US attacks Venezuela highlights: Nicolas Maduro brought to New York court for first appearance since ouster

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: Cuba is facing growing uncertainty after the US military removed Nicolás Maduro from power, leaving Havana without its main economic and political benefactor, Bloomberg reported.

Hours after Maduro was taken from Caracas, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Cubans should be ready to “give their blood, even their lives” to defend Venezuela and the Cuban revolution, the report added.

With Maduro now awaiting trial in New York, Cuba’s economy, long reliant on Venezuelan fuel and financing, is expected to face deeper strain, worsening existing shortages of energy, food, medicine and basic goods.

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday pointed to Cuba’s close ties with Venezuela, noting that Havana has long supported its economy with cheap oil supplied by Nicolás Maduro’s government.

Asked on NBC’s Meet the Press whether Cuba could be the Trump administration’s next target, Rubio declined to speculate but described the Cuban government as “a huge problem” and said he believes “they’re in a lot of trouble.” He also claimed that Maduro’s internal security apparatus “is entirely controlled by Cubans,” reported Bloomberg.

“If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I’d be concerned,” Rubio said alongside President Donald Trump at a news conference on Saturday.

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: Venezuela’s deposed president Nicolás Maduro is scheduled to appear before a federal judge in New York at noon on Monday, AFP reported. The court said the hearing will formally notify Maduro of the charges against him.

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: European Union countries on Sunday said efforts to restore democracy in Venezuela must comply with international law and respect the will of the Venezuelan people, Reuters reported. The statement was backed by all EU member states except Hungary.

“The EU recalls that, under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be upheld. Members of the United Nations Security Council have a particular responsibility to uphold those principles, as a pillar of the international security architecture,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement supported by 26 of the bloc’s 27 members.

“Respecting the will of the Venezuelan people remains the only way for Venezuela to restore democracy and resolve the current crisis,” the statement added.

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s acting president, is known for her hardline anti-imperialist rhetoric, a stance that earned her the nickname “the tigress” from ousted leader Nicolás Maduro, AFP reported.

Trained as a lawyer, the 56-year-old has served in successive governments under Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chávez, including a stint as foreign minister.

Rodríguez has been Maduro’s vice president since 2018 and also took on the powerful hydrocarbons portfolio in 2024, a critical role in an economy heavily dependent on oil exports.

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, and US President Donald Trump has made clear that access to that wealth is central to Washington’s pressure campaign. Trump went on to threaten the interim leader on Sunday, saying, "If she doesn't do what's right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro," he said in a brief telephone interview to The Atlantic.

In the hours following Maduro’s capture, Rodríguez insisted he remained the “only president” of Venezuela, demanded his release, and said the government in Caracas was ready “to defend” the country.

Venezuela’s Supreme Court later ordered her to assume presidential powers “in an acting capacity,” making her the first woman to hold the post, even temporarily.

On Sunday, the military, which had repeatedly pledged loyalty to Maduro, formally recognised Rodríguez as Venezuela’s interim leader.

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: US airlines began restoring services across the Caribbean on Sunday after airspace closures triggered by the US military operation in Venezuela disrupted travel for thousands of passengers, Bloomberg reported.

Hundreds of flights had been canceled after the Federal Aviation Administration restricted parts of Caribbean airspace during the operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. The aviation safety regulator lifted the restrictions early Sunday morning, allowing airlines to resume flights.

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: A day after President Donald Trump said the United States would be “running” Venezuela following the removal of Nicolas Maduro, secretary of state Marco Rubio on Sunday sought to dial back those remarks, stressing that Washington does not plan to govern the country “day to day”.

In an interview with CBS News, Rubio said the US role would be limited to enforcing an existing “oil quarantine” and using it as leverage to push for changes in Venezuela, particularly in its oil sector and drug trafficking.

“And so that's the sort of control the president is pointing to when he says that,” Rubio said on CBS News. Read More

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: US President Donald Trump on Sunday warned that Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodríguez would face serious consequences if she does not cooperate with the United States, AFP reported, following the seizure and jailing of her former boss, Nicolás Maduro.

"If she doesn't do what's right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro," Trump told The Atlantic in a brief telephone interview.

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and Spain on Sunday warned against any outside attempt to take “control” of Venezuela, after US President Donald Trump said Washington would “run” the country and access its oil, reported AFP.

In a joint statement, the six countries expressed their “rejection” of US forces ousting Nicolás Maduro as Venezuela’s president and voiced “concern about any attempt at governmental control or administration or outside appropriation of natural or strategic resources.”

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: Venezuela's military on Sunday recognized Delcy Rodriguez, deputy to ousted president Nicolas Maduro, as the country's acting leader, after US forces extracted the former head of state to face trial.

Amid uncertainty following the leftist president's dramatic capture, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez appeared to throw his weight behind Rodriguez, who US President Donald Trump had earlier indicated was a figure Washington could work with.

Padrino read out a statement on television endorsing a Supreme Court ruling that appointed Rodriguez as acting president for 90 days. (AFP)

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: The Brooklyn jail holding Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is a facility so troubled, some judges have refused to send people there even as it has housed such famous inmates as music stars R. Kelly and Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Opened in the early 1990s, the Metropolitan Detention Center, or MDC Brooklyn, currently houses about 1,300 inmates.

It's the routine landing spot for people awaiting trial in federal courts in Manhattan and Brooklyn, holding alleged gangsters and drug traffickers alongside some people accused of white collar crimes. (AP)

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: A large part of erstwhile President Nicolas Maduro's security team was killed in the US raid that led to the leader's Saturday capture, Venezuelan Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino said in a televised statement on Sunday morning.

Padrino did not give an exact figure of casualties, but backed the declaration of Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as interim president and said the armed forces have been activated across the country to guarantee sovereignty. (Reuters)

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: The head of Venezuela's military on Sunday urged the country's population to resume their normal activities, after US forces bombed the country and seized its leader Nicolas Maduro.

"I call on the people of Venezuela to resume their activities of all kinds, economic, work and education, in the coming days," Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said in a televised address. (AFP)

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: The United States, in a swift-yet-controversial military action, captured Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and flew them out of the country after a series of airstrikes. US President Donald Trump, in a briefing soon after, said that the Venezuelan leader and his wife have been flown to the US and that the Washington would run the country until a political transition takes place.

What was left behind was a damaged Fuerte Tiuna, a key military facility in Caracas, which was hit by multiple explosions. During the 160-minute mission by air, land and sea, the US forces hit military and civilian targets across three states.

Following Maduro's capture, satellite images have emerged showing the damage caused by the US strikes in Fuerte Tiuna. Click here to see pictures.

The brazen and swift “capture” of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US special forces in an operation inside the Latin American country's capital has rejigged geopolitics. And it has put the global spotlight on Venezuela’s massive natural wealth — an oil rush, if crudely stated.

But how much is the oil, how much money is at stake, and who gets to keep it now, and later? These are questions centred on the vast oil wealth at stake, emerging after US President Donald Trump made clear America's crude-related intentions.

Just after the bold "large-scale strike" that extracted Maduro as well as his wife and fellow leader Cilia Flores from Caracas, Trump stated that the United States is prepared to “run” Venezuela until a power transition can take place. He specifically mentioned that major American corporations will soon begin extracting crude oil from the nation.

This ignited a fierce debate over energy security, neo-colonialism, and the true motives behind the military operation. Click here to read more.

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: Satellite images capture the extend of damage in US strikes on Caracas' Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex.

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: In a brazen act that for some blurs the lines between justice and vigilantism, the President Donald Trump-led United States administration on Saturday captured Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro along with his wife after a lightning military strike that hit country's capital Caracas as well as other areas as part of its crackdown on “narco-terrorism” - action that many deem being about Venezuelan oil.

Maduro was flown out of Venezuela, leaving the world wondering what just happened, while Trump said the US is going to run the country until a transition of power happens.

Since the US strikes on Venezuela, multiple developments have taken place, including the Venezuelan Supreme Court ordering Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to assume the role of acting president of the country in the absence of Nicolás Maduro, “detained” by the United States. Click here to read more.

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said on Sunday that the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump in Venezuela were unlawful but consistent because he was defending U.S. interests, TASS news agency reported.

"It must be acknowledged that, despite the obvious unlawfulness of Trump's behaviour, one cannot deny a certain consistency in his actions. He and his team defend their country's national interests quite harshly," he told TASS. (Reuters)

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: Venezuelans around the US celebrated the downfall of Nicolás Maduro, expressing hope for the future of their country even as uncertainty swirls after the longtime leader’s forced removal and arrest by US forces.

A crowd of jubilant Venezuelans wearing national soccer and baseball jerseys danced, embraced and sang their national anthem Saturday outside El Arepazo, a restaurant in Doral, Florida, a city west of Miami where more than a third of residents are of Venezuelan descent. Caravans of cars honked as people waved Venezuelan and US flags, and a few shouts of “Viva Trump” rang out over the noise.

The exultation on the streets of Florida, in Venezuelan communities in Texas and as far away as Spain stood in contrast to the reaction in Caracas after the overnight attack by the US. The streets of the capital were quiet Saturday as Venezuelans lined up outside grocery stores and gas stations amid worries about the nation’s future. (Bloomberg)

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: According to an indictment made public on Saturday, Nicolas Maduro is charged along with his wife, his son and three others.

Maduro is reportedly indicted on four counts: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

Authorities alleged that powerful and violent drug trafficking groups like the Sinaloa Cartel and Tren de Aragua gang worked directly with the Venezuelan government and then sent profits to high-ranking officials who helped and protected them in exchange.

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: While talking about how US' military action on Venezuela was different than the 2003 Iraq invasion, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told CBS that it was the "exact opposite" and would not result in a prolonged conflict.

"It's the exact opposite. We spent decades and decades and spent, purchased in blood and got nothing economically in return. And President Trump flips the script," he said.

"Through strategic action, we can ensure that we have access to additional wealth and resources, enabling a country to unleash that without having to spend American blood," he added.

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado called for the release of all political prisoners in Venezuela after Maduro's capture by the US forces. The call was supported by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said that “like all Venezuelans, she can count on France's support to raise her voice in favor of a peaceful, democratic transition that fully respects the sovereign will of the Venezuelan people.”

Thanking Macron for his support, Machado wrote in a post on X, “The freedom of ALL political prisoners is our immediate priority.”

“I ask the heads of State and Government and all the democrats of the world to support us in this decisive hour. Venezuela will be free,” she added.

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: Venezuela's state-run PDVSA is asking some of its joint ventures to cut back crude output by shutting down oilfields or well clusters as onshore stocks mount and the company runs out of diluents amid an export paralysis, three sources close to the decision told news agency Reuters.

Oil exports from the OPEC country, whose deposed President Nicolas Maduro and first lady were extracted by U.S. forces on Saturday unleashing a deep political crisis, remain at a standstill following the announced U.S. blockade of all sanctioned tankers going in and out of its waters and the seizure of two oil cargoes. (Reuters)

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: The United Kingdom on Sunday called for a “safe and peaceful transition” of power in Venezuela.

“The UK has long supported a transition of power in Venezuela. We regarded Maduro as an illegitimate president and we shed no tears about the end of his regime,” said UK PM Keir Starmer, in a statement issued by 10 Downing Street in London.

“I reiterated my support for international law this morning. The UK government will discuss the evolving situation with US counterparts in the days ahead as we seek a safe and peaceful transition to a legitimate government that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people,” he said.

He told the BBC on Saturday that his government wanted to “establish all the facts and speak to allies”.

US strikes on Venezuela LIVE: Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado urged democratic leaders worldwide to back the immediate release of political prisoners in Venezuela, thanking French President Emmanuel Macron for his support.

"Thank you very much, President Macron. The freedom of ALL political prisoners is our immediate priority. I ask the heads of State and Government and all the democrats of the world to support us in this decisive hour. Venezuela will be free," Machado said.

This comes after Trump said on Saturda that he doesn't believe Machado can assume the leadership role in Venezuela.

"I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country. She's a very nice woman, but she doesn't have the respect," Trump said.