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US leaders reacted early Saturday morning to President Trump’s confirmation. nighttime military strikes in Venezuela and announced the capture of the country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife.
Mr. Trump said Maduro and his wife had flown out of Venezuela, but did not say where the two men were. Venezuelan authorities requested proof of life. The U.S. military’s Delta Force, an elite special forces unit, led the operation to capture them, officials told CBS News.
Maduro, 63, has ruled Venezuela since 2013. His last election was contested by international observers and the United States. recognized opposition candidate Edmundo González was elected the winner. The United States imposed sanctions on election officials for allegedly rigging the results, but Maduro was still sworn for a third term in January.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Saturday morning that Maduro and his wife had been indicted in the Southern District of New York on narcoterrorism charges.
It was not immediately clear whether the country’s top lawyer was referring only to the accusations contained in a indictment filed against Venezuelan leader in 2020, or whether there would be new or different charges filed in an indictment Saturday.
In 2020, federal prosecutors alleged that Maduro and other senior Venezuelan government officials collaborated with the Colombian guerrilla group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, or FARC, to traffic cocaine and weapons into the United States.
The Justice Department also accused Maduro of leading a criminal organization called Cártel de Los Soles in 2020. The Trump administration designated the group a criminal organization. foreign terrorist organization last year, even though experts questioned this characterization. The United States offers a $50 million reward to obtain information leading to Maduro’s capture.
Senate Intelligence Chairman Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, said he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, “who confirmed that Maduro is in U.S. custody and will be brought to justice for his crimes against our citizens.”
Cotton said Venezuela’s interim government “must now decide whether to continue drug trafficking and collusion with adversaries like Iran and Cuba or whether to act like a normal nation and return to the civilized world.”
“I urge them to make wise choices,” he said.
Utah Senator Mike Lee said that he also spoke with Rubio, who said Maduro would be brought to the United States. Lee also said Rubio “does not plan any further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody.”
Lee added that the operation “likely falls within the President’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from actual or threatened attack” but did not provide further details.
Democratic lawmakers criticized the Trump administration for acting unilaterally.
Senator Andy Kim, a Democrat from New Jersey, said that Mr. Trump “rejected our constitutionally required approval process for armed conflict because the administration knows that the American people overwhelmingly reject the risks of dragging our nation into another war.” Kim also accused Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of lying to Congress when they met with leaders last month about deadly strikes against suspected drug ships and said the Trump administration’s goal was not regime change.
“Without authorization from Congress, and while the vast majority of Americans are opposed to military action, Trump has just launched an unjustified and illegal strike against Venezuela,” he added. said Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts.
A CBS News November Poll found that 70% of Americans would oppose U.S. military action in Venezuela, and 75% say the Trump administration would need congressional approval. Most respondents also said they did not view Venezuela as a major threat to the United States.
