the Drug Enforcement Administration just before that. A video of Maduro in the corridors of this institution, accompanied by security forces, has also emerged on social media. Walking through the premises, he wished the surrounding area a good night and a happy new year.
According to the Justice Department, Maduro is expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan for the first time on Monday.
It is an unprecedented move in which the United States has captured a sitting head of a foreign state and transported her to its territory to face federal charges, including narcoterrorism.
The detention of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, took place on Saturday morning in Venezuela. The operation included attacks on selected military targets and caused power outages in parts of Caracas. According to US officials, the pair were transferred by helicopter to a US Navy ship off the Venezuelan coast after being detained and then flown to the United States.
"This was one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military power and capability in American history," Trump explained on Saturday, hours after the action was carried out. He posted a photo of Maduro on his Truth social network with the caption "Nicolás Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima."
He added that the United States will take temporary control of Venezuela until a "safe, orderly and reasonable transition" can take place.
He did not say who will lead Venezuela when they relinquish control, but he apparently ruled out working with opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, who is widely regarded as Maduro's most trusted rival. "She has neither support nor respect in the country," he assessed.
During the day, the Constitutional Chamber of Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to assume the role of acting president "in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the nation."
Drugs and oil
Trump has long accused Maduro of involvement in drug trafficking and of rigging the 2024 presidential election. He denies these accusations and says Washington's real target is Venezuela's vast oil reserves, the largest in the world.
The White House chief has said that US oil companies could return to Venezuela and take part in rebuilding the country's damaged energy infrastructure.
He also acknowledged the possibility of US forces being deployed on Venezuelan territory: "We are not afraid of the deployment of US forces on the ground." A possible US presence, he said, would be funded by Venezuelan oil revenues.
Some approve, others object
The intervention has sparked sharp reactions across the world. Most allege violations of international law and point to the precedent of detaining a sitting head of state. Russia and China are calling for Maduro's immediate release, as is Belarus, which has branded the act an act of aggression.
In contrast, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the US President for his 'courageous and historic' leadership and highlighted the intervention as an act in the name of freedom and justice.
French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the need for a peaceful and democratic transition of power at Platform X: "We hope that President Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, elected in 2024, will be able to ensure this transition as quickly as possible." Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor, described the legal assessment of the US operation as complex.
The UN Security Council is due to discuss the situation at an emergency session. UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the US action as a dangerous precedent.
The situation in Venezuela
In Venezuela, the situation appears relatively calm after the operation. After an initial rush for food and fuel, soldiers patrolled some areas and smaller groups of Maduro supporters gathered in Caracas.
At the same time, there were also signs of relief. "I'm happy, for a moment I doubted it was happening because it's like a movie," said a businesswoman from the town of Maracay. Many Venezuelan migrants around the world also erupted in celebration.
"We are free. We are all happy that the dictatorship has fallen and that we have a free country," said Khaty Yanez, who lives in the Chilean capital Santiago and is one of an estimated 7.7 million Venezuelans - 20 percent of the population - who have left the country since 2014.
(reuters, max)