President Trump announced on Saturday that the United States had placed Venezuela under temporary American control after US forces captured Maduro in what he described as a large scale operation and transported him to New York to face drug trafficking related charges.
“We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said during a press conference at his Mar a Lago resort in Florida. He added that Washington could not risk Venezuela falling into the hands of leaders who did not represent the interests of its people.
Trump also said major US oil companies would move into Venezuela as part of the takeover to rehabilitate the country’s deteriorating oil infrastructure, noting the process could take years despite Venezuela holding the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
Speaking to reporters, Mamdani said he contacted Trump directly to register his opposition.
“I called the president and spoke with him directly to make my position clear,” he said, adding that he opposed any pursuit of regime change and actions he believes violate federal and international law.
Earlier, Mamdani had described the US military operation as “an act of war” and a dangerous escalation of American foreign policy. In a post on X, he said he had been briefed on the operation and on plans to detain Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in federal custody in New York City.
“Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of international law,” he wrote, warning that the consequences would extend beyond Venezuela and affect thousands of Venezuelans living in New York.
Trump later confirmed that US forces carried out overnight strikes that disrupted electricity in parts of Caracas and targeted military sites. According to Trump, US Special Forces captured Maduro near one of his safe houses before transferring him and Flores to a US Navy vessel and then flying them to the United States.
Video footage showed a plane landing at Stewart International Airport in New York state, followed by a heavy police convoy transporting Maduro to the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn. A US Justice Department official confirmed that Maduro would make an initial appearance in federal court in Manhattan on Monday.
Maduro has previously been indicted in the United States on charges including narco terrorism conspiracy, while Flores also faces charges related to cocaine importation.
In Caracas, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez denounced the operation as a kidnapping and demanded the immediate release of Maduro and his wife. She later appeared on state television as a Venezuelan court ordered her to assume the role of interim president.
In Washington, legal experts and several Democratic lawmakers questioned the legality of seizing a sitting foreign head of state and demanded clarity on what the United States plans to do next.
