US Forces Kidnap Maduro, Trump Declares 'We Will Run Venezuela'

US special forces conducted a surprise nighttime operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

““We are reasserting American power”

Atlantic Council

Trump declared the US will run the country until a safe and judicious transition.

Atlantic Council

The Atlantic Council called it a regime-change effort that goes beyond extradition.

The UN Security Council and American allies including France condemned it as a violation of international law.

Maduro pleaded not guilty, insisting he is still Venezuela's president.

Trump indicated that Edmundo González will be the transition leader.

The United States faces the dilemma that every regional power has rejected the legitimacy of the Guzmán-Rodríguez regime.

Barriozona Magazine

This tension between constitutional legitimacy and US-imposed outcomes creates an unstable transition.

Trump flagged oil as foundational to the operation.

“A New Era and a Blow to Putin”

BBC

China has first dibs on much of what comes out of the ground due to loans.

Executing an export plan to corner Brazilian and Mexican oil markets will provoke a knot of interests.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll found only 27% of Americans approved of the strikes.

Congressional Democrats demanded briefings on the war's legality.

NPR

Some US mainland economies approved recognition of Edmundo Gonzalez while others rejected it.

The UN Secretary General said the Trump administration violated the UN charter.

“Associated PressAssociated Press Leave your feedback Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro declared himself "innocent" and a "decent man" as he pleaded not guilty to federal drug trafficking charges in a U”

PBS

Member nations of the Security Council described the raid as a violation of international law.

PBS

The operation drew criticism from close US allies.