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

US–Venezuela tension LIVE: This blog is now closed and will not be updated.

Nicolás Maduro’s court-appointed attorney for his initial appearance today before a judge in New York will be David Wikstrom, CNN reported.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Monday he would "take up arms" in the face of threats from US counterpart Donald Trump, who over the weekend seized the leader of neighbouring Venezuela in a military strike.

Petro, a former guerrilla who has for months been the target of insults and threats from Trump, said on X: "I swore not to touch a weapon again... but for the homeland I will take up arms again."

Trump said over the weekend that Petro should "watch his ass" and described Colombia's first-ever leftist leader as "a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States."

US–Venezuela tension LIVE: Nicolas Maduro and his wife are expected to appear at noon (EST) before a judge for a brief, but required, legal proceeding that will likely initiate a prolonged legal battle over whether he can be tried in the US, Reuters reported.

US–Venezuela tension LIVE: Extra security measures have been put into place around the Manhattan courthouse.

On Worth street, bicycle-rack style barricades have been lined on both sides of the street for several blocks around the main entrance. Police officers have also been deployed in marked cars to patrol the area, news agency AP reported

The Nicolás Maduro case has been assigned to 92-year-old federal judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, who was nominated and confirmed by President Bill Clinton in 1998, CNN reported.

Hellerstein, a senior judge since 2011 in the Southern District of New York, has presided over cases stemming from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as well as other matters involving terrorism and national security.

Ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro arrived at a federal courthouse in Manhattan on Monday for a court appearance.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said he "neither supported nor approved" the US military operation to grab Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, a government spokesman said.

His comment clarified an initial public reaction Macron made that Venezuelans "can only rejoice" at Maduro's overthrow.

That first reaction drew criticism from several political figures in France, some of whom saw the French president as kowtowing to US President Donald Trump.

It also contrasted with a reaction from French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot who on Saturday condemned the US operation -- saying it undermined international law, while stressing that no solution to Venezuela's crisis can be imposed from the outside.

US–Venezuela tension LIVE: Nicolas Maduro is en-route New York court for first appearance before the judge after overthrow, AFP reported.

Nicolas Maduro was 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, Reuters reported.

US–Venezuela tension LIVE: Nicolas Maduro is accused of selling Venezuelan diplomatic passports to known drug traffickers and facilitating flights under diplomatic cover to bring drug proceeds back from Mexico to Venezuela, according to the DoJ indictment.

US–Venezuela tension LIVE: The indictment alleged that Nicolas Maduro and his allies “provided law enforcement cover and logistical support” to major drug trafficking groups, such as the Sinaloa Cartel and Tren de Aragua gang. These criminal organizations sent profits to high-ranking officials who protected them in exchange, the US Justice Department revealed.

The indictment alleged Nicolas Maduro and other Venezuelan leaders have, for more than 25 years, "abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States."

The United States must explain its actions in Venezuela to the world, a German government spokesperson said on Monday.

"The US must "explain to the international community on what basis the actions we have witnessed over the last few days should be judged, and this has not yet happened," a government spokesperson said at a regular news conference on Monday.

The US attack on Venezuela to dismantle the regime of President Nicolás Maduro is creating a dichotomy of sorts for India, a neutral outlook for the stock market but a potential billion-dollar windfall for state-run oil producers.

The US Department of Justice released an indictment against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, charging him with narco-terrorism conspiracy and drug trafficking.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi posted a link to the unsealed indictment on X. The US accuses Maduro of playing a key role in a broad conspiracy over 25 years to traffic cocaine into the US with the help of regional drug and terrorist groups.

The US lifted airspace restrictions around the Caribbean after military operations in Venezuela upended travel in the region just as many vacationers are trying to get home from their winter breaks.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X that the original restrictions will expire at 12 a.m. Eastern time and airlines have been informed.

Vacation hot spots such as Barbados, Aruba, Puerto Rico, Antigua and Barbuda, and Trinidad and Tobago saw hundreds of flight cancellations Saturday. Delta Air Lines Inc. said it expects to resume its normal Caribbean schedule on Sunday with possible adjustments.

(Bloomberg)

Delcy Rodríguez, the acting president of Venezuela, invited the US to work with her country on a “cooperation agenda,” following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.

“We extend an invitation to the US government to work together on a cooperation agenda, aimed at shared development, within the framework of international law, and to strengthen lasting community coexistence,” she said in a statement released late on Sunday.

Striking a conciliatory tone, Rodríguez also called for a “balanced and respectful” international relationship between the two countries, reaffirming her commitment to peace. “Our country aspires to live without external threats, in an environment of respect and international cooperation.”

(Bloomberg)

US Venezuela tension LIVE: Former Indian ambassador to Venezuela YK Sinha on Monday described India’s statement on the US air strikes on Venezuela and the capture of Nicolas Maduro and his wife as “very measured”. He said New Delhi needs to stay mindful of its bilateral relations with the United States and other countries.

Speaking to ANI, Sinha said, "I think the international community has by and large not supported the action. There are some exceptions. I think Israel and Argentina perhaps, but most countries have been measured in their, except China and Russia who have condemned it. Russia was among the first. India's reaction or statement that has come out from the External Affairs Ministry is very measured and obviously doesn't want to apportion blame at this stage . Because we have to be mindful of our own bilateral relations with the United States and other countries."

US Venezuela tension LIVE: Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is due to appear in a US courtroom for the first time on Monday on “narco-terrorism charges” that the Trump administration has cited to justify his capture and transfer to New York.

Maduro and his wife are expected to appear before a judge at noon for a brief but mandatory legal hearing. The proceeding is likely to mark the start of a lengthy legal battle over whether he can face trial in the United States.

They will be taken from a Brooklyn jail to a Manhattan courthouse located close to the one where Donald Trump was convicted in 2024 for falsifying business records.

US Venezuela tension LIVE: Former Indian ambassador to Venezuela YK Sinha has sharply questioned recent US actions and statements on Venezuela, calling them troubling for international law, regional stability, and global norms of sovereignty.

"Will any self-respecting country, self-respecting people, irrespective of what their political affiliations are, accept being run by a foreign power?" he told ANI, adding that such moves evoke memories of "the days of colonialism and gunboat diplomacy."

US Venezuela tension LIVE: Cuba announced that 32 of its citizens were killed during the United States military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife in Caracas.

The Cuban government said it would observe two days of national mourning on January 5 and January 6 to honour those killed in the operation. Officials in Havana said funeral arrangements would be announced at a later stage.

Cuba's state-run news agency Prensa Latina said the deceased were Cuban military personnel who had been deployed in Venezuela on official missions. According to the report, they were operating at the request of the Venezuelan government when the US-led operation took place.

US Venezuela tension LIVE: Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez invited the US government to work together on a cooperative agenda.

She made the remarks in a social media post that used a conciliatory tone after the US capture of President Nicolas Maduro.

She said Venezuela “aspires to live without external threats” and added that her priority was to move towards balanced and respectful relations with the United States.

US Venezuela tension LIVE: Iran called on Monday for the release of Nicholas Maduro, the ousted president of Tehran's close ally Venezuela who was seized in a US military operation and taken to New York to stand trial.

"The president of a country and his wife were abducted. It's nothing to be proud of; it's an illegal act," foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said at a weekly press conference. "As the Venezuelan people have emphasised, their president must be released."

US Venezuela tension LIVE: China’s foreign ministry on Monday reiterated Beijing’s position following the US attack on Venezuela and called for the immediate release of President Nicolas Maduro.

China is deeply concerned about the US capture of Maduro and his wife and is closely monitoring the security situation, ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press briefing.

“China supports the UN Security Council calling an emergency meeting on US attacks,” the spokesperson said.