US attacks Venezuela Highlights: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado calls for release of all political prisoners

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado on Sunday called for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro by US forces.

Her appeal drew support from French President Emmanuel Macron, who said that Machado could count on France’s backing. “Like all Venezuelans, she can count on France’s support to raise her voice in favour of a peaceful, democratic transition that fully respects the sovereign will of the Venezuelan people,” Macron said.

Responding to Macron’s statement, Machado thanked the French leader in a post on X, saying, “The freedom of ALL political prisoners is our immediate priority.”

She also issued a broader appeal to the international community, urging global leaders and democratic governments to support Venezuela at what she described as a critical moment. “I ask the heads of State and Government and all the democrats of the world to support us in this decisive hour. Venezuela will be free,” she wrote.

North Korea on Sunday condemned the US action against Venezuela, calling the strikes the “most serious form of encroachment of sovereignty.”

In a statement carried by Reuters, North Korea said it was closely watching the situation in Venezuela, which it said had been triggered by the United States’ “high-handed” actions.

A day after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured by US forces and brought to New York, the White House released a video appearing to mock the Venezuelan leader and offering a glimpse into how the operation unfolded.

The video intercuts blurred footage of Maduro with scenes from the press conference in which US officials announced and outlined the details of his capture.

As the footage plays, subtitles appear in bold capital letters quoting past remarks by Maduro, including “Come get me,” “I’ll wait for him here in Miraflores,” “Don’t be late in arriving,” and “Coward!” The statements, drawn from earlier public appearances, were seemingly aimed at the United States and President Donald Trump and are now presented in a taunting context following the reported operation.

Watch video here:

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Sunday stated that one of the first actions taken by Canada’s new government in March 2025 was to impose additional sanctions on the “brutally oppressive and criminal regime” of deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro, underlining Ottawa’s firm opposition to what it views as serious violations of international norms in Venezuela.

Explaining the rationale behind the move, Carney said in a post on X that the sanctions were meant to unequivocally condemn Maduro’s “grave breaches of international peace and security, gross and systematic human rights violations, and corruption.” He further stressed that Canada has not recognised what he described as the “illegitimate regime” of Maduro since the 2018 election, which he said was stolen.

-via ANI

A covert intelligence operation involving a CIA source inside the Venezuelan government, a fleet of stealth drones and months of detailed planning preceded the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during what the Donald Trump administration described as “large-scale” strikes on Saturday.

According to a report by The New York Times, a source linked to the Central Intelligence Agency monitored Maduro’s movements in the days and even moments before his arrest by US special operations forces. The newspaper cited officials briefed on the operation, who said real-time intelligence played a key role in tracking Maduro’s location and executing the mission.

China on Sunday called on the United States to release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife “at once” and “resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation.”

“China expresses grave concern over the US forcibly seizing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and taking them out of the country”, a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement stated.

It added, “China calls on the US to ensure the personal safety of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, release them at once, stop toppling the government of Venezuela, and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation.”

“China calls on the US to ensure the personal safety of President Maduro and his wife, immediately release President Maduro and his wife, cease its efforts to subvert the Venezuelan regime, and resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation,” read a statement from the foreign ministry.

According to a source-based New York Times report, at least 40 people were killed in the US attack on Caracas. A senior Venezuelan official told the publication that the casualties included both civilians and soldiers.

A newly unsealed US Justice Department indictment accuses captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of running a “corrupt, illegitimate government” fuelled by an extensive drug-trafficking operation that flooded the US with thousands of tons of cocaine.

Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was seen wishing reporters and Drug Enforcement Administration agents a Happy New Year and good night during his ‘perp walk’ on Sunday.

“The original restrictions around the Caribbean airspace are expiring at 12:00am ET and flights can resume. Airlines are informed, and will update their schedules quickly. Please continue to work with your airline if your flight was affected by the restrictions,” US Transport Secretary Sean Duffy wrote on X.

Protests have erupted across the US following President Donald Trump’s military operation in Venezuela and the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro. Hundreds marched, chanted and waves Venezuelan flags in major metropolitans like Washington, DC, New York, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles on Saturday.

The Venezuelan Supreme Court has reportedly ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the powers and duties of an acting president. The order was announced by Justice Tania D’Amelio in a session broadcast by the state television channel VTV.

It concluded that ousted President Nicolas Maduro was presently in a “material and temporary impossibility to exercise his functions.”

Rodriguez has been asked to “assume and exercise, as acting president, all the powers, duties, and faculties inherent to the office of president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defence of the nation”.

The Russian Foreign Ministry urged the United States to release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, calling them the “legitimately elected leaders” and stressing that issues between the two countries should be resolved through dialogue.

“In view of the confirmed reports about Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his spouse being in the United States, we strongly urge the US leadership to reconsider their position and release the legitimately elected president of a sovereign country and his spouse. We highlight the need to create conditions for resolving any existing issues between the United States and Venezuela through dialogue,” the Russian MFA wrote.

“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.

“We can’t take a chance that someone else takes over Venezuela who doesn’t have the interests of Venezuelans in mind.”

Trump said as part of the takeover, major U.S. oil companies would move into Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserves, and refurbish badly degraded oil infrastructure, a process experts said could take years.

Major US airlines canceled hundreds of flights on Saturday following a military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. The attack also disrupted Caribbean travel at a busy travel time for the region. According to FlightRadar24.com, no airline flights were crossing over Venezuela on Saturday.

Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights across the eastern Caribbean region and warned passengers that the disruptions could continue for days after the Federal Aviation Administration imposed restrictions. Flights were canceled to and from Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Aruba and more than a dozen other destinations in the Lesser Antilles island group that lies north of Venezuela.

The airlines are waiving change fees for passengers who have to reschedule their flights this weekend.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has called the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife an “act of war” and “violation of international law”. He said it violates federal and international law and could affect tens of thousands of Venezuelans living in the cosmopolitan world city. The remarks came even as Maduro landed in the city and headed to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

“I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City. Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law. This blatant pursuit of regime change doesn’t just affect those abroad, it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home. My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance,” he wrote on X.

Democratic members of the U.S. Congress said on Saturday that senior officials of President Donald Trump’s administration had misled them during recent briefings about plans for Venezuela by insisting they were not planning regime change in Caracas.

Maduro reaches Manhattan by helicopter

Trump claimed on Saturday that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez had been sworn in as president shortly before he spoke to reporters and added she had spoken with Rubio.

“She is essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again. Very simple,” Trump claimed.

But Rodriguez made no mention of talking to Rubio, of taking over the presidency or even cooperating with the US during a televised address soon after his news conference. State television has not shown a swearing-in ceremony. And during her address, a ticker at the bottom of the screen identified her as the vice president of Venezuela.

Instead, Delcy Rodríguez demanded the US free Maduro, called him the country’s rightful leader and said what was happening to Venezuela “is an atrocity that violates international law.” Rodriguez left open the door for dialogue with the US while seeking to calm ruling party supporters.

“Here, we have a government with clarity, and I repeat and repeat again … we are willing to have respectful relations. It is the only thing we will accept for a type of relationship after having attacked (Venezuela),” she said.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs issued a travel advisory on Saturday night amid growing uncertainty in Venezuela. It has “strongly advised” Indian nationals to “avoid all non-essential travel” to the other country.

“All Indians who are in Venezuela for any reason are advised to exercise extreme caution, restrict their movements, and remain in contact with Embassy of India in Caracas through their email id: cons.caracas@mea.gov.in or the emergency phone number +58-412-9584288 (also for WhatsApp calls)” the MEA added.

According to updates shared by CNN, the Venezuelan leader remains at the Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York as his wife undergoes further medical checks in a hangar. Maduro is likely to be taken by helicopter to Manhattan before being brought to the Metropolitan Detention Center.

The facility has been used to house many key figures in famous federal cases, such as Sean “Diddy” Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried. He is set to face drugs and weapons charges in Manhattan federal court next week.

A plane carrying captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, arrived at the Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York on Sunday morning (IST).

Footage shared by WCBS showed the Venezuelan leader in handcuffs, wearing grey clothing, while being escorted by more than a dozen federal agents wearing black.

Hours after a US military operation that seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, US President Donald Trump declared that Washington would assume control of Venezuela during a transition period.

“We’re going to run the country until such time that we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said, adding that Maduro and his wife were being transported to New York to face drug trafficking and weapons charges.

Trump gave no clear outline of how Venezuela would be governed, saying only that oversight would be handled by “a group” and said he was prepared to deploy US troops if necessary. Trump added he was not afraid of “boots on the ground”.

The US president said Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and conveyed a willingness to cooperate with Washington. The claim came hours after Rodríguez publicly condemned the US operation in a televised address.

Trump also repeatedly pointed to Venezuela’s energy sector, saying American oil companies would play a central role in rebuilding the country’s infrastructure. Venezuela holds roughly 17 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday issued an advisory following recent developments in Venezuela, urging Indian nationals to avoid all non-essential travel to the country.

In a statement, the MEA advised Indians currently in Venezuela to exercise extreme caution, limit their movements and remain in close contact with the Embassy of India in Caracas. The ministry said citizens could reach the embassy via email at cons.caracas@mea.gov.in or through the emergency phone number +58-412-9584288, which is also available on WhatsApp.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday the United ‍States ⁠will have large U.S. oil companies go into ​Venezuela ‌after the arrest of President Nicolas ​Maduro. Trump said at a press conference at his ‌Mar-a-Lago club in Florida that U.S. forces were ‌prepared for ‌a second, larger attack as ‌part ‍of ⁠the ​operation to capture Maduro ⁠overnight, but that ⁠it was not necessary.

Trump said the operation to seize Nicolás Maduro involved what he described as “overwhelming American military power,” deployed across air, land and sea. He likened the mission to other actions he has ordered, including the June strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, and argued that “no other nation” was capable of carrying out such an operation.