Countries around the world condemned the United States' latest military action in Venezuela on Saturday, after Washington reportedly "captured" President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and flew them to New York. The move has sent shock waves through the international community, with many voices strongly denouncing what they described as a blatant use of force against a sovereign state and a threat to the peace and stability in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Communist Party of Kenya has condemned the US invasion of Venezuela, labeling it an illegal and imperialist act.

The party also expressed concern over what it said are threats by US President Donald Trump and his Western allies to invade Iran by interfering in its internal affairs.

Mwandawiro Mghanga, the party chairperson, called on the international community to condemn the actions, warning against a repeat of history.

"We should remember history and the rise of fascism led by Adolf Hitler," he said. "Today it is Venezuela, Iran and Cuba, but tomorrow it will be the whole world including Africa, Latin America, Europe, Asia and USA itself."

Mghanga emphasized that repeating such historical mistakes would be costly, reinforcing the party's support for Venezuela, Cuba and Iran.

"The Communist Party of Kenya calls upon all progressives in Kenya and globally to rise up, hold demonstrations, and show solidarity with the popular leadership of Venezuela; and to condemn in no uncertain terms, the imperialist invasion of Venezuela by the US," he said.

WASHINGTON - At least 40 people were killed in US airstrikes on Venezuela on Saturday, including civilians and members of the armed forces, The New York Times reported, citing an anonymous senior Venezuelan official.

The large-scale attack took place in the early hours of the morning as US forces carried out an operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. The couple is now in custody in New York.

The newspaper said it had verified video footage showing thick smoke and repeated explosions near La Carlota Airport in the Venezuelan capital city of Caracas.

In Catia La Mar, a city west of the capital, an airstrike hit a three-story civilian apartment building, blowing out its exterior walls, said the newspaper, noting at least one elderly woman was killed, and another person seriously injured.

Multiple US media outlets, citing Venezuelan government sources, reported that in addition to Caracas, military targets in the Caribbean coastal states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira were also struck.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said earlier on Saturday that both civilians and military personnel were among the casualties but did not provide specific figures.

US President Donald Trump told Fox News in an interview on Saturday that during the operation to seize Maduro, some US personnel were injured, but no American troops were killed.

One US military aircraft was damaged, he added.

China has called on the United States to release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife at once and stop toppling the government of Venezuela, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

Reports emerged on Saturday that the US had deployed forces to seize Maduro and his wife and forcibly take them out of the country, igniting widespread opposition from multiple countries.

In an online statement, China expressed grave concern over the US' move, describing it as a clear violation of international law, basic norms in international relations, and the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.

The spokesperson called on Washington to ensure the personal safety of Maduro and his wife, and urged that issues be resolved through dialogue and negotiation.

The year 2026 has certainly begun with a bang! The US administration's illegal invasion of Venezuela and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on, as yet, trumped up, unsubstantiated charges, are symptomatic of the United States' Monroe Doctrine of 1823 — a US foreign policy named after former president James Monroe that viewed Latin America as the US' exclusive sphere of influence — and the days of earlier US gunboat imperialism that warned European powers to stay away from the Americas, because it defined the entire hemisphere to be in the US' sphere of influence.

The US' intervention in Venezuela and likely future ones in the region were made clear in US President Donald Trump's 2025 National Security Strategy released on Dec 4, which established what it calls the "Trump Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine. The NSS asserts that the US must be "preeminent in the Western Hemisphere as a condition for our security and prosperity", allowing the US to "assert ourselves with confidence where and when necessary".

The NSS framework prioritizes several relevant objectives: controlling critical supply chains, ensuring continued access to key strategic locations, preventing "hostile foreign incursions", defeating drug cartels that they've classified, without evidence, as terrorist organizations, stopping "illegal and destabilizing migration", and countering Chinese and Russian influence in the region.

The NSS strategy crows that "the military system superior to any other country in the world" would be used to gain access to the region's energy and mineral resources.

This represents a seismic shift. Recent US administrations generally relied on agreements, benefits and occasional coercion. Now the emphasis seems to be on outright domination through military force, tariff wars and interventions without regard to international law.

Will the US administration stop at Venezuela? The US invasion of a sovereign nation has violated international law and endangered other Latin American countries. The US president has already sent warnings to other countries including Cuba.

Cuba represents a high-probability target. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's father was a Cuban exile, and like most former Cubans in the US and their families, Rubio viscerally detests Fidel Castro's 1959 victory. Cuba's long-standing adversarial relationship with the US, its close alliance with both Venezuela and Nicaragua, and its support for Maduro's regime provide clear motivations for US intervention.

Nicaragua? Rubio has also explicitly designated the husband-and-wife Daniel Ortega-Rosario Murillo regime as an "enemy of humanity", placing it in the same category as Venezuela and Cuba. In fact, during his February 2025 visit to Central America, Rubio emphasized that Trump opposes the "regimes" of Maduro, Miguel Díaz-Canel in Cuba, and Ortega-Murillo in Nicaragua, describing these three governments as responsible for creating the US immigration crisis.

President Gustavo Petro in neighboring Colombia, announced that security forces were deployed along the border to prepare for a possible refugee influx. Petro condemned the attack as an aggression against Venezuela and Latin America, urging de-escalation.

Ancient Roman emperors used bread and circuses to divert attention from political failures and misadventures. Modern politicians have often used wars to deflect attention from their shortcomings in what's termed a diversionary "wag the dog" strategy. With domestic opposition growing in the run-up to congressional, state and local elections in November, the US administration may just be beginning to borrow a page from this strategic playbook.

The author is a US scholar and a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization. 

The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

If you have a specific expertise, or would like to share your thought about our stories, then send us your writings at opinion@chinadaily.com.cn, and comment@chinadaily.com.cn.

CARACAS - Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice on late Saturday ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to immediately assume the role of acting president after President Nicolas Maduro's capture.

The judiciary's decision was read on national radio and television by the court's magistrate Tania D'Amelio.

"It is ordered that the citizen Delcy Eloina Rodriguez Gomez, executive vice-president of the republic, assume and exercise in the capacity of acting President, all the powers, duties and faculties inherent to the position of President," said the supreme court decision.

The order also said that Rodriguez's role as acting president "should be exercised immediately."

Meanwhile, the court said it rejects and condemns the extremely serious military aggression carried out by the United States against the people and territory of Venezuela, as well as the kidnapping of Maduro and his wife.

It added that the US action flagrantly violates the Constitution and laws of Venezuela, as well as international law and the Charter of the United Nations, with the aim of seizing Venezuela's strategic resources.

The court said it stands with the Venezuelan people in defending national independence and sovereignty, and called on all parties to make joint efforts to maintain peace and stability in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in a large-scale US military operation against Venezuela early Saturday morning and were flown to New York.

China is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns the United States' blatant use of force against Venezuela, including airstrikes against both civilian and military sites in at least four states of the country and the seizure of the country's president.

Such hegemonic acts seriously violate international law and Venezuela's sovereignty, threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region, and set a dangerous precedent for international relations.

The excuse offered by Washington — that of "counter-narcotics" — does not and cannot legitimize the invasion of a capital city, the bombing of sovereign territory, or the removal of a head of state. Such reasoning, if accepted, would grant powerful nations a universal license for military intervention, running directly counter to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.

Triumphantly announcing that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were "captured and flown out of the Country" , US President Donald Trump said that the US would "run" Venezuela on "a temporary basis" to "get the oil flowing", making clear the motivation for the US aggression.

The United Nations has added its voice to the chorus of condemnation, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressing grave concern at the US' disregard for international law, saying that the developments are deeply troubling. Russia also said it was "extremely alarmed" by the US' "act of armed aggression". These remarks reflect the shared shock and opprobrium of the international community.

The strong responses worldwide, including those of some US allies and partners, to the US' "Operation Absolute Resolve" in Venezuela underscores a broad recognition that the use of force against a sovereign state is wrong.

History offers sobering lessons. External military interventions that seek regime change have repeatedly plunged countries into prolonged instability, humanitarian suffering and regional spillover. Violence may topple power structures overnight, but it cannot rebuild societies or win the trust of the people. What it does instead is to fracture states, inflame grievances and sow the seeds of enduring conflict.

The US' unjustifiable aggression destroys any moral authority it may have claimed. International rules apply to all, not only to some. When the strongest choose to disregard the law, the fence of rules is weakened for everyone. Such double standards hollow out international law and invite a world where might makes right — an outcome no country, especially those committed to peace and development, should accept.

China firmly opposes any act that violates another country's sovereignty and security. It calls on the US to abide by international law and the UN Charter, cease its military adventurism, and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy. The future of Venezuela must be decided by its people, not imposed from outside. Upholding international law is not optional; it is the foundation of global stability.

Power politics cannot be dressed up as legality. Coercion cannot substitute for diplomacy. The core tenets of sovereign equality and non-interference are not negotiable; they are the essential safeguards against global chaos.

MOSCOW -- Russia's Foreign Ministry denied that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez is in Russia, saying such claim by some media organizations is "fake news," TASS reported on Saturday, citing the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Earlier, Spanish news agencies 20 minutos, The Objective and Vozpopuli reported that after the US attack on Caracas, Delcy Rodriguez gave an interview to the Venezuelan state TV channel VTV over the phone from Moscow.

Reuters confirmed this information, citing its sources.

Later, Cuban news agency Prensa Latina, citing Venezuela's national press, reported that Rodriguez is still in Venezuela.

On Saturday, Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered Rodriguez to assume the role of acting president following Maduro's capture.

BRASILIA -- Brazil's interim Foreign Minister Maria Laura da Rocha on Saturday said Brazil recognizes Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as the head of state in the absence of President Nicolas Maduro.

She added Brazil will continue to support international law, and all countries in safeguarding their sovereignty, and oppose any form of territorial aggression.

On the same day, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reiterated his previous position and condemned the US attack on Venezuela as well as the capture of Maduro and his wife.

Defense Minister Jose Mucio said the situation in Roraima state, which borders Venezuela, remains stable.

He added that Brazil has deployed 10,000 military personnel in the Amazon region, with 2,300 stationed in Roraima.

NEW YORK -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were captured in a large-scale US military strike on Venezuela early Saturday morning, will be sent to the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York, according to a report by CNN.

The military aircraft carrying the couple landed at the Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York State around 5 pm (2200 GMT) on Saturday afternoon, according to multiple reports and video footage.

Maduro and a few others will face charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices next week in US District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to an unsealed indictment released by the US Department of Justice on Saturday.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he called US President Donald Trump directly on Saturday to express his opposition to "a pursuit of regime change to the violation of federal, international law." Some people demonstrated against the US military action in Venezuela outside the Newburgh air base.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez demanded the "immediate release" of the Maduro couple at a session of the National Defense Council broadcast by a state television channel on Saturday.

The United States' seizure of Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro marks a dramatic escalation in Washington's long-standing practice of using force in Latin America to apprehend foreign leaders under domestic criminal indictments. While extraordinary, this episode is not without precedent. In Dec 1989, the United States invaded Panama to arrest General Manuel Noriega on drug trafficking charges, forcibly transferring him to the United States for trial.

Both cases involve the unilateral apprehension of a sitting head of state accused by Washington of involvement in narcotics trafficking. They raise fundamental questions of international law, particularly concerning the legality of the use of force against a sovereign state and the scope of immunity traditionally accorded to heads of state. Examined through the lenses of the United Nations Charter and the doctrine of state immunity, the seizure of Maduro stands on legally indefensible ground.

Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter obliges all member states to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. A military operation to capture a foreign head of state on that state's own territory constitutes a clear violation of this core principal. In this respect, the United States' action represents a breach of Venezuela's sovereignty and of the Charter itself.

Washington has attempted to justify its conduct by invoking self-defense, claiming that Maduro's alleged "Cartel of the Suns" constitutes a threat to US national security and even characterizing cocaine trafficking as a form of "weapon of mass destruction". However, under Article 51 of the UN Charter, self-defense is permitted only in response to an actual armed attack. Venezuela has launched no such attack against the US. By expanding the concept of self-defense to encompass transnational drug trafficking, the US has stretched the doctrine beyond recognition.

The invocation of "weapons of mass destruction" further underscores the weakness of this argument. While widely used in political discourse, WMD is not a term authoritatively defined by treaty or customary international law. Recasting narcotics as WMD exploits this legal ambiguity and runs counter to the principle of good faith enshrined in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

The US might argue that Maduro's alleged crimes — such as torture or crimes against humanity — trigger universal jurisdiction, allowing any state to arrest perpetrators regardless of nationality or location. International law does recognize universal jurisdiction for certain grave offenses. However, the modern legal framework for prosecuting such crimes is centered on the International Criminal Court.

Under the Rome Statute, the ICC has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression — but only where states are unable or unwilling to prosecute. Crucially, the Court may exercise jurisdiction over a head of state only through established legal mechanisms, including referral by the UN Security Council under Article 13(b). Unilateral military abduction is not among them.

While the Rome Statute significantly erodes traditional head-of-state immunity —most notably through Article 27 — it does so within an institutional and legal framework designed to constrain power, not license its arbitrary use. The appropriate course for the United States, had it wished to pursue accountability, would have been to seek multilateral authorization through the Security Council and the ICC.

Instead, Washington has chosen to operate outside that system. The United States does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC and formally withdrew from the Rome Statute framework in 2002. In recent years, it has gone further, imposing sanctions on ICC judges and prosecutors. This posture underscores a deeper contradiction: the United States insists on global accountability for others while exempting itself from the very institutions designed to deliver it.

Given the United States' veto power, meaningful consequences through the Security Council are virtually impossible. If such actions carry no international cost, the erosion of the UN-centered order will accelerate, inviting comparisons to the League of Nations in the 1930s — an institution rendered impotent by the unilateralism of its most powerful members.

Resorting to military invasion and the arrest of a sitting head of state, the United States has effectively abandoned the rules-based international order it long claimed to uphold, replacing it with a Hobbesian security culture characterized by coercion, zero-sum logic, and jungle law.

The author is a scholar at Brussels Research Institute on Development, Governance and Empowerment, through law, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

If you have a specific expertise, or would like to share your thought about our stories, then send us your writings at opinion@chinadaily.com.cn, and comment@chinadaily.com.cn.

Venezuela's top court orders VP Delcy Rodriguez to be acting president: media

Voices of dissent have risen across the United States following the military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, with critics mainly from Congress and social media questioning the action's legality and underlying motives.

US forces carried out airstrikes on military sites in Caracas, including Fort Tiuna and La Carlota Air Base on Saturday. The operation included the arrest of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

Democratic lawmakers have led much of the criticism, focusing on constitutional concerns and possible resource-driven motives. Senator Tim Kaine called it "an unauthorized military attack on Venezuela" that bypasses Congress, saying that he will force a Senate vote next week on a resolution to constrain the president's war powers. "President Trump's unauthorized military attack on Venezuela to arrest Maduro — however terrible he is — is a sickening return to a day when the United States asserted the right to dominate the internal political affairs of all nations in the Western Hemisphere," Kaine said.

The Senate vote on the War Powers Resolution is expected as early as Tuesday, following a mandatory briefing by administration officials.

Democratic senator Andy Kim said the administration had misled Congress. "Administration officials lied to Congress about goals in Venezuela. This operation sends a horrible and disturbing signal that targeting a head of state is acceptable US policy, violating our Constitution's war powers provisions and setting a dangerous precedent," said Kim.

Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Mark Pocan, and Senator Jeff Merkley also argued that the operation was driven by oil interests rather than national security. Ocasio-Cortez described it as a "terrifying precedent" for regime change under the mask of drug charges, while Pocan and Merkley emphasized that the move ignores the will of the American people to prioritize "might over right" for the sake of securing foreign resources.

Democratic Representative Jim McGovern described the strikes as illegal. "The Trump administration has been lying to Congress and the American people while carrying out illegal attacks. This is an unjustified, illegal strike on Venezuela — the Constitution is clear: only Congress can declare war, and we must say no to an illegal war."

Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego also called it an illegal war. "This war is illegal; it's embarrassing that we went from the world cop to the world bully in one day. There is no justification for the United States to be at war with Venezuela — I lived through the consequences of an illegal war sold to the American people on lies," he said.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the move reckless. "This is reckless and without a plan — Trump's decision to capture Maduro bypasses Congress entirely, risking American lives and international stability without any strategy beyond bravado."

In contrast, most Republican lawmakers largely applauded the operation as a decisive step against narco-terrorism and in the US interests, while some Republican lawmakers also raised objections. Representative Thomas Massie questioned the legal foundation: "If the operation were constitutionally sound, authorities would not reference a 1934 firearm law in relation to the arrest of a foreign leader and his wife. The president has no authority to launch military action without congressional authorization — this is a clear violation."

Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized foreign interventions. "Regime change, funding foreign wars and American's tax dollars being consistently funneled to foreign causes ... is what has most Americans furious. If US military action and regime change in Venezuela was really about saving American lives, then why aren't we doing the same with Mexican cartels?" she posted.

Republican Senator Mike Lee initially sought clarification on authorization. "I look forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or congressional authorization. This raises serious questions about the legal basis for military strikes on Venezuela."

Ana Navarro, a conservative political commentator, criticized suggestions that the US should manage Venezuela, as Trump had asserted. "This is insane. We have to reject any effort by Donald Trump to run Venezuela — claiming the US will 'manage' another country is a severe infringement on sovereignty and completely unhinged."

Maduro and Flores arrived later on Saturday in New York aboard a US aircraft, landing at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh before transferring to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn for federal processing.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, briefed on detention plans, called the capture "an act of war and a violation of federal and international law".

Online discussions echoed politicians' concerns. On Reddit, user Flash_ina_pan wrote: "As long as there's oil that Chevron, Exxon and their ilk don't have access to, war is always on the table. The whole 'drug trafficking' and 'human rights' narrative is just a PR layer to mask the fact that this is a resources grab."

User Agloe_Dreams commented: "Profits come at the cost of the people. Ensuring profits requires ensuring control. Going to war with someone so you can set up your own profitable dictatorship has, historically speaking, not worked out great at ALL for anyone."

On X, @ZoeAlexandros posted: "The drug trafficking charges are a convenient front for a textbook regime change. If we actually cared about drug flows, we wouldn't be cozying up to narco-states when it suits our interests. This is about establishing a foothold, period."

@GeopoliAnalyst, another user, wrote: "Trump just said the quiet part loud: 'We're going to get the oil flowing.' This was never about democracy. It's about securing the world's largest oil reserves for US firms. Absolute Resolve is just another resource war dressed up in the flag."

YouTube comments included similar views. @CommonSenseCynic wrote: "It's the 2026 version of 'weapons of mass destruction'. The DEA warrant is just a convenient legal wrapper for a military coup. If it were about drugs, they'd start with the cartels we actually share a border with, not a country with the largest oil reserves."

yifanxu@chinadailyusa.com

NEW YORK -- At least 40 people, including civilians and soldiers, were killed in a large-scale US military strike on Venezuela early Saturday morning, US media reported, citing a senior Venezuelan official.

WASHINGTON -- US Democratic lawmakers on Saturday showed their anger and distress in the aftermath of the US raid on Venezuela and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro early Saturday morning.

They said that Congress had not been notified in advance and that US President Donald Trump's administration had previously lied to Congress about its goal in the oil-rich South American nation. Meanwhile, they demanded an immediate briefing on the operation and on the White House's next move.

"Secretaries Rubio and Hegseth looked every Senator in the eye a few weeks ago and said this wasn't about regime change. I didn't trust them then and we see now that they blatantly lied to Congress," US Senator Andy Kim wrote in a post on X. Last year, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told members of Congress that regime change in Venezuela was not their goal.

Jason Crow, a Democrat on the House Armed Services and Intelligence committees, agreed: "The Trump Administration repeatedly lied to Congress and the American people about Venezuela. Over and over, officials testified that this was not about regime change."

Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the Trump administration has "consistently misled" lawmakers, leaving Congress in the dark on any US "long-term strategy" concerning Venezuela.

Senator Chris Coons, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, also said that lawmakers were given "false" information by the administration. "A military operation to capture and overthrow a president -- even an illegitimate one -- is an act of war that must be authorized by Congress," he said.

Both House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Saturday criticized the Trump administration for not seeking congressional authorization before the reckless attack, demanding an immediate briefing.

"The Trump administration has not sought congressional authorization for use of military force and has failed to properly notify Congress in advance of the operation in Venezuela," Jeffries said in a statement.

"Too many questions remain unanswered," said Jeffries, calling for evidence to "explain and justify this unauthorized use of military force."

According to Schumer, the White House "has assured me three separate times that it was not pursuing regime change or taking military action in Venezuela." "Clearly, they are not being straight with Americans," Schumer said in a statement.

Following reports of explosions in Caracas, Democratic Senator Brian Schatz, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote on X that the United States has "no vital national interests in Venezuela to justify war."

"We should have learned not to stumble into another stupid adventure by now," Schatz warned.

However, it seems Republican lawmakers largely back the Trump administration's attack on Venezuela. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson said they are expecting related briefings to Congress in the coming days.

"President Trump's decisive action ... is an important first step to bring him (Maduro) to justice for the drug crimes for which he has been indicted in the United States," Thune said in a statement.

The latest US strikes on Venezuela and its capture of Maduro have drawn worldwide condemnation and concern.

CARACAS -- Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Saturday that Nicolas Maduro is "the only president" of the South American nation.

Rodriguez made the statement during a live speech on a state-run television station Saturday afternoon, adding that Venezuela will never become a colony of any country.

Accompanied by the ministers of the interior, foreign affairs and other officials, the vice president demanded that the United States release Maduro and his wife, and urged the Venezuelan people to remain calm, face the challenges together and defend national sovereignty.

Noting that the attack on Venezuela may happen in any other country in the region in the future, Rodriguez said Venezuela is ready to defend its natural resources and will never become a colony of any country or a slave of any empire.

The United States launched a large-scale military operation against Venezuela in the early hours of Saturday, seizing Maduro and his wife.

US President Donald Trump claimed at a press conference Saturday morning that Rodriguez had been sworn in as president of Venezuela, and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio "just had a conversation" with her.

"She's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again," Trump claimed while speaking to reporters.

The international community is deeply shocked by the US raid on Maduro, strongly condemning the blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its president.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores arrived in New York on Saturday aboard a US aircraft, landing at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, following their capture in a large-scale US military operation in Venezuela earlier in the day. US Attorney General Pam Bondi stated the couple will face federal charges, including narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, drug trafficking and related offenses.

Earlier, Venezuelan Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez demanded "proof of life" for Maduro and his wife, stating the government did not know their whereabouts following the US action, which she described as a violation of sovereignty. Maduro and Flores are expected to be transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and make an initial court appearance as soon as Monday.