In a move that caught governments and analysts off guard, US forces arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas and flew them to New York to face criminal charges. Soon after, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would temporarily take control of Venezuela, marking one of the most dramatic escalations in US involvement in Latin America in decades.
Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump said Washington would oversee the country during an interim period to ensure what he described as a “safe, proper and judicious transition.”
“We are going to run the country until such time as we can do this the right way,” Trump told reporters. “We can’t take the chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela who doesn’t have the Venezuelan people in mind.”
Washington steps in — but details remain unclear
Trump said the US would manage Venezuela “with a group,” pointing to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine as key figures involved in the process. However, he offered few specifics on how the interim governance would function or how long it would last.
At one point, Trump claimed that Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, had already been sworn in as Maduro’s successor and was willing to cooperate with US plans. Venezuelan authorities, however, made no such announcement, adding to the confusion surrounding the situation.
Trump also made clear that military force remained on the table. “We’re not afraid of boots on the ground,” he said, adding that US oil companies would be brought in to repair Venezuela’s damaged energy infrastructure and invest billions of dollars. He warned that the US was prepared to launch a “much larger” follow-up attack if necessary.
Legal justification and backlash at home
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the operation as a law enforcement action supported by the military, arguing that Congressional approval was not required. Rubio pointed out that Maduro was indicted in the United States in 2020 and described him as a fugitive facing a $50 million reward.
“He is not the legitimate president of Venezuela,” Rubio said. “He’s a wanted man under US law.”
Trump echoed that argument, suggesting that notifying Congress in advance could have led to leaks that might have jeopardized the mission.
Democrats in Washington were quick to condemn the operation. Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, warned that the arrest set a dangerous global precedent.
“If the United States claims the right to abduct foreign leaders accused of crimes, what stops China from doing the same in Taiwan or Russia from seizing Ukraine’s president?” Warner said. “Once this line is crossed, the rules that prevent global chaos begin to collapse.”
Warner also accused the administration of hypocrisy, pointing to Trump’s pardon of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández despite his conviction on drug trafficking charges in the US.
Support from Republicans and fears of instability
Republican leaders rallied behind Trump. Senator Roger Wicker, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, praised the arrest as the result of a long campaign to dismantle what he called “narco-terrorist organizations” linked to Maduro’s government.
“The Venezuelan people must now act swiftly to put their country back on a path to peace and prosperity,” Wicker said.
Foreign policy analysts, however, urged caution. Daniel DePetris of the Defense Priorities think tank warned that the fallout inside Venezuela could be severe.
“A split within the military, the rise of criminal groups, civil war, or even the emergence of a worse autocrat are all real possibilities,” DePetris said. “None of these outcomes would be good for regional stability or US interests.”
He also questioned the shifting justifications offered by the Trump administration over recent months, which have ranged from drug trafficking and oil theft to restoring democracy.
“In reality, Venezuela is not a powerful threat,” DePetris said. “It’s a bankrupt state whose economy has collapsed over the past decade — and treating it like a major security menace may be giving the Maduro regime too much credit.”
