CARACAS, Venezuela
Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro arrived in the United States late Saturday to face criminal charges following a covert nighttime raid that President Donald Trump said would enable the U.S. to “run” the South American nation and exploit its vast oil reserves.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were extracted from their home on a military base in Caracas in a middle-of-the-night operation condemned by his government as “imperialist.”
The couple, who face U.S. narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, landed at a small airport in New York.
The dramatic capture marks the culmination of an intensive pressure campaign and months of secret planning by the Trump administration, representing the most assertive U.S. action to force regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Legal experts immediately questioned the operation’s lawfulness, noting it was conducted without congressional approval.
In response, Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, demanded Maduro’s release and affirmed him as the country’s rightful leader, even as the nation’s high court named her interim president.
By James Kisoo
