The plane carrying Venezuela’s ousted president Nicolás Maduro landed in New York shortly before midnight Saturday, hours after he was seized by the U.S. military from a base in the heart of Caracas along with his wife.
Maduro was seen descending from the aircraft in handcuffs, escorted by dozens of federal agents. The White House later released footage on X showing the former Venezuelan leader being led away by law enforcement officials.
The plane with Nicolás Maduro lands in New York
(Video: Reuters)
Additional video shared by officials aligned with U.S. President Donald Trump showed Maduro walking through a hallway marked “DEA NYD,” apparently inside a Drug Enforcement Administration facility in New York. He was fingerprinted there.
Maduro, wearing a black sweatshirt and cap, appeared to address the cameras briefly in English, saying “Good evening,” before switching to Spanish and adding, “It’s a good evening, right?” He repeated the phrase “good evening” and said, “Happy New Year.”
The White House openly celebrated the arrest. A video posted to its X account included earlier footage of Maduro calling Trump a “coward” and daring him to come to the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. The clip later showed Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying, “If you don’t know, now you know,” followed by images of Maduro in handcuffs aboard a U.S. vessel and Trump walking through the White House corridors, smiling.
Maduro was later transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, a federal jail known for harsh conditions and for holding high-profile detainees. Among those previously held there are music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs, Luigi Mangione, suspected in the killing of a major insurance executive, and until recently Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the collapsed FTX cryptocurrency exchange.
Before being booked into the detention center, Maduro was flown by helicopter to a Manhattan courthouse for routine legal procedures, according to U.S. officials.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sharply criticized the operation and said he spoke directly with Trump to voice his objections.
“I was informed this morning of the seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife by the U.S. military and the plan to transfer them to federal detention here in New York City,” Mamdani said. “A unilateral attack on a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal law and international law.”
Mamdani said the operation had direct consequences for New York residents, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans living in the city.
“My focus is the safety of New Yorkers,” he said, adding that his administration would continue monitoring developments and issue guidance as needed.
Asked how Trump responded to his criticism, Mamdani said only, “My position was noted.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, also condemned the operation, saying the strike was carried out without congressional authorization.
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are planning a conference call amid growing anger within the party over Trump’s actions in Venezuela, according to a source familiar with the discussions who spoke to CNN.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the president for failing to seek congressional approval before launching strikes in Caracas and demanded an immediate briefing.
“Too many questions remain unanswered,” Jeffries said, calling for evidence that would “explain and justify this unauthorized use of military force.”
Schumer said Maduro was “an illegitimate dictator,” but warned that launching a military operation without congressional approval or a credible plan for what comes next was reckless.
“The idea that Trump now plans to run Venezuela should strike fear into the hearts of all Americans,” Schumer said.
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus also condemned the U.S. strikes, calling them an illegal abuse of power that risked dragging the United States into an open-ended conflict.
While Venezuelan exiles in Miami celebrated the arrest, the dominant mood in Manhattan was anger and opposition to U.S. intervention.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Times Square in freezing temperatures to protest the operation. Organized by the antiwar ANSWER Coalition and other left-wing groups, protesters described Maduro’s detention as an “illegal kidnapping” and called for his immediate release.
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The motorcade transporting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from New York’s airport
(Photo: AFP)
Some demonstrators carried signs reading “No Blood for Oil” and warned that the United States could be pulled into another military conflict. Pro-Palestinian activists also joined the protest, linking U.S. policy in Gaza with the Venezuela operation under a broader critique of what they described as Western imperialism. No arrests were reported.
Venezuela names interim leader
In Caracas, Venezuela’s constitutional court ruled that Vice President Delcy Rodríguez would assume the role of acting president in Maduro’s absence. The court said the move was intended to ensure administrative continuity and protect national sovereignty “in light of the forced absence of the president of the republic.”
Trump warned Rodríguez on Saturday, saying U.S. forces would not be deployed in Venezuela “as long as she does what we want.”
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Protesters in Times Square demonstrate against the strike on Venezuela and the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro
(Photo: AFP)
“We are ready,” Trump said. “We have a second wave that is much bigger than the first.”
Shortly afterward, Rodríguez appeared on state television alongside senior government officials, calling for the release of Maduro and his wife.
“We will never be a colony of any country,” she said. “Venezuela has one president, and that is Maduro.”
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s foreign minister told Russian state media that peace in Latin America had been shattered by the U.S. attack on Caracas.
Inside Venezuela, long lines formed at supermarkets and gas stations as uncertainty spread. Many streets were largely empty.
“What will happen tomorrow? What will happen in the next hour? Nobody knows,” said Juan Pablo, a resident of Caracas.
Another resident, Yanir Lux, said the situation was unprecedented and that her family was afraid to leave home.
“We are still on edge,” she said. “Now we don’t know what to do.”
Who holds power in Venezuela after Maduro’s capture
Despite Maduro’s arrest, real power in Venezuela remains concentrated in a small circle of senior civilian and military officials, raising doubts about how quickly the political order can change.
Trump said Saturday that Vice President Delcy Rodríguez had been sworn in and spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, fueling speculation that she would assume control. Under Venezuela’s constitution, Rodríguez becomes acting president in Maduro’s absence, and the country’s top court ordered her to take on the role late Saturday night.
But hours later, Rodríguez appeared on state television flanked by her brother, National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López. She insisted that Maduro remained Venezuela’s only president.
The joint appearance signaled that the leadership group that ruled alongside Maduro remains intact, at least for now.
For more than a decade, analysts say, Venezuela has been governed by a tight-knit network of officials who balance civilian authority with military power. Rodríguez and her brother represent the civilian wing, while Cabello and Padrino anchor the military side. Each controls patronage networks tied to security forces, state industries and regional command structures.
“You can remove as many figures as you want, but it would take multiple actors at different levels to truly change the system,” said a former U.S. official involved in criminal investigations linked to Venezuela.
Attention has increasingly focused on Cabello, a former military officer and senior figure in the ruling socialist party who wields influence over both civilian and military intelligence agencies. Venezuelan and U.S. analysts describe him as the most ideologically rigid and unpredictable member of the leadership.
United Nations investigators have found that Venezuela’s intelligence services, including the civilian SEBIN agency and the military-run DGCIM, committed crimes against humanity as part of a state policy to crush dissent. Former detainees told Reuters they were subjected to electric shocks, simulated drownings and sexual abuse in DGCIM detention facilities.
In recent weeks, as the United States carried out its largest military buildup in Latin America in decades, Cabello appeared on state television ordering intelligence agents to pursue what he called “terrorists” and warning that authorities would know if anyone strayed. He repeated the message Saturday, wearing a flak jacket and helmet and surrounded by armed guards.
Cabello has also been linked to pro-government militias known as colectivos, armed civilian groups that have helped enforce control in urban areas.
Military influence runs deep
Although Padrino has formally led Venezuela’s armed forces for more than a decade, Cabello retains sway over significant segments of the military. Venezuela has up to 2,000 generals and admirals, more than twice the number in the United States.
Senior and retired officers oversee food distribution, raw materials and the state oil company PDVSA, while dozens sit on the boards of private companies. Investigators say some military officials also profit from smuggling and other illicit trade.
Documents prepared by an opposition security consultant and shared with the U.S. military indicate that commanders aligned with Cabello and Padrino control key brigades stationed along borders and in industrial hubs that also serve as major smuggling routes.
“There are between 20 and 50 officers who would likely need to be removed to fully dismantle this regime,” said a lawyer who has represented a senior Venezuelan official.
The lawyer said several current generals and former officials reached out after Maduro’s capture, seeking to negotiate with Washington by offering intelligence in exchange for safe passage and legal immunity. But people close to Cabello said he was not currently interested in any deal.