Prepared for the Office of Public Affairs (OPA)
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Editorial Note: The DHS Daily Briefing is a collection of news articles related to Department’s mission. The inclusion of particular stories is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse the political viewpoints or affiliations included in news coverage.

CBS News [1/3/2026 7:47 PM, Jacob Rosen, Anna Schecter, Melissa Quinn, 39474K] reports Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges stemming from what prosecutors said was his role in a scheme to import "thousands of tons" of cocaine into the United States and enrich himself, his family and senior members of the Venezuelan government. The indictment was unsealed Saturday after Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken into military custody in an overnight operation and brought to the U.S. to face criminal charges. Maduro, Flores and four others are named as defendants in the indictment, including Maduro’s son, Nicolás Ernesto Maduro; Venezuela’s interior minister, Diosdado Cabello; its former interior minister, Ramón Rodríguez Chacín; and a leader of the gang Tren de Aragua, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores. It’s unclear whether the U.S. has arrested Maduro’s son. The other three defendants were not taken into custody. "Maduro and his wife will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil," Mr. Trump said in a press conference from his South Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, earlier Saturday. The case was brought in the Southern District of New York, where Maduro and 14 others were first indicted in March 2020, during the first Trump administration. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein is overseeing the case. The plane carrying Maduro landed at an airport in the Hudson Valley on Saturday afternoon. The Venezuelan leader was expected to be turned over to federal authorities and arraigned at the U.S. district court in the Southern District of New York next week, two sources told CBS News. Secured by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, the superseding indictment alleges that for more than 25 years, "leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States.” Prosecutors place Maduro at the "forefront of the corruption," and say that he and his associates worked with drug traffickers and narco-terrorists to flood the U.S. with "thousands of tons of cocaine." This drug trafficking, according to the indictment, enriched Maduro, his family and members of Venezuela’s political and military elite. "This cycle of narcotics-based corruption lines the pockets of Venezuelan officials and their families while also benefiting violent narco-terrorists who operate with impunity on Venezuelan soil and who help produce, protect and transport tons of cocaine into the United States," the indictment states. Maduro faces four charges: narco-terrorism conspiracy; cocaine importation conspiracy; possession of machineguns and destructive devices; and conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices. [Editorial note: consult video at source link] The AP [1/4/2026 12:10 AM, Alanna Durkin Richer and Larry Neumeister, 19051K] reports Maduro is facing the same charges as in an earlier indictment brought against him in Manhattan federal court in 2020, during the first Trump presidency. The new indictment unsealed on Saturday, which adds charges against Maduro’s wife, was filed under seal in the Southern District of New York just before Christmas. The indictment accuses Maduro of partnering with “some of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world” to allow for the shipment of thousands of tons of cocaine into the U.S. Authorities allege powerful and violent drug-trafficking organizations, such as the Sinaloa Cartel and Tren de Aragua gang, worked directly with the Venezuelan government and then sent profits to high-ranking officials who helped and protected them in exchange. Bloomberg [1/3/2026 2:32 PM, Bob Van Voris, 803K] reports that if convicted of the charges, Maduro could spend the rest of his life behind bars based on sentencing guidelines. Maduro was initially charged by the US in 2020 and officials set a $50 million reward for information leading to his arrest. The indictment released on Saturday updates the charges and adds new defendants, including Maduro’s wife and son. Maduro has denied being involved in the drug trade. Here are the charges in the indictment: Maduro and two other defendants allegedly agreed to distribute at least five kilograms of cocaine and intended to benefit designated terrorist groups, including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel. Maduro and five other defendants allegedly agreed to smuggle illegal drugs into the US. Count Three: Possession of Machine Guns and Destructive Devices. Maduro and five other defendants allegedly used and possessed machine guns as part of the narco-terrorism and cocaine importation conspiracies. Count 4: Conspiracy to Possess Machine Guns and Destructive Devices. Maduro and five other defendants allegedly agreed to use and possess machine guns as part of the narco-terrorism and cocaine importation conspiracies.

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Wall Street Journal [1/3/2026 2:55 PM, José de Córdoba, Santiago Pérez, and Sadie Gurman, 646K]
NPR [1/3/2026 7:28 PM, Brian Mann, 28013K]
NBC News [1/3/2026 7:17 PM, Hallie Jackson, 34509K] Video: HERE
Daily Caller [1/3/2026 5:28 PM, Anthony Iafrate, 835K]

The Washington Examiner [1/3/2026 9:41 PM, Zach LaChance, 1394K] reports former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was captured early Saturday during a U.S. military operation, has arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York City, where he will soon be booked along with his wife, Cilia. Maduro was driven to the detention center in Brooklyn at around 9 p.m. Eastern time after being processed at the DEA office in Manhattan. He first touched U.S. soil at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Orange County, New York, where a U.S. plane reportedly carrying him from Guantanamo Bay landed four hours earlier. Some of those stops provided the first glimpses of Maduro since his capture. After deboarding at the air base, he was seen in dark clothing surrounded by dozens of federal officers. Later at the DEA office, he briefly passed by the media inside, again seen in dark clothing and appearing in good spirits, telling reporters "Good night" and "Happy new year." The Metropolitan Detention Center where Maduro will now be booked is far from cheery, however. While known for holding high-profile defendants like Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, and notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, its conditions are grisly. Judges and lawmakers have previously sounded the alarm about the federal jail, calling it "barbaric" and "inhumane." It recently caught lawmakers’ attention after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement began using it to detain migrants. FOX News [1/3/2026 5:39 PM, Adam Sabes, Bryan Llenas, 40621K] reports Maduro will be detained at Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn, after the Venezuelan leader was captured in a "fortress"-like house during an early-morning operation by U.S. forces in the South American country. Maduro was charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the U.S. The indictment also lists his wife and son as defendants. MDC Brooklyn also held other high-profile inmates like Ghislaine Maxwell, Sam Bankman Fried and Michael Cohen as they awaited trial. Notably, Maduro will be housed at MDC Brooklyn at the same time as Luigi Mangione, who is awaiting trial after he allegedly assassinated UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Judi Garrett, former assistant director at the Federal Bureau of Prisons, told Fox News Digital she expects Maduro to be held within a Special Housing Unit when he arrives at MDC Brooklyn. "I would expect [Maduro] would be held in [a Special Housing Unit] at the outset and then moved into one of the "special" units where other high profile individuals have been held," Garrett said. Garrett said MDC Brooklyn has "substantial experience with high profile defendants.” During an interview on "Fox & Friends Weekend," President Donald Trump said Maduro got "bum rushed so fast" by American special forces. "We waited four days. We were going to do this, four days ago, three days ago, two days ago. And then all of a sudden it opened up, and we said, ‘go,’" Trump said, adding that Maduro was in a "very highly-guarded" house. "He was in a house that was more like a fortress than a house. It had steel doors. It had what they call a safety space, where it’s, you know, solid steel all around. He didn’t get that space closed. He was trying to get into it, but he got bum rushed so fast that he didn’t get into that," Trump said. "We were prepared. We had, you know, massive blowtorches and everything else that you need to get through that steel. But we didn’t need it. He didn’t make it to that area of the house.” Maduro was ultimately captured by the Army’s Delta Force, a U.S. official briefed on the matter told Fox News. The source said the CIA provided the intelligence to the Department of War that ultimately helped track down the Venezuelan dictator. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

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CNN [1/4/2026 1:02 AM, Sandie Ramirez, 18595K]

FOX News [1/3/2026 12:38 PM, Emma Colton, 40621K] reports the U.S. military carried out a "large-scale strike" on Venezuela Saturday morning, capturing the nation’s dictatorial leader, Nicolás Maduro, who will face sweeping criminal charges on U.S. soil, according to an unsealed indictment released by Attorney General Pam Bondi. Maduro, who was elected in 2013 and served as Hugo Chavez’s vice president, is facing charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the U.S. The unsealed indictment focuses on how Maduro allegedly enriched himself and "political elites" by reportedly partnering with vicious gangs and drug cartels that have established syndicates across the Western Hemisphere, including in the U.S., such as New York. The indictment lists six individuals as defendants, including Maduro, his wife, his son and Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, the leader of a vicious Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua. The indictment alleges that Maduro "sits atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking." The indictment accuses Maduro and his co-conspirators — including Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and former Interior Minister Ramón Rodríguez Chacín — of partnering with narco-terrorists, including the Tren de Aragua gang and its leader, to distribute cocaine since at least 1999.

Univision [1/3/2026 3:16 PM, Isaiah Alvarado, 5004K] reports it’s called the Cartel of the Suns, and the U.S. Department of Justice alleges it’s comprised of a suspected drug trafficking network embedded within Venezuela’s military and political elite. Nicolás Maduro, the ousted leader of that country, has been accused in the Southern District of New York of heading this alleged criminal organization, with the complicity of his inner circle. In a new indictment revealed this Saturday, hours after the military operation that captured Maduro in Caracas, he, his wife Cilia Flores (also arrested), his son Nicolás Maduro Guerra, Venezuelan officials and a leader of the Tren de Aragua criminal group were accused of narco-terrorist conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States. “For more than 25 years, Venezuela’s leaders have abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States,” the indictment reads. According to the New York Prosecutor’s Office, Maduro negotiated the trafficking of several tons of cocaine, ordered the delivery of military weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas, and coordinated with various drug lords to ensure the merchandise reached its final destination. Furthermore, he allegedly made deals with the Sinaloa cartel, Los Zetas, the other Colombian rebel group National Liberation Army (ELN), and the Tren de Aragua criminal organization in Venezuela. The Justice Department asserts that Maduro used cocaine as a weapon to attack the United States. It also states that bribes he receives from drug traffickers and criminals helped him remain in power. The United States and more than 50 other countries do not recognize Maduro as president following two elections plagued by irregularities, the 2018 election and especially the 2024 election. “This cycle of corruption related to drug trafficking enriches Venezuelan officials and their families, while benefiting violent narco-terrorists who operate with impunity in Venezuelan territory,” the indictment reads.

The New York Post [1/3/2026 5:10 PM, Caitlin Doornbos and Samantha Olander, 42219K] reports the U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro was a months-in-the-making mission rehearsed using replicas of Maduro’s fortified compound, showcasing military might, ingenuity — and good timing. The Venezuelan dictator was stopped just steps from the steel doors of his fortified lair as elite Army Delta Force commandos closed in, President Trump said. "He was trying to get into a safe place … the safe place’s all steel, and he wasn’t able to make it to the door because our guys were so fast," President Trump said. The commandos closed in "in a matter of seconds," Trump said on Fox News. "I watched it literally like I was watching a television show — it was an amazing thing.” The Delta Force commandos were flown in by the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment — known as the Night Stalkers — as helicopters pushed toward the compound under fire. The Night Stalkers flew modified MH-60 and MH-47 helicopters, executing low-level nighttime insertions as U.S. aircraft first dismantled Venezuela’s air defenses to clear the path into Caracas. "People were wondering, do we get them by surprise?" Trump added. "Sort of surprised, but they were waiting for something. It was a lot of opposition. There was a lot of gunfire.” At a late morning press conference at Mar-a-Lago General, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said months of intelligence gathering produced critical details about Maduro, enabling US forces to find him "and understand how he moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore, what were his pets.” The C.I.A. collected intelligence from a fleet of stealth drones and a human source who could get close to Mr. Maduro and monitor his movements, according to people briefed on the matter. The intelligence campaign began as early as August, combining human sources with aerial surveillance, while the mission itself involved months of "pinpoint" planning and rehearsal. Trump said the raid on Caracas — dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve — was ordered at 10:46 p.m. Friday after weather briefly cleared, setting off a tightly choreographed mission that unfolded over roughly two hours and 20 minutes. "At my direction, the United States Armed Forces conducted an extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela," Trump said. "Overwhelming American military power, air, land and sea, was used to launch a spectacular assault, and it was an assault like people have not seen since World War II," he added. Trump later said Maduro was holed up inside a "fortress"-like house with steel doors and a reinforced safe space, but never made it inside. "He was trying to get into it, but he got bum rushed so fast that he didn’t get into that area," Trump said, adding U.S. forces were prepared with blowtorches to cut through the steel if needed. The Washington Post [1/3/2026 8:04 PM, Ellen Nakashima, Alex Horton, Warren P. Strobel, Tara Copp, and Dan Lamothe, 24149K] reports that this account of Maduro’s capture is drawn from interviews with senior administration officials and other people familiar with the operation, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details about the secretive operation, as well as public remarks Saturday by Trump and his top aides. The audacious move makes good on Trump’s long-held desire to remove the Venezuelan strongman, but was done without congressional authorization, is in apparent violation of international law and leaves open questions about Venezuela’s future. It is the president’s most pointed exercise of presidential power overseas, marshaling elite Delta Force troops and other U.S. Special Operations personnel — supported by CIA covert operators — not only to seize a foreign leader in a country with which the United States is not at war but to take over the running of that state. The Wall Street Journal [1/4/2026 12:17 AM, Staff, 646K] reports that the mission was led by elite special operations forces and was supported by every branch of the U.S. military, as well as intelligence and law-enforcement agencies, officials said. After months of planning, the operation was set into motion at 8 p.m. Caracas time on Friday, when B-1 bombers lifted off from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas, according to flight-tracking data. Roughly 150 other aircraft from bases across the Western Hemisphere followed, said Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The aircraft converged midair and headed toward Venezuela. At 11:46 p.m. President Trump gave final authorization for the U.S. forces to proceed with the mission to seize Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Special-operations aircraft launched from sea-based flight decks and moved on Caracas, as jet fighters, bomber planes and other aircraft struck Venezuela’s air defenses and provided cover for the elite units tasked with capturing Maduro. “The weather broke just enough, clearing a path that only the most skilled aviators in the world could maneuver through,” said Caine. “It was the right time to do it,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News. The Wall Street Journal [1/3/2026 7:34 PM, Alexander Ward, Alex Leary, Dustin Volz, Vera Bergengruen, and Shelby Holliday, 646K] reports that the Pentagon released videos of American forces in the Caribbean training to raid compounds and conduct nighttime flight operations, as well as dozens of airstrikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats. Still, some politicians and analysts in both countries questioned whether Trump, who ran for office on keeping the U.S. out of regime-change wars, would follow through. Then, in the early hours of Saturday morning, explosions rang out in the Venezuelan capital. By the time the sun rose in Caracas, Maduro’s nearly 13-year grip on power had ended. In handcuffs, blindfolded and wearing a gray sweatsuit, he was on a U.S. warship, on his way to New York City to face narcoterrorism charges following a five-hour operation. What happens next isn’t clear, as the U.S. faces the prospect of overseeing Venezuela during a perilous moment. The mission was the culmination of months of secretive planning—and a series of mixed signals—that allowed the U.S. to preserve the element of surprise, even though the incursion at times seemed inevitable.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [1/3/2026 6:34 PM, Evan Hill, Joyce Sohyun Lee, Alex Horton, Jarrett Ley, Adrián Blanco Ramos, and Tim Meko, 24149K]
NPR [1/3/2026 8:02 AM, Daniel Estrin, Greg Myre, 28013K] Audio: HERE
CBS News [1/3/2026 7:04 PM, Caitlin Yilek, 39474K]

NBC News [1/3/2026 9:34 PM, Peter Nicholas, Julie Tsirkin, Matt Dixon, Monica Alba and Courtney Kube, 34509K] reports President Donald Trump gave the Venezuelan leader one last chance to step down. In a private phone call a week ago, Trump told Nicolás Maduro that he had to go. By that point, an armada of U.S. warships was floating off Venezuela’s shores. A CIA team had crept into the country, tracking Maduro’s movements and habits: where he slept, what he ate, where he traveled. "You got to surrender," Trump said, recalling the conversation at a news conference Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago home. Maduro took the gamble of his life. He "came close" to giving in, Trump said, but stayed put. That act of defiance set in motion the final phase of a secret and risky plan to evict Maduro by force. At 10:46 p.m. ET Friday, Trump gave the final order to launch. This account of "Operation Absolute Resolve," the most audacious military action in either of Trump’s terms, is based on interviews with more than a dozen White House, administration and congressional officials, as well as public statements. As early as August, the CIA quietly sent a small unit into Venezuela with the goal of providing "extraordinary insight" into Maduro’s movements, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Even his pets were known to U.S. intelligence agents, Dan "Raizin" Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the news conference Saturday. Elite troops trained for months, going so far as to use a replica of the presidential compound based on intelligence that the U.S. had gathered, Trump said in an interview with Fox News — the same way the troops who killed Osama bin Laden practiced in 2011 with a model of his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. They trained with what Trump called "massive blowtorches" in case they had to cut through steel walls in Maduro’s safe room. At the same time, a core Trump administration team worked privately on the project for months, holding regular meetings and phone calls and briefing Trump, a person knowledgeable about the matter said. That group consisted of some of the people Trump said will now be running Venezuela, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, the person said.

Daily Wire [1/3/2026 10:07 AM, Amanda Prestigiacomo and Mary Margaret Olohan, 2494K] reports concerns about a potential "tip off" and general heightened security threats kept Vice President JD Vance away from the Situation Room during the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and a post-capture presser. A spokesperson for the vice president told Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan that Vance was "deeply integrated in the process and planning of the Venezuela strikes and Maduro’s arrest.” Notably, the vice president also voiced his support for the operation and hit critics claiming Trump’s actions were "illegal.” "Vice President Vance was deeply integrated in the process and planning of the Venezuela strikes and Maduro’s arrest," the spokesperson said. "He joined several late-night meetings via secure video conference with National Security principals leading up to the operation. The Vice President briefly met with President Trump at the Trump golf club in West Palm Beach during the day Friday to discuss the strikes.” "The Vice President was not at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night, as the National Security team was concerned a late-night motorcade movement by the Vice President while the operation was getting underway may tip off the Venezuelans," the statement continued. "The Vice President joined by secure video conference throughout the night to monitor the operation.” "Due to increased security concerns, the Administration has aimed to limit the frequency and duration of the Vice President and President being co-located away from the White House," the spokesperson added. Vance on Saturday posted on X that Maduro was offered "multiple off ramps," but chose to ignore them. "Maduro is the newest person to find out that President Trump means what he says," Vance said. "Kudos to our brave special operators who pulled off a truly impressive operation.” "And PSA for everyone saying this was ‘illegal’: Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism," he added. "You don’t get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas.” And PSA for everyone saying this was "illegal": Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism. On Saturday morning, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were indicted in the Southern District of New York. Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States, the AG said. "On behalf of the entire U.S. DOJ, I would like to thank President Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American People, and a huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers," Bondi added. Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States, the AG said.

FOX News [1/3/2026 3:40 PM, Greg Norman Fox, 40621K] reports President Donald Trump revealed during an exclusive interview with "Fox & Friends Weekend" that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured in a "fortress"-like house, where he got "bum rushed so fast" by American special forces. Trump said he huddled with generals inside a room at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida as they "watched every aspect" of the "extremely complex" operation unfold. The president said the initial plan was for Maduro to be captured earlier this week, but U.S. forces had to wait for the right weather conditions. "We waited four days. We were going to do this four days ago, three days ago, two days ago. And then all of a sudden it opened up, and we said, ‘Go,’" the president said, describing how Maduro was in a "very highly-guarded" house at the time he was confronted. "He was in a house that was more like a fortress than a house. It had steel doors. It had what they call a safety space, where it’s, you know, solid steel all around. He didn’t get that space closed. He was trying to get into it, but he got bum rushed so fast that he didn’t get into that," Trump said. "We were prepared. We had, you know, massive blowtorches and everything else that you need to get through that steel. But we didn’t need it. He didn’t make it to that area of the house.” A U.S. official briefed on the matter told Fox News Saturday the U.S. Army’s Delta Force physically captured Maduro, with the CIA providing intelligence to the Department of War to help track down the dictator’s location. "Everything was pinpoint ... everything they practiced. They actually built a house which was identical to the one they went into with all the safes, all the steel all over the place," Trump told "Fox & Friends Weekend," describing the military planning that went into the operation. Trump said he believes no U.S. forces were killed during the operation. He added that "a couple of guys were hit, but they came back, and they’re supposed to be in pretty good shape.” Trump also said Maduro and his wife were taken by helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima and that they were heading to New York to face an indictment on charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy. When asked about what the future of Venezuela holds with Maduro no longer in the country, Trump said, "We’re making that decision now.” "We can’t take a chance of letting somebody else run and just take over where he left off. So we’re making that decision now," Trump told Fox News on Saturday morning. "We’ll be involved in it very much, and we want to do liberty for the people. We want to, you know, have a great relationship. I think the people of Venezuela are very, very happy because they love the United States. You know, they were run by essentially a dictatorship or worse.” Trump also said the U.S. military operations in Venezuela are "saving lives because the drug trafficking is so bad. It’s gotten so out of control.” [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Examiner [1/3/2026 2:20 PM, Emily Hallas, 1394K] reports the United States’s highest-ranking military officer on Saturday briefed the country on the lightning attack Washington carried out on Venezuela overnight. General Dan Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, revealed details about the elite operation that successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during a press conference alongside President Donald Trump. The mission involved more than 150 aircraft "launching across the Western Hemisphere in close coordination," to extract Maduro and his wife from their residence in downtown Caracas while maintaining "the element of tactical surprise," Caine said. "Operation Absolute Resolve, was discreet, precise, and conducted during the darkest hours of January 2, and was the culmination of months of planning and rehearsal. An operation that, frankly, only the United States military could undertake," Caine told reporters at Mar-a-Lago. Caine said work planning the operation began months ago in collaboration with multiple agencies, including the CIA, National Security Agency, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, as the intelligence community worked "to find Maduro and understand how he moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore, [and] what were his pets.".

Axios [1/3/2026 4:47 PM, Andrew Pantazi, 12972K] reports that, hours after capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, President Trump announced the U.S. will "run the country" — acting on a threat he’s maintained for years, even as he denounced nation building elsewhere. Trump built his foreign policy brand on rejecting intervention, repeatedly vowing America would stop toppling regimes and rebuilding nations. But he’s consistently carved out an exception for Venezuela because of its proximity and possession of the world’s largest oil reserves. "We’re going to run it, essentially, until such time that we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump said Saturday at Mar-a-Lago, outlining plans for U.S. oil companies to invest billions in Venezuela’s infrastructure. He called the policy "the Donroe Doctrine," a play on the Monroe Doctrine, adding: "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere won’t be questioned again." The policy mirrors post-invasion strategies in Iraq and Afghanistan that Trump once criticized: U.S. military presence protecting economic interests, American oversight of government functions, promises of an eventual transition to local control. Trump’s rejection of nation building set him apart from the old-guard Republican establishment when he first entered the 2016 presidential election. In 2016, Trump promised in his first foreign policy campaign speech, "We’re getting out of the nation-building business and instead focusing on creating stability in the world." Just before taking office the first time, in December 2016, he said, "We will stop racing to topple foreign regimes that we know nothing about, that we shouldn’t be involved with." More recently, at the Libertarian Party convention in 2024, Trump said, "We believe that the job of the United States military is not to wage endless regime change, wars around the globe, senseless wars. The job of the United States military is to defend America from attack and invasion here at home." While campaigning against nation building broadly, Trump has always carved out an exception for Venezuela, citing its proximity to the United States. In August 2017, he said he wasn’t "going to rule out a military option" for Venezuela, calling it "our neighbor" where "the people are suffering." He distinguished the nation’s problems from the Middle East by saying it was "not very far away" from the U.S. In September 2018, he again said of Maduro’s regime, "It’s a regime that, frankly, could be toppled very quickly by the military if the military decides to do that." In 2023, he lamented that when he left his first term, "Venezuela was ready to collapse. We would have taken it over. We would have gotten all that oil. It would have been right next door. But now, we’re buying oil from Venezuela. So, we’re making a dictator very rich." In September, in his United Nations address, he said: "We’ve recently begun using the supreme power of the United States military to destroy Venezuelan terrorists and trafficking networks led by Nicolas Maduro. To every terrorist thug smuggling poisonous drugs into the United States of America, please be warned that we will blow you out of existence." Trump has not specified how long U.S. forces will remain in Venezuela or what conditions must be met for the "judicious transition" Trump mentioned. Trump’s plan for Venezuela conflicts with his broad anti-intervention rhetoric, but it also matches his long-held special exception for the country.

AP [1/3/2026 5:44 PM, Lisa Mascaro, Joshua Goodman and Ben Finley, 2416K] reports the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuela’s president and claims that it will "run" the country are raising stark new questions about the legality of the U.S. actions and its future operations in the South American nation. The middle-of-the-night seizure of Nicolás Maduro, who was transported with his wife on a U.S. warship to face narco-terrorism conspiracy charges in New York, is beyond even the most high-profile historical examples of aggressive American actions toward autocratic governments in Panama, Iraq and beyond, legal experts said. It came after a surprise U.S. incursion that rocked the Venezuelan capital with overnight explosions. "This is clearly a blatant, illegal and criminal act," said Jimmy Gurule, a Notre Dame Law School professor and former assistant U.S. attorney. The stunning development caps months of aggressive U.S. military action in the region, including the bombing of boats accused of trafficking drugs and seizures of oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela. The Trump administration has conducted 35 known boat strikes against vessels, killing more than 115 people since September, and positioned an armada of warships in nearby waters. The bigger debate than legality is yet to come, said John Yoo, an early architect of the George W. Bush administration’s policy in Iraq and now a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley. "It’s easier to remove a dictator," he said, based on his experience in the Iraq War. But ensuring the transition to a stable democratic government is "the harder part.” Maduro’s arrest on anniversary of Noriega’s surrender. Maduro’s arrest came 36 years to the date of the surrender of Panama’s strongman Manuel Noriega, a notable milestone in American involvement in the Western Hemisphere. The U.S. invaded Panama in 1989 to arrest Noriega on drug trafficking charges. In Panama, however, U.S. national security interests were directly at stake in the form of the Panama Canal as well as the safety of American citizens and U.S. military installations in the country. By contrast, Congress has not authorized any American military strike or law enforcement move against Venezuela. "The President will claim that this fits within a vast body of precedent supporting broad executive power to defend the United States, its citizens, and its interests," Matthew Waxman, a Columbia University law professor who was a national security official in the Bush administration, said by email. "Critics will charge that this exceeds the bounds of presidential power without congressional authorization.”

ABC News [1/3/2026 7:02 PM, Michelle Stoddart, Hannah Demissie, Fritz Farrow, and Ivan Pereira, 30493K] reports that, at a Mar-a-Lago news conference Saturday morning, hours after he ordered a military strike in Venezuela and the capture of the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, President Donald Trump started off calling it an anti-drug law enforcement operation. His Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said "at its core, this was an arrest of two indicted fugitives of American justice." But Trump’s framing of the issue appeared to quickly expand when he stunned observers by saying the U.S. was going to "run the country" temporarily, even if that involved troops on the ground, that American companies would soon start selling the country’s vast oil reserves, and that it was part of an overall strategy of U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere. While Trump said that the U.S. would "make Venezuela great again," when asked repeatedly about the specifics of America’s role, including a possible timetable, Trump gave few specifics. "We’re going to be running it with a group, and we’re going to make sure it’s run properly. We’re going to rebuild the oil infrastructure, which will cost billions of dollars. It will be paid for by the oil companies directly. They will be reimbursed for what they’re doing, but that’s going to be paid," Trump said. Later, a U.S. official told ABC News what it would look like for the U.S. to "run" Venezuela. The official said top Trump officials will continue to diplomatically engage with those remaining in the Venezuelan government, that the administration will engage with oil executives to begin oil expansion in the country and that the U.S. military will remain postured and ready, and that the oil embargo would remain in effect. The president brushed off questions about concerns about the length and logistics of the U.S. operation. Trump was asked about whether U.S. troops would be on the ground in order to "run" Venezuela and indicated he could use the military to make sure it’s run "properly." "Well, you know, they always say, ‘boots on the ground, oh.’ So, we’re not afraid of boots on the ground," he said. "We had boots on the ground last night at a very high level. Actually, we’re not afraid of it. We don’t mind saying it, but we’re going to make sure that that country is run properly." When pressed again later, Trump suggested that the only U.S. presence will pertain "to oil," suggesting the presence will be American oil companies. "We’re going to be taking out a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground, and that wealth is going to the people of Venezuela and people from outside of Venezuela that used to be in Venezuela, and it goes also to the United States of America in the form of reimbursement for the damages caused by that country," he said. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Wall Street Journal [1/3/2026 9:00 PM, Robbie Gramer and Juan Forero, 646K] reports with Nicolás Maduro out of power, the Trump administration is racing to assemble an interim governing structure for Venezuela—one that would repair a battered oil industry and stabilize a country ruled for years by a group that plundered its riches and facilitated trafficking across its territory. The U.S. military operation to depose Maduro was quick, precise and decisive, but what comes next is riven with risks and the potential for blunders, current and former U.S. officials said. President Trump made the prospect of setting up a transitional government in Venezuela appear relatively easy, telling reporters on Saturday that billions in oil money would be used to rebuild the industry and make Venezuelans rich. He said he would personally oversee the next stage in the country’s history after Maduro was unseated in an audacious nighttime raid by American commandos. Otherwise, Trump offered few details. “We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” he told reporters Saturday. “And it has to be judicious because that’s what we’re all about. We want peace, liberty and justice for the great people of Venezuela.” Though he and other U.S. officials he tasked with working on Venezuela’s transition didn’t say it, administering a country of 28 million twice the size of California will be enormously complicated. Maduro’s allies have already sharply condemned his capture and made moves to reassert control in the wake of the U.S. military operation, casting early doubts on whether the U.S. could govern the country without further military intervention. U.S. and Colombian officials have said Venezuela’s regime is supported by armed cocaine-trafficking groups—including those made up of battle-hardened former Colombian guerrilla fighters—along with an army that military experts said has well over 100,000 troops. And though polls show Venezuelans wanted Maduro out, a substantial number of people—perhaps millions—have remained with the regime, polling shows. The lack of details about what comes next led some U.S. officials to question why there was no detailed plan in place well before deposing Maduro.

Reported similarly:
Wall Street Journal [1/4/2026 3:18 AM, Vera Bergengruen, Juan Forero, and Alex Leary, 646K]

Roll Call [1/3/2026 1:58 PM, John T. Bennett, 548K] reports President Donald Trump said Saturday that U.S. military and law enforcement personnel had carried out an overnight operation in Venezuela during which they arrested the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, also declaring Washington in control of the South American nation. “Late last night and early today, at my direction, the United States armed forces conducted an extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela,” Trump said at a late-morning news conference from his Florida home. The operation featured, he said, “overwhelming American military power — air, land and sea was used to launch a spectacular assault.” “In just a short period of time, all Venezuelan military capacities were rendered powerless as the men and women of our military, working with us [and] law enforcement, successfully captured Maduro in the dead of night,” Trump said, adding that Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, was also arrested and detained. The president did not lay out the administration’s full legal rationale for the risky operation in Caracas, but he did invoke the “Monroe Doctrine” by arguing that disarming and removing the Maduro government was important for Western Hemisphere stability. In 1823, President James Monroe declared that the Western Hemisphere was closed to further European colonization and warned that any European effort to interfere in the affairs of nations in the Americas would be viewed as a hostile act against the United States. [Editorial note: consult video at source link] Reuters [1/4/2026 12:56 AM, Susan Heavey and Jana Winter, 36480K] reports Venezuela’s toppled leader Nicolas Maduro was in a New York detention center on Sunday awaiting drug charges after President Donald Trump ordered an audacious raid to capture him, saying the U.S. would take control of the oil-producing nation. The image of the 63-year-old Maduro blindfolded and handcuffed en route to the U.S. has stunned Venezuelans and was Washington’s most controversial intervention in Latin America since the invasion of Panama 37 years ago. He is due to appear in a Manhattan court on Monday. With memories of painful U.S. interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, many world leaders were staggered at Trump’s move, even though Maduro’s standing was low given his autocratic rule and substantial evidence of vote-rigging. Trump said the U.S. would for now manage the South American nation of about 30 million people plus its oil reserves, the largest in the world. But he gave few details of how. "We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he told a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort, hailing the extraordinary extraction of Maduro just as he was at the door of a safe room. Maduro allies remain in charge in Caracas and have denounced his "kidnapping". To the disappointment of Venezuela’s opposition and diaspora, Trump has given short shrift to the idea of 58-year-old opposition leader Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado taking over, saying she lacked support. Machado was banned from standing in Venezuela’s 2024 election and has said her ally Edmundo Gonzalez, who overwhelmingly won that vote according to the opposition and some international observers, should now take the presidency. Once one of the most prosperous nations in Latin America, Venezuela’s economy nosedived further under Maduro, sending about one in five Venezuelans abroad in one of the world’s biggest exoduses. They were largely jubilant at the exit of Maduro, whose security forces repeatedly crushed opposition protests. The former union leader, bus driver and foreign minister was the dying Hugo Chavez’s handpicked successor as president in 2013. "We are all happy that the dictatorship has fallen and that we have a free country," said Khaty Yanez, who lives in the Chilean capital Santiago. Trump says Maduro masterminded the flow of drugs into the U.S. and was illegitimately in power due to vote-rigging. He denies those claims and top officials in Caracas have demanded his release, accusing the U.S. of an imperial lust for Venezuela’s oil and mineral riches. "There is only one president in Venezuela, and his name is Nicolas Maduro," Delcy Rodriguez, who took over Venezuela’s interim presidency, said in a defiant message to the U.S. despite Trump’s assertions she was open to working with them.

AP [1/4/2026 12:57 AM, Regina Garcia Cano, Juan Arraez and Isabel Debre, 28013K] reports Venezuelans on Saturday scrambled to understand who was in charge of their country after the U.S. military captured President Nicolás Maduro, ousting the strongman who had outlasted a botched coup attempt, several army mutinies, mass protests and economic sanctions in the vast nation of 29 million. “What will happen tomorrow?” asked Juan Pablo Petrone, a resident of Venezuela’s capital of Caracas. As fear gripped the city, streets quickly emptied save for long lines snaking from supermarkets and gas stations. “What will happen in the next hour?” President Donald Trump offered a shocking answer: The United States would take control of Venezuela, perhaps in coordination with one of Maduro’s most trusted aides. Delcy Rodríguez, who is next in the presidential line of succession, served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, overseeing much of Venezuela’s oil-dependent economy as well as its feared intelligence service. On Saturday, Venezuela’s high court ordered her to assume the role of interim president. “She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” Trump told reporters of Rodríguez, who faced U.S. sanctions during Trump’s first administration for her role in undermining Venezuelan democracy. In a major snub, Trump said opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was awarded last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, didn’t have the support to run the country. Trump said Rodríguez had a long conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in which Trump claimed she said, “‘We’ll do whatever you need.’” Key Venezuelan officials appeared to have survived the military operation and held onto their jobs, at least for now. There was no immediate sign that the U.S. was running Venezuela. Rodríguez tried to project strength and unity among the ruling party’s many factions, downplaying any hint of betrayal. In remarks on state television before the court decision, she demanded the immediate release of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and denounced the U.S. operation as a flagrant violation of the United Nations charter. “There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolás Maduro,” Rodríguez said, surrounded by top civilian officials and military commanders. Seeking to assuage the jittery public, Venezuelan military officials struck a defiant tone in video messages, lashing out at Trump and vowing to stand up to U.S. pressure. “They have attacked us but will not break us,” said Defense Minister Gen. Vladimir Padrino López, dressed in fatigues.

New York Times [1/3/2026 7:47 PM, Charlie Savage, 153395K] reports the United States’ seizure of President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and President Trump’s declaration that the United States will “run the country” for now raise a host of extraordinary legal issues at the intersection of international law and presidential power. The Trump administration has not yet publicly detailed its legal reasoning. But earlier operations and comments by Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and President Trump’s national security adviser, offer potential insights. In 1989, when the Bush administration invaded Panama to capture its strongman leader, Manuel Noriega, it styled the operation as military support for law enforcement. Like Mr. Maduro, Noriega had been indicted in the United States for drug trafficking. The Pentagon similarly described the Maduro operation as “support” for the Justice Department. Shortly after declaring that United States would “run the country” at a news conference, Mr. Trump seemed to suggest that his plan was to pressure Mr. Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, to simply obey him. Asked in an interview with The New York Post if U.S. troops would be deployed to help run Venezuela, Mr. Trump replied, “No, if Maduro’s vice president — if the vice president does what we want, we won’t have to do that.” (He also suggested to reporters that he was “not afraid of boots on the ground,” particularly regarding the country’s oil.) That raises the question of how the U.S. president intends to run Venezuela if Ms. Rodríguez balks. Mr. Trump has not said how this could happen and on what legal basis, leaving multiple experts in international and national security law puzzled.

Roll Call [1/3/2026 5:47 PM, John M. Donnelly, 548K] reports what the United States does next in Venezuela and in the Western Hemisphere more broadly are questions that loom large as the 119th Congress returns to work this week for its second session. On the heels of the U.S. military’s abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro early Saturday morning and the administration’s planned prosecution of Maduro on weapons and drug charges, Democrats and at least a handful of Republicans will push for Congress to make its voice heard on the matter — starting this week. At least one vote appears likely in the Senate in the days ahead on requiring congressional authorization for additional U.S. military actions in or against Venezuela. By the end of January, lawmakers may also decide whether to withhold Defense appropriations for such operations. At least classified briefings on Venezuela, if not public hearings, are also in the works. “It’s time for Congress to get its ass off the couch and do what the Constitution mandates that we do,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations panels, told reporters on Saturday. The Senate is poised to vote next week on a resolution by Kaine that would block U.S. military action within or against Venezuela unless authorized by Congress, he said. It would be the latest of several so far ill-fated attempts to assert congressional prerogatives. What’s more, Kaine said, whenever the House-Senate compromise version of the two chambers’ 2026 Defense appropriations bills comes up for a vote, the Senate will decide whether to consider an amendment by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., that would prohibit use of funds to prosecute military action in or against Venezuela. Lawmakers hope to clear the Defense spending measure by Jan. 30, when stopgap funding will expire. If past is prologue, however, the attempts to rein in the president’s military actions will fall narrowly short in partisan votes. Lawmakers’ reactions on Saturday to the president’s actions in Venezuela — with Republicans almost universally backing him and virtually all Democrats decrying the action — only confirmed Congress’s ossified divisions. Trump’s military operation in Venezuela is just the opening chapter of an as yet unwritten story. Trump told reporters Saturday the U.S. will “run” Venezuela for the time being. The president said a small number of American forces may be needed in that country for that purpose, and he did not rule out additional and potentially lethal U.S. military action there. “We’ve been in quagmires in the Americas for decades, if not centuries, because of decisions just like this,” Kaine said. The unresolved questions only start with how the U.S. will oversee governance in Venezuela and whether there will be resistance from Venezuelans. Many lawmakers are also wondering aloud if the ouster of Maduro is part of a larger plan to remake the Western Hemisphere, and perhaps Greenland, by force if necessary. The White House’s November National Security Strategy said some U.S. military forces should be repositioned from other regions to the Western Hemisphere to deal with problems such as drug trafficking and migration and to establish or expand access in “strategically important locations.” The strategy also called for bolstering U.S. maritime forces in the region and for “targeted deployments to secure the border and defeat cartels, including where necessary the use of lethal force to replace the failed law enforcement-only strategy of the last several decades.” At a news conference Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the taking of Maduro as a law enforcement operation supported by the U.S. military. But Rubio suggested that Cuba’s leaders, in particular, should worry about their own future. “If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I’d be concerned at least a little bit,” Rubio said. Trump, for his part, told reporters his administration “wants to surround ourselves with good neighbors.” He said Cuba is “not doing very well right now” and is a “failing nation.” Trump said Cuba is “very similar” to Venezuela “in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba.”

Washington Post [1/3/2026 7:54 PM, Noah Robertson and Theodoric Meyer, 24149K] reports in early November, hours before the Republican-led Senate rejected bipartisan legislation to block the Trump administration from conducting a military attack on Venezuela, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to reassure lawmakers it didn’t intend to. He told them that the U.S. lacked legal authority to invade the South American country and oust its president, Nicolás Maduro, and said that doing so would carry major risks, according to two people who attended the classified briefing. In the aftermath of Saturday’s raid to capture Maduro and his wife at a fortified military compound in Caracas, top Democrats are accusing Rubio of deliberately misleading Congress. During a news conference at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida, Rubio, who also serves as White House national security adviser, told reporters that he and other top officials had planned the Maduro operation for months. The acknowledgment led some on Capitol Hill to conclude that the administration was readying assets for the assault while having told lawmakers that the military buildup in the region was not meant to force a regime change. “Rubio said that there were not any intentions to invade Venezuela,” Rep. Gregory W. Meeks of New York, the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s top Democrat, told The Washington Post. “He absolutely lied to Congress.” In an interview with The Post later Saturday, Rubio rejected the assertion. He argued that Maduro is under indictment from a U.S. court, and neither the United States nor the European Union recognized him as the legitimate leader of Venezuela. So rather than an invasion, he cast the attack as a “law enforcement operation” that required military assets to conduct. Lawmakers previously asked whether the administration “would be invading Venezuela,” Rubio said. “This was not that,” he added. Democrats were incredulous at the argument.

NewsMax [1/3/2026 2:44 PM, Jim Morley, 4109K] reports President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the administration’s decision not to brief senior congressional leaders ahead of the U.S. strike in Venezuela, arguing that advance notice would have jeopardized the operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Speaking Saturday at a press conference carried by Newsmax, Rubio said the mission was "trigger-based," unfolding only when specific conditions were met after days of monitoring. He said it was not the type of operation that allowed for advance congressional notification, stressing that the action was fundamentally a law-enforcement mission, the arrest of "two indicted fugitives of American justice," with the military supporting the Department of Justice. Rubio acknowledged broader policy implications but said pre-notification would have endangered U.S. forces and the success of the mission. Trump echoed that view, adding bluntly that Congress has "a tendency to leak," which he said could have produced "a very different result."

FOX News [1/3/2026 6:09 PM, Staff, 40621K] reports Fox News correspondent CB Cotton unpacks the international reaction of the Trump administrations capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro on ‘Fox Report.’ [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Breitbart [1/3/2026 8:08 AM, Christian K. Caruzo, 2416K] reports U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Saturday morning that Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores "will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts." President Donald Trump announced through an early morning Truth Social post that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were "captured and flown out of the country." The announcement came moments after a series of strikes hit several locations across Venezuela, including Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s main military complex. U.S. courts indicted Nicolás Maduro and other members of his authoritarian socialist regime in 2020, charging the dictator with multiple narco-terrorism charges. Maduro stands accused of being a leading figure, if not the leader of, the Cartel de los Soles ("Cartel of the Suns"), an international cocaine trafficking operation led by top members of the Venezuelan regime that for years sought to "flood" the United States with cocaine to harm its people. President Trump said on his Truth Social post that further details would follow at a press conference to be hosted later today at Mar-a-Lago.

Reported similarly:
NewsMax [1/3/2026 12:39 PM, Jim Thomas, 4109K]

Univision [1/3/2026 3:14 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports a video captured at the Rafael Hernández airport in Aguadilla shows the moment Nicolás Maduro allegedly made a brief stopover on the island after being arrested by U.S. authorities during a military raid in Caracas, according to information published by TeleOnce. The images, which began circulating on social media and were picked up by local media, show a man identified as Maduro getting off an aircraft , dressed in gray, with his face covered and his hands cuffed, while being escorted by several agents, presumably federal. According to the report, the stop occurred while the Venezuelan leader was being transferred in custody to US territory , following an operation that, according to preliminary reports, was carried out by US military forces.

NewsMax [1/3/2026 8:04 AM, Eric Mack, 4109K] reports Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the indictment of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and his wife on terrorism and weapons charges in the Southern District of New York. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said Maduro, ⁠who was captured by U.S. special forces early Saturday, will "finally face justice for ⁠his crimes." The Hill [1/3/2026 3:01 PM, Ella Lee and Rebecca Beitsch, 12595K] reports Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, face cocaine importation conspiracy charges and other counts in an indictment newly unsealed Saturday after their capture. The four-count superseding indictment, which also charges other Venezuelan government officials and allies, alleges Maduro leveraged government power to protect and promote vast criminal conduct — from drug trafficking to terrorism — for the benefit of himself and his allies. "This cycle of narcotics-based corruption lines the pockets of Venezuelan officials and their families while also benefiting violent narco-terrorists who operate with impunity on Venezuelan soil and who help produce, protect, and transport tons of cocaine to the United States," the indictment reads. While the indictment accuses Maduro of involvement with six different terrorism and drug trafficking groups, in some cases it offers few details about those connections or makes only passing references to the organizations. The charges are narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machineguns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices. USA Today [1/3/2026 7:49 PM, Jonathan Limehouse, 67103K] reports that according to an X post shared by Bondi, Maduro is facing charges of "Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States." Maduro and Flores are expected to arrive at New York Stewart International Airport in Orange County, New York, about 80 minutes north of Manhattan, on Saturday, Jan. 3, according to CBS News and MS Now. The couple was captured in Caracas, Venezuela, and flown by helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima, which is an amphibious assault ship. Flores is a Venezuelan lawyer and politician. Since 2015, she has served as a deputy in the National Assembly of Venezuela, of which she was president from 2006 to 2011, for her home state of Cojedes. She also previously served as Venezuela’s attorney general from 2012 to 2013. Throughout her legal career, Flores gained a reputation as a tough attorney, particularly after she led the defense team of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and helped secure his release from prison in 1994, following an unsuccessful coup in 1992, according to Reuters. Flores became Venezuela’s first lady when Maduro won the 2013 presidential election over Henrique Capriles.

Breitbart [1/3/2026 1:44 PM, Ildefonso Ortiz and Brandon Darby, 2416K] reports the newly released criminal indictment filed against now-arrested Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, his wife, and others reveals key details about how they used diplomatic planes to fly drug money from Mexico into Venezuela. The indictment also shows a long-standing trafficking relationship with the Sinaloa Cartel and Los Zetas (now called Cartel Del Noreste). U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi released the indictment on Saturday morning, just hours after U.S. special forces arrested Maduro during an early morning raid in Venezuela. While the indictment focuses primarily on Maduro, his wife, his chief military ally Diosdado Cabello, and Hector Ruthenford Guerrero Flores, a top leader with the Tren De Aragua terrorist organization, the court document alleges a close business relationship between Venezuela’s key players, Colombian terrorist organizations, and Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and Los Zetas. According to U.S. prosecutors, between 2006 and 2008, when he was the minister of foreign affairs, Nicolas Maduro sold diplomatic passports to various drug traffickers to allow them to move drug proceeds from Mexico into Venezuela under diplomatic cover. Maduro would also provide diplomatic immunity to private airplanes used by drug traffickers to be able to fly between the two countries without scrutiny from law enforcement and military officials. The planes were not carrying diplomatic materials, but were loaded with cartel cash, the indictment revealed. Federal prosecutors also alleged that in 2007, Maduro’s wife, Celia Flores de Maduro, took a hefty bribe to arrange a meeting between top drug traffickers and Venezuela’s top drug enforcement agent at the time, Nestor Reverol Torres. As a result of that meeting, Reverol Torres agreed to receive $100,000 per drug shipment and would share a portion of that bribe with Maduro’s wife, the indictment alleges. In 2006, Nicolas Maduro and his family coordinated the shipment of 5.5 tons of cocaine in a jet that flew from Venezuela to Playa Del Carmen in Mexico, the indictment revealed. The drugs had previously been seized by Venezuelan law enforcement and then loaded into the plane by the Venezuelan military. The criminal indictment alleges that between 2003 and 2011, Diosdado Cabello worked with Colombian cartels and Los Zetas to move multi-ton shipments of cocaine through Venezuela into Mexican shipping ports. The drugs were moved in shipping containers that averaged five tons but at times carried as much as 20 tons of cocaine. The drugs were allegedly protected by Cabello and Venezuela’s top military officials known as "The Generals". Federal prosecutors allege that since 2011, the then leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, financed several drug laboratories in Colombia and that those drugs were then moved into Venezuela, where that country’s military protected them before being moved north towards Mexico and eventually reaching the United States.

Bloomberg [1/3/2026 4:00 PM, Staff, 803K] reports Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro is unlikely to escape prosecution in Manhattan federal court on drug trafficking and narco-terrorism charges, even if his overnight capture by US forces breached international law principles. The Supreme Court has held that criminal defendants generally can’t challenge federal courts’ authority to preside over their cases by arguing they were brought to the US illegally, such as without a formal extradition order. This could make it harder for Maduro, who has led Venezuela since 2013, to contest his prosecution in the US under those grounds, international law experts said. Maduro and his wife were captured in an early morning raid Saturday to face criminal charges. "The US authority would say: It doesn’t matter how we get him. Once we get him, we can try him," said Marc Weller, director of the international law programme at Chatham House and a professor at the University of Cambridge. Several international law experts said they don’t see how the administration could legally justify overthrowing the Venezuelan government under international law principles that prohibit the use of force against other nations in many cases. But under what’s known as the Ker-Frisbie doctrine, "the way Maduro was captured could have no bearing on US courts’ jurisdiction," Jorge Contesse, a Rutgers law professor who studies international human rights law in Latin America, said by email. The Supreme Court upheld that doctrine in 1992 when they ruled that a Mexican citizen, who was forcibly kidnapped from his home and flown to the US via private plane, must still face trial for the murder of a federal agent. President Donald Trump didn’t provide specifics on the US government’s legal justification for Maduro’s capture and related strikes during a press conference Saturday. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said on social media that he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the action "likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack.”

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [1/3/2026 6:12 PM, Perry Stein and Shayna Jacobs, 24149K]

Los Angeles Times [1/3/2026 5:15 PM, Kevin Rector, 14862K] reports President Trump’s decision to send U.S. forces into Venezuela to capture President Nicolás Maduro and his wife and return them to the U.S. to face drug charges elicited condemnation from legal experts and other critics who argued that the operation — conducted without congressional or United Nations approval — clearly violated U.S. and international law. Such criticism came from Democratic leaders, international allies and adversaries including Mexico, France, China and Russia, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and experts on international law and wartime powers. "Nicolás Maduro was a thug and an illegitimate leader of Venezuela, terrorizing and oppressing its people for far too long and forcing many to leave the country. But starting a war to remove Maduro doesn’t just continue Donald Trump’s trampling of the Constitution, it further erodes America’s standing on the world stage and risks our adversaries mirroring this brazen illegal escalation," Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) wrote on X. A U.N. spokesman said Guterres was "deeply alarmed" by the U.S. operation and "deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected.” China’s foreign ministry said "such hegemonic acts of the U.S. seriously violate international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty," while France’s foreign minister said the U.S. operation "contravenes the principle of the non-use of force that underpins international law.” Republicans largely backed the president, with both House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) defending the operation as "decisive" and legally justified. However, other Republicans questioned Trump’s authority to act unilaterally, and raised similar concerns as Schiff about other world leaders citing Trump’s actions to justify their own aggression into neighboring nations. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) defended Trump’s actions as "great for the future of Venezuelans and the region," but said he was concerned that "Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan.” Trump defended the operation as a legitimate law enforcement action necessary to combat threats to the U.S. from Maduro, whom he accused of sending violent gang members and deadly drugs across the U.S. border on a regular basis. "The illegitimate dictator Maduro was the kingpin of a vast criminal network responsible for trafficking colossal amounts of deadly and illicit drugs into the United States," Trump said at a news conference. "As alleged in the indictment, he personally oversaw the vicious cartel known as Cartel de los Soles, which flooded our nation with lethal poison responsible for the deaths of countless Americans.” However, Trump also made no secret of his interest in Venezuela’s oil. He said U.S. officials would be running Venezuela for the foreseeable future and ensuring that the nation’s oil infrastructure is rebuilt — to return wealth to the Venezuelan people, but also to repay U.S. businesses that lost money when Maduro took over the industry.

NewsMax [1/3/2026 6:27 PM, Jim Thomas, 4109K] reports President Donald Trump claimed Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was cooperating with the U.S. after Nicolás Maduro’s arrest, but Rodríguez publicly condemned the operation and called for Maduro’s release, revealing a clear gap between U.S. statements and those from Caracas. Speaking from Mar-a-Lago in Florida, Trump said the U.S. would effectively oversee Venezuela’s transition following the overnight operation that removed Maduro from power, describing Rodríguez as an interim leader willing to work with Washington. "She said, ‘We’ll do whatever you need,’" Trump said. "I think she was quite gracious. But she really doesn’t have a choice.". Rodríguez’s public remarks quickly contradicted that account. In a nationally televised address, she called the U.S. action an "illegal kidnapping," labeled it "shameful" and demanded the release of Maduro and his wife, first lady Cilia Flores. She warned against Venezuela becoming a "colony of an empire" and invoked the legacy of former President Hugo Chávez and independence leader Simón Bolívar. Rodríguez appeared flanked by Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, signaling continued cohesion among senior figures in Venezuela’s security apparatus despite Maduro’s removal. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

ABC News [1/3/2026 4:10 PM, Dada Jovanovic and Victoria Beaule, 30493K] reports Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez addressed the nation on state television for the first time since President Nicolas Maduro’s removal and demanded his release. Rodriguez said Maduro was the only president of Venezuela and slammed the U.S. for its early morning strike. "We had already warned that an aggression was underway under false excuses, under false pretexts, and that the masks had fallen and it had only one objective: regime change in Venezuela — and the capture of our energy, mineral, and natural resources," she said in Spanish. Rodriguez also warned that "the people have mobilized" "If something were to happen to him, the people must go to the streets, the armed forces must deploy across the country, and all institutions must activate — to defend what we are, as sons and daughters of Simon Bolivar," she said. "We ride to defend the great homeland," she added. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Post [1/3/2026 6:06 PM, Carly Ortiz-Lytle and David Spector, 42219K] reports Venezuela’s vice president declared that Nicolás Maduro is the "only president of Venezuela" in a defiant speech that appeared to throw cold water on President Trump’s claims she was cooperating with his administration. "The government of the United States launched an unprecedented military aggression against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela," Delcy Rodríguez said in her speech. The VP made her remarks flanked by high ranking generals and government officials in a televised address to the nation after convening an emergency meeting. She demanded the immediate release of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores after the two were captured in a daring overnight raid by US forces. The ousted Venezuelan despot and his wife are en route to New York City where they will face drug trafficking, narcoterrorism and other charges. Delcy’s remarks come just hours after Trump claimed that his administration was working with her to figure out the next steps for her cash-strapped country. "You have a vice president who’s been appointed by Maduro … she had a long conversation with Marco and she said ‘we’ll do whatever you need,’" Trump said at a Saturday press conference. The president went on to say that Delcy was "quite gracious" but bluntly remarked that she had no other choice, vowing the US was going to "do this right.” The Venezuelan vice president appeared to be in total defiance of Trump during her speech, and condemned the US for carrying out the raid. Here’s the latest on Nicolás Maduro’s capture: "We had already warned that an aggression was underway under false excuses and false pretenses, and that the masks had fallen off, revealing only one objective: regime change in Venezuela," she said. The de-facto leader of Venezuela accused the United States of waging the regime change operation in order to acquire the country’s vast natural resources. Venezuela is home to the world’s largest oil reserves, but the regime in Caracas has only been able to pump and export a fraction of their capacity due to mismanagement, waste and abuse. "We will never be a colony of any empire," Delcy said.

CBS News [1/3/2026 5:24 PM, Joe Walsh, 39474K] reports that, hours after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. forces, the country’s vice president and other top regime figures condemned the military operation in stark terms and suggested they plan to push back on U.S. involvement in the country, posing a potential challenge to President Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. will "run" Venezuela. Maduro was flown out of the country in a "large scale strike" by U.S. forces, Mr. Trump said early Saturday. He is expected to be tried on drug trafficking charges, effectively ending a nearly 13-year reign that began after the death of President Hugo Chavez. The operation followed months of U.S. military, economic and diplomatic pressure on the Maduro regime. Top figures in Maduro’s government pushed back against the U.S. operation almost immediately after it began early Saturday morning. VP Delcy Rodriguez calls Maduro the "only president of Venezuela". Maduro’s handpicked vice president, Delcy Rodriguez — whom Mr. Trump said was sworn in as president Saturday — called Maduro’s capture "barbaric," an "illegal and illegitimate kidnapping" and an attack on Venezuela’s sovereignty in a speech that was broadcast on state TV. She also called for the "immediate release" of Maduro and his wife, calling him "the only president of Venezuela.” Rodriguez’s defiant words came as Mr. Trump suggested he’s looking to work with the vice president in some form. In a press conference Saturday at Mar-a-Lago, the U.S. president said Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Rodriguez, who indicated that "she’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.” Mr. Trump called Rodriguez "quite gracious" but said "she really doesn’t have a choice.” The American leader said the U.S. is planning to "run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition." It’s not clear exactly how the country will be led, or to what extent existing Venezuelan officials or political figures would be involved. Mr. Trump said "we’re designating various people" and suggested members of his administration will play key roles. Rodriguez said Saturday that the Venezuelan government is open to "dialogue," pointing to Maduro’s statement earlier this week that he’s willing to negotiate with the U.S. on drug trafficking. But she did not offer any clear indications that she’s looking to work with the U.S. if it takes over, accusing Venezuela’s "enemies" of seeking to "enslave us.” "If there is one thing that the Venezuelan people and this country are very clear about, it is that we will never again be slaves, that we will never again be a colony of any empire, of whatever stripe," Rodriguez said in her address on state television.

ABC News [1/3/2026 4:00 PM, Luis Martinez, 30493K] reports Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, provided a very detailed account of how the U.S. military’s mission to apprehend Nicholas Maduro and his wife took place early Saturday morning. The mission was called Operation "Absolute Resolve." Caine said that more than 150 aircraft were involved, including fighter aircraft, bombers, surveillance aircraft, intelligence aircraft, and helicopters. He said the entire joint force was involved in the mission (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Space Force, intelligence agencies). The aircraft involved were Fighters: F-35s, F/A-18s, E/A-18s, F-22s. Bombers: B-1 bombers, Unmanned aircraft and E-2 Hawkeyes. He said the aircraft took off from 20 different bases on land at at sea and that support aircraft were involved as well. President Donald Trump gave the order to undertake the mission at 10:46 p.m. Friday night, Caine said. He said the president’s message of "Good luck and Godspeed" was communicated to the entire force. The extraction force that captured Maduro and his wife included law enforcement. The helicopters carrying the force flew at an altitude of 100 feet above the water as they approached Venezuela. As they came near, air defense systems were disabled to ensure the safe passage of the helicopters to Maduro’s compound, Caine said. The helicopters arrived at the compound at 1:01 a.m. Eastern time, 2:01 a.m. local time. Upon arrival, they came under fire and responded in self-defense with "overwhelming force," Caine said. One of the helicopters was hit, but remained flyable. Maduro and his wife were taken into custody by Justice Department officials "assisted by incredible U.S. military" forces with "no loss of life," Caine said. He did not provide any details of any injured Americans. When the helicopters left the compound, they were protected by fighter aircraft and drones that provided suppressive fire. The extraction force was over water at 3:39 a.m. Eastern time, Caine said. Maduro and wife were then taken to the USS Iwo Jima. Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, in a call to state TV Saturday morning, said that "innocent people" had died, but gave no specifics, and didn’t address during a later speech. Caine said the mission was "meticulously planned" and was "the culmination of months of planning and rehearsals." "We think we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again, not to get it right, but to ensure that we cannot get it wrong. Our jobs are to integrate combat power so when the order comes, we can deliver overwhelming force at the time and the place of our choosing against any foe anywhere in the world," he said. The military worked closely with the U.S. intelligence agencies: CIA, NGA, NSA. "We watched, we prepared, we remained patient and professional," said Caine. U.S. intelligence knew Maduro’s pattern of life -- where he moved, lived, traveled, ate, and worked, he said. The mission was ready in early December waiting for the right day to maximize the element of surprise, he said.

AP [1/3/2026 10:59 AM, Ben Finley, Konstantin Toropin and Regina Garcia Cano] reports President Donald Trump had long threatened that he could order military strikes on targets on Venezuelan territory after months of attacks on boats accused of carrying drugs from the South American country. President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela said the U.S. military operations were a thinly veiled effort to oust him from power. On Saturday, the U.S. conducted a "large-scale strike" against Venezuela. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken from their home on a military base and were aboard a U.S. warship on their way to New York, where they were to face criminal charges. An indictment accused them of a role in narco-terrorism conspiracy. The Venezuelan government called it an "imperialist attack" and urged citizens to take to the streets. Before the escalation, there had been 35 known strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats in South American waters since early September that killed at least 115 people, according to announcements from the Republican administration. The White House said Washington was in "armed conflict" with drug cartels to halt the flow of narcotics into the United States, while U.S. officials alleged that Maduro supported the international drug trade.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [1/3/2026 11:54 AM, Isabela Espadas Barros Leal and Genevieve Glatsky, 135475K]

Breitbart [1/3/2026 3:38 PM, Jasmyn Jordan, 2416K] reports that, following the overnight raid that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivered remarks praising the operation’s execution, honoring the courage of American forces, and emphasizing President Donald Trump’s decisive leadership. Speaking after President Trump’s address to the nation on the morning of January 3, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivered an impassioned statement following what he described as a historic American military and law enforcement operation. “Finally, a commander in chief the world respects and the American people deserve,” Hegseth began. He called the strike “a massive joint military and law enforcement raid, flawlessly executed by the greatest Americans our country has offered.” Hegseth underscored that “American warriors are second to none,” highlighting the valor and skill behind the operation: “What I, what all of us, witnessed last night was sheer guts and grit, gallantry and glory of the American warrior.” Hegseth praised the mission’s leadership, saying, “I tip my hat to our Chairman Dan ‘Raizin’ Caine and all those Americans who stood watch last night.” According to Hegseth, the operation represented the apex of American capability and commitment. He noted, “No other country on planet Earth — and it’s not even close — could pull this kind of operation off, and no other president has ever shown this kind of leadership, courage, and resolve. The most powerful combination the world has ever seen.” The raid occurred as part of a broader effort to dismantle the leadership of the Cartel de los Soles, a transnational drug trafficking network allegedly headed by Maduro and top Venezuelan officials. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed Saturday morning that Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York on charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and possession of destructive devices. Bondi announced that they would “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.” The precision raid struck key Venezuelan military facilities, including Fuerte Tiuna—long believed to house Maduro’s personal bunker—and La Carlota Air Base in Caracas. United States forces achieved their objectives without any American casualties or equipment loss. President Trump later confirmed that Maduro was captured during “Operation Absolute Resolve” and was being transported aboard the USS Iwo Jima. In his remarks, Hegseth reinforced the mission’s deterrent impact. “Our adversaries remain on notice. America can project our will anywhere, anytime. The coordination, the stealth, the lethality, the precision—the very long arm of American justice—all on full display in the middle of the night,” he stated.

CBS News [1/3/2026 8:42 PM, Staff, 39474K] reports Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told "CBS Evening News" that the United States’ intervention into Venezuela and the capture of its leader, Nicolás Maduro, is the "exact opposite" of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. "We spent decades and decades and purchased in blood, and got nothing economically in return, and President Trump flips the script," Hegseth told "CBS Evening News" anchor Tony Dokoupil. Maduro was captured by U.S. forces and brought to New York on Saturday to face drug trafficking charges. Hegseth was among the senior Trump administration officials who oversaw the overnight U.S. military operation in Venezuela that led to Maduro’s capture. President Trump said earlier Saturday that "we’re going to run the country" until there is a "safe, proper and judicious transition" of power in Venezuela, but he provided few details about what that may look like. Mr. Trump said the U.S. would "get the oil flowing." Hegseth said that through strategic action, the U.S. can ensure it has access to "additional wealth and resources, enabling a country to unleash that without having to spend American blood." "I mean, this was a bold and audacious move, but it was thought through," Hegseth said. "It was well orchestrated. Our military had time to set it up, to provide the resources, and then he took that bold stroke. And through it, we flipped that very dynamic, and Americans will benefit." Hegseth told CBS News that the United States can help both the people of Venezuela and America in the Western Hemisphere by reestablishing the Monroe Doctrine — which established the tenets of U.S. foreign policy — with "peace through strength with our allies." "And I think the hemisphere, I know the hemisphere will benefit from President Trump’s bold action," Hegseth said. "This is a president of action, and you don’t get peace in this dangerous world without strength," Hegseth said. "So, all around the world to take notice, American leadership is back — when he says something matters, it does, and we will take the necessary action with the full weight of the Department of War." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NewsMax [1/3/2026 5:20 PM, Solange Reyner, 4109K] reports Cuba on Saturday condemned the "cowardly" use of military aggression by U.S. special forces to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. "This cowardly U.S. aggression constitutes a criminal act and a violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations," the government said in a statement posted to its website. "It represents a dangerous escalation of the sustained campaign of war waged for years by the United States against that sister nation, which intensified beginning in September 2025 with the aggressive naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea, under false pretexts and unfounded accusations lacking any evidence.". Maduro was captured after the U.S. conducted a "large-scale strike" on the country early Saturday morning, President Donald Trump announced. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the indictment of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on terrorism and weapons charges in the Southern District of New York. Cuba in its statement demanded the "immediate release by U.S. authorities" of Maduro and Flores. [Editorial note: consult video at source link] Reuters [1/3/2026 4:03 PM, Marc Frank, 36480K] reports Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Saturday condemned the United States for attacking Venezuela and capturing its president at a rally of thousands of Havana residents in front of the U.S. Embassy in the Cuban capital. "Cuba condemns and denounces these actions as an act of state terrorism," Diaz-Canel said. "It is a shocking violation of the norms of international law - the military aggression against a peaceful nation that poses no threat to the United States," he added. Venezuela supplies around 30% of Cuba’s already scarce oil imports in exchange for thousands of medical personnel who work in the South American country. Analysts agree the loss of the oil would be a devastating blow to Cuba’s already shaky power grid and energy supplies. Meanwhile, thousands of Cubans are worried over the fate of relatives and friends working in Venezuela. Cuba’s health ministry tweeted on Saturday they were "well protected." In an interview U.S. President Donald Trump gave to the New York Post on Saturday, he said he is not considering additional military action against Cuba.

FOX News [1/3/2026 2:31 PM, Louis Casiano, 40621K] reports Cuban leaders should be concerned after the U.S. military operation in Venezuela and the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday, as President Donald Trump signaled that his administration could shift its focus to the Caribbean island. Cuba has long maintained a presence in Venezuela, with intelligence agents and security personnel embedded amid close relations between Havana and Caracas. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, said Venezuela’s spy agency was "basically full of Cubans" as was Maduro’s security detail. "One of the biggest problems Venezuelans have is they have to declare independence from Cuba," he said during a news conference in which officials revealed details of the military operation. "They tried to basically colonize it from a security standpoint.” He added that the communist island was "a disaster. It’s run by incompetent, senile men — and in some cases, not senile, but incompetent nonetheless.” The secretary has repeatedly denounced Cuba and its leadership as a dictatorship and a failed state. "If I lived in Havana, and I was in the government, I’d be concerned — at least a little bit," Rubio said. Trump said Cuba was something his administration would "end up talking about because Cuba is a failing nation right now — a very badly failing nation. "And we want to help the people," he added. "It’s very similar in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba, but we also want to help the people who were forced out of Cuba and are living in this country.” Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken by U.S. forces and taken aboard the USS Iwo Jima. They were expected to be transported to the U.S. to face federal charges. The couple, along with other Venezuelan officials, face "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies," according to an unsealed indictment posted on social media Saturday by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. They are accused of partnering with drug cartels to traffic drugs into the U.S. Maduro and his wife "will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts," Bondi wrote. They are charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the U.S. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Examiner [1/3/2026 2:29 PM, Timothy P. Carney, 1394K] reports Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio both justified the United States’s overnight invasion of Venezuela and capture of its president, Nicolas Maduro, as a law-enforcement action, rather than an act of war. Thus, they argued, Trump didn’t need congressional authorization. But Trump’s own words — his description of the attack, his justification for the attack, and his plans for Venezuela’s future — make it clear this was in fact an act of war. Presidents are not allowed to wage war without authorization from Congress. Rubio, in the mid-day Saturday press conference, likewise framed the attack as basically a joint action between the Departments of War and Justice. In other words, this was basically an arrest, where the Delta Force took the place of the FBI. This is a plausible claim, and it’s an argument Vance and Rubio need to make, because they know that the president isn’t allowed to unilaterally go to war.

Breitbart [1/4/2026 6:22 AM, Jasmyn Jordan, 2416K] reports President Donald Trump put Colombian President Gustavo Petro on notice during a Saturday press conference, where he also addressed the fallout from the U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. Asked about Petro’s comment that he was “not concerned about anything happening to him in the aftermath of this operation,” Trump responded: “He has cocaine mills. He has factories where he makes cocaine. And yeah, I think I stick by my first statement. He’s making cocaine and they’re sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his ass.” The comments follow an earlier incident in December in which Trump warned that Petro “better close up those cocaine factories,” citing at least three major cocaine production facilities in Colombia. At the time, Trump said the U.S. government had direct knowledge of their locations and called Petro “a troublemaker,” adding, “he better watch it.” Petro, a self-described Marxist and former guerrilla, has clashed repeatedly with U.S. authorities since Trump returned to office. The Colombian leader was previously sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury and had his visa revoked after publicly urging the U.S. military to disobey Trump’s orders and join a “multi-national” force to “free Palestine.” He has also sparked diplomatic rows with the United States over deportation flights, referred to Trump as an “obstacle to democracy,” and even suggested that “humanity” should “get rid of Trump,” snapping his fingers in a widely condemned interview that aired in October.

CNN [1/3/2026 7:18 PM, Stephen Collinson, 18595K] reports millions of Americans woke up with the same question on the first Saturday of a new year: Are we at war with Venezuela? President Donald Trump’s ouster of President Nicolás Maduro has stunning implications for Venezuela, American global power, and the shattered remnants of constitutional curbs on US presidents and international law. The ostensible justification is that Maduro was the pinnacle of a cartel state that threatens America’s security and the well-being of its citizens with narcotics trafficking. But Trump’s claims overplay Venezuela’s role, and his transparent relish at wielding a big stick in his geopolitical backyard highlights more ambitious motives. Few of Venezuela’s repressed citizens will lament the removal of a dictator who wrecked lives and ruined economic opportunity. But the swoop against Maduro was a stunner, and not just because the overthrow of a foreign leader is considered an act of war. Trump’s entire political philosophy was rooted in avoiding any more US shock-and-awe operations to enforce overseas regime change after two decades of quagmires. What happened to the plan to stop meddling in intractable foreign politics that the US doesn’t understand? Is "America First" over? Probably not. Instead, it’s on steroids. Trump is still acting in the hard-eyed pursuit of what he perceives to be vital US national interests. It’s just that his definition of the concept has expanded massively since 2016. So has his appetite for wielding unchecked power, which has burst US borders and is racing through the Americas and beyond. "America will never allow foreign powers to rob our people or drive us back into and out of our own hemisphere," Trump warned at a remarkable news conference Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. "Under our new national security strategy, American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again.” Saturday proves that the United States has reverted to days when presidents and intelligence agencies sought to topple autocratic or inconvenient leaders in favor of puppet governments. It also conjures dark reminders of CIA political meddling, including in Latin America, which has often backfired. If upside projections of Trump’s bet play out, his domestic political exposure could be limited. He might ease the torment of the Venezuelan people; create stability in the northern part of South America; allow a return home of Venezuelan refugees; and blunt efforts by US foes China and Russia to gain a foothold that could threaten US security and interests. An apparently well-executed military operation without US combat deaths to grab Maduro will only enhance Trump’s reputation for orchestrating thunderclaps of military power after his strikes on Iran’s nuclear installations last year.

Reported similarly:
CNN [1/4/2026 4:00 AM, Holmes Lybrand, Hannah Rabinowitz, 18595K]

Washington Post [1/3/2026 7:40 PM, Karen DeYoung and Terrence McCoy, 24149K] reports the United States will “run” Venezuela — a country of 30 million people spread over hundreds of thousands of square miles — for the foreseeable future, President Donald Trump said Saturday just hours after the shocking, early-morning U.S. military assault that captured its head of state and left Latin America and much of the rest of the world reeling. “We’re going to stay until … the proper transition takes place,” Trump said in a Florida news conference that glanced past details of how exactly that would be done. Two side benefits, he indicated, were that hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who had fled to the United States would now go home and that the U.S. would now be able to take over the Venezuelan oil industry. On social media, Trump posted a photograph of shackled and blindfolded Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima. Maduro and his wife, both under U.S. indictment for drug trafficking and corruption, were snatched from a safe house by U.S. Special Operations forces in what senior administration officials insisted was not regime change but a law enforcement operation for which the military provided security. Trump made no distinction between law enforcement and overthrow, seeming to exult in what he called a “spectacular” operation, the likes of which had not been seen “since World War II … one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history.” “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again,” Trump said. “Under the Trump administration we are reasserting American power in a very powerful way in our home region.” Asked who would run Venezuela, Trump said, “largely the people behind me,” pointing to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. “They’re going to be a team that’s working with Venezuela to make sure it’s working right,” he said.

NPR [1/3/2026 11:40 AM, Staff, 28013K] reports the impact of the Trump administration’s stunning airstrikes and "capture" of Nicolás Maduro are already being felt well beyond Venezuela’s borders — the most significant U.S. intervention in the region since the 1989 invasion of Panama. President Gustavo Petro in neighboring Colombia, announced that security forces were deployed along the border to prepare for a possible refugee influx. Colombia hosts the largest Venezuelan diaspora. Petro confirmed multiple strikes in Caracas, including a military airbase, other installations, and the legislative building. He condemned the attack as an aggression against Venezuela and Latin America, urging de-escalation. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva condemned the U.S. attack on neighboring Venezuela and the seizure of Maduro, saying the strikes "crossed an unacceptable line" and set a "dangerous precedent." Other regional powers, including Chile and Mexico, echoed strong condemnation. Cuba and Nicaragua — two of Venezuela’s closest allies — are closely monitoring the crisis. Russia condemned the strikes, reaffirming solidarity with the Venezuelan people. China said it strongly opposed the U.S. action condemning the move as a violation of international law. The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the E.U. supports "a peaceful and democratic transition" in Venezuela. But she stopped short of criticizing the U.S. attack. Venezuela has called for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting, raising questions about the legality of the U.S. operation. In a statement the U.N.’s Secretary-General António Guterres said he was "deeply alarmed" by the overnight developments, expressing concern about "that international law hasn’t been respected."

Breitbart [1/3/2026 5:39 PM, Staff, 2416K] reports that, with a major attack to arrest Venezuela’s leader, President Donald Trump is showing that the United States will impose its will in its neighborhood — and the lesson may not be lost on Russia and China. Trump described the raid to seize leftist Nicolas Maduro as an update of the Monroe Doctrine, the 1823 declaration by fifth US president James Monroe that Latin America was closed to other powers, then meaning Europe. "The Monroe Doctrine is a big deal, but we’ve superseded it by a lot, by a real lot. They now call it the Donroe document," Trump told a news conference, slapping his name on the policy principle. "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again.” Weeks earlier, White House policymakers had given more intellectual gloss for the same idea in a national security strategy that announced a "Trump Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine. The policy, the strategy said, will authorize US intervention in Latin America for goals such as seizing strategic assets, fighting crime or ending migration, one of Trump’s top domestic goals. Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, with China its top partner. Trump had justified intervention by alleging drug-smuggling from small boats off Venezuela and by Maduro himself. But the United States is not alone in wanting to exert itself over smaller regional neighbors. Russia’s Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022 after questioning the former Soviet republic’s historical legitimacy and vowing the removal of its elected president, Volodymyr Zelensky. China has refused to rule out force to seize Taiwan, a self-governing democracy, and has angered US allies by claiming rights to much of the South China Sea. The Venezuela raid came days after China carried out major military exercises aimed at simulating a blockade of Taiwan following a major US arms deal. A Chinese envoy met Maduro in Caracas hours before his capture. Trump’s intervention is also sure to gain the attention of US allies that have been stunned by his threats over resources he sees as strategic.

CBS News [1/3/2026 6:53 PM, Alain Sherter, Mary Cunningham, 39474K] reports the U.S. strike on Venezuela has renewed focus on the country’s oil sector, which includes some of the richest crude reserves in the world. "We’re going to rebuild the oil infrastructure, which will cost billions of dollars, it will be paid for by the oil companies directly. And we’re going to get the oil flowing the way it should be," President Trump said in a public address on Saturday following the attack, in which the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. Here’s what to know about Venezuela’s oil industry. Venezuela, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, produces relatively little crude compared with other leading oil-producing nations. The country produces roughly 1 million barrels of crude oil per day, less than 1% of global output, according to OPEC data. Venezuela’s oil production topped 3 million barrels per day in the early 2000s, but it has fallen sharply in recent decades due to declining investment and the impact of U.S. sanctions. Because of U.S. political pressure, Venezuela today exports most of its oil to China, according to Reuters. By comparison, the U.S. — the world’s largest oil producer — churns out 13.5 billion barrels per day, according to the Energy Information Administration. Saudi Arabia, the world’s No. 2 oil exporter and leading OPEC producer, pumps an estimated 10 million to 12 million barrels, while No. 3 Russia produces 9.4 million. Francisco J. Monaldi, director of the Latin America energy program at Rice University, predicted it would take at least a decade — and investments of more than $100 billion — to rebuild Venezuela’s oil infrastructure and lift production to 4 million barrels per day, which is well above its historical production levels. But doesn’t Venezuela have more oil in the ground? Yes, Venezuela is estimated to have the world’s largest proven oil reserves, with more than 303 billion barrels — that represents roughly 17% of the total global oil supply, OPEC data shows. "The bottom line is that the size of the reserves is only paralleled by the ones in the Middle East, in the Persian Gulf and Canada’s reserves," Monaldi told CBS News. Venezuela’s reserves top second-ranked Saudi Arabia’s 267 billion barrels, and are more than six times the U.S.’s reserves. Most of Venezuela’s untapped oil is located in what is known as the Orinoco Belt, a roughly 21,000-square-mile area that stretches across the country’s northeastern region. Are American oil companies already operating in Venezuela, and does the U.S. restrict the country’s oil industry? Only one U.S. oil company operates in Venezuela today: Houston-based Chevron, which now accounts for 25% of Venezuelan oil production. "No other major Western player produces any significant amount," Monaldi told CBS News. Other American energy giants, including Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, withdrew from Venezuela after former President Hugo Chavez nationalized private foreign oil interests starting in 2006. Since 2005, successive U.S. presidents have imposed a range of sanctions on Venezuela, including its oil sector, for what American officials have said is the country’s failure to crack down on drug trafficking and terrorism, along with alleged human rights abuses. Under former President Joe Biden, the U.S. in 2019 also froze the assets of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), and barred Americans from doing business with the enterprise. Most recently, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on four companies and associated oil tankers that it said have ties to Venezuela’s oil sector.

CBS News [1/3/2026 6:03 PM, Staff, 39474K] reports President Trump said Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were "captured and flown out of the country" early Saturday, confirming what he described as a large-scale U.S. strike that prompted swift condemnation and concern worldwide. A CIA source inside Venezuela’s government helped the U.S. track Maduro’s location, CBS News learned. Following reports of explosions and low-flying aircraft in the country’s capital, Maduro was eventually captured at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex located in Caracas, Venezuelan ruling party leader Nahum Fernández told The Associated Press. Satellite imagery below shows before and after the U.S. strikes at Fuerte Tiuna. Satellite images from Vantor on Dec. 22 shows an overview of Fuerte Tiuna military complex showing buildings and equipment prior to strike damage. Satellite images from Vantor shows damage to vehicles and equipment at Fuerte Tiuna military base in Caracas after strikes on Jan. 3. U.S. officials told CBS News that the operation to capture Maduro was carried out by the Army’s Delta Force, an elite special operations unit. The helicopters that descended on Maduro’s compound came under fire, said Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but U.S. forces and the FBI eventually entered the compound. Maduro and his wife "gave up" and were taken into custody, Caine said. Speaking at a press conference, Mr. Trump said the United States would temporarily oversee Venezuela during a transition period and would work to restore oil production. He also said that Maduro tried to escape during his capture. "He was trying to get into a safe place," Mr. Trump told reporters. "The safe place is all steel, and he wasn’t able to make it to the door because our guys were so fast.” In addition to the main military base that was hit, David Smolansky, a spokesman for Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, told CBS News the following locations were also hit by U.S. strikes: La Carlota, the main airbase in Caracas; El Volcán, signal antenna; and La Guaira Port, a seaport on the Caribbean coast. Maduro is expected to face federal charges in the United States related to drug trafficking and alleged ties to gangs designated as terrorist organizations — claims he has denied. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Saturday announced a superseding indictment similar to one filed against Maduro in 2020.

CNN [1/3/2026 4:52 PM, Ray Sanchez, 606K] reports that, after word spread early Saturday that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured by US forces in Caracas, jubilant demonstrators sang and danced on streets more than 1,300 miles away in the heart of South Florida’s Venezuelan community. In Venezuela, however, the reaction to Maduro’s ouster was much more subdued, with footage from the nation’s capital showing mostly desolate streets and highways and anxious residents in long lines at supermarkets and drugstores amid the uncertainly over what some experts are calling the latest show of American gunboat diplomacy. In the suburb of Doral, Florida, a city about 15 miles west of Miami, that is home to more Venezuelan immigrants than any other city in the US, affectionately known as "Doralzuela," the celebrations over Maduro’s capture began in the predawn hours. Throughout the day, the impromptu gathering was marked by the singing of Venezuela’s national anthem, chants of "Liberty!" and tears of joy flowing from the eyes of people waving yellow, blue and red Venezuelan flags. Some carried signs that read, "Make Venezuela Great Again.” The boisterous party grew outside El Arepazo, an arepa shop at a gas station popular as a gathering spot for Venezuelans who have fled their country in recent years amid repression and economic hardship. "Justice is being served for all the Venezuelans who left our country," Kirvin Suarez told Reuters outside the restaurant. In some US cities, from Boston to Minneapolis, anti-war protesters took to the streets to voice concerns over the potential bloodshed from President Donald Trump’s military operation. Some carried signs saying, "No war for oil.” Millions of Venezuelans have left the country in the more than a quarter-century the ruling Chavismo movement has been entrenched in power. Many arrived in the US and other countries in recent years, others left their homeland more than 20 years ago. For months, they have watched anxiously as socialist and oil-rich Venezuela’s long confrontation with the US escalated with the Trump administration conducting military exercises in the Caribbean and deadly airstrikes on boats from the South American country. "We’re scared but hopeful," said Venezuelan-American Marisela Lara, who lives in Miami. "Last night may have been the beginning of the end of a 30-year nightmare.” "There’s too much uncertainty," said Daniel Castillo, a Venezuelan American who lives in New York City.

Houston Chronicle [1/3/2026 4:03 PM, Ashley Soebroto, 2983K] reports that, for some in Houston’s growing Venezuelan community — especially in Katy — news of the U.S. raid that captured President Nicolás Maduro early Saturday was an exciting surprise. "You better believe Venezuelita (Katy, TX) is on party mode right now!" a Twitter user wrote on X Saturday. The Houston area’s Venezuelan population more than tripled from 2012 to 2022, according to Census data, with much of that growth concentrated in and around Katy. From 2012 to 2022, the Venezuelan population in the four ZIP codes of the Katy area has grown by more than 400% to more than 15,000. With over 50,000 residents of Venezuelan descent in the Houston area, the community has grown into one of the most prominent Latino groups in the region. Several gathered outside a market in Katy on Saturday, waving Venezuelan flags and dancing, celebrating the fall of the deeply unpopular president. Maduro, who was sworn in this year, has been criticized domestically for his handling of the nation’s economy and authoritarian rule. One of the celebrants was 50-year-old Luz Mora, who left her native Venezuela for Florida in 2001, when Hugo Chavez was president. "This was one of those news (stories) that you were waiting for," Mora said, "Its the type of news that surprises you and that you’re going to remember forever." Mora, who made her way to Katy two years ago, said she remembers the day she received an arrest notice from the Venezuelan government in 2014. She actively showed opposition of Maduro on social media and was told she would be arrested if she returned to the country. "It was tough to not feel afraid, even when you’re outside of Venezuela," Mora said. "Because your family and friends are still there so you have to be careful." Mora now hopes she can return to visit family, and that with Maduro captured and out of the country, more freedom and economic opportunities await Venezuelans. In the U.S., President Trump has accused Maduro of stealing oil drilling operations from American companies, facilitating drug trafficking and backing deadly criminal gangs. Maduro was indicted in 2020 on U.S. charges of drug trafficking and terrorism. In other parts of the U.S., Venezuelans celebrated the news of Maduro’s capture. The Associated Press reported that many gathered outside a South American eatery in Florida on Saturday, wrapping themselves in Venezuelan flags and cheering. At one point, the crowd chanted “Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!” In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott echoed Trump’s criticisms of Maduro in praising the action, saying "Texas and the world are better because of his capture." But the sudden military incursion has raised questions among lawmakers about the president’s legal authority to carry out the strike without congressional approval. "President Maduro’s authoritarian government was illegitimate and oppressive," said U.S. Rep Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston, in a statement. "But President Trump’s statements today made clear that be believes he has the unilateral authority to depose foreign leaders and take over foreign countries. He does not." Fletcher said that Congress never authorized strikes on Venezuela, and that the "multiple rationales the administration put forward to justify its actions raised more questions than they answered. “The Trump administration must immediately and fully brief Congress and answer questions from the representatives of the American people," she added in her statement.

New York Post [1/3/2026 3:15 PM, Rich Calder, 42219K] reports many world leaders whined Saturday over the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, claiming the clandestine US mission was an unnecessary use of force — despite a legal precedent for it. Allies Russia, Iran, China and Colombia were among the nations lining up Saturday to demand the Trump administration release Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores, who were headed to New York City to face federal charges of narcoterrorism. "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," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "We highlight the need to create conditions for resolving any existing issues between the United States and Venezuela through dialogue.” The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said through a spokesperson that it was "deeply alarmed" by the use of US military force. The operation sets a "dangerous precedent" and may have violated international law, the UN warned. The US military unleashed a stunning show of force early Saturday morning to apprehend Maduro, deploying more than 150 aircrafts, elite ground troops and overwhelming airpower, part of a massive operation that began in August. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Maduro an illegitimate president — he was indicted by the US in 2020 — and a "fugitive of American justice" before his arrest. Maduro was provided "multiple, very, very, very generous offers" to avoid his high-profile arrest but instead chose to "act like a wild man" and "play games," said Rubio. Maduro’s arrest is bolstered by legal precedent dating back to 1989, when the first Bush administration invaded Panama to capture dictator Manuel Noriega. The US courts, at the time, ruled the military can physically remove someone from another country and bring them to a courtroom stateside to answer criminal charges. Here’s the latest on Nicolás Maduro’s capture: Maduro’s capture was celebrated by leaders of some nations, including Argentinian President Javier Milei, who posted on social media in Spanish the caption "La Libertad Avanza," or "Freedom advances.” Kaja Kallas, a European Union diplomat, said Saturday she had spoken with Rubio and the EU’s ambassador in Caracas and that the EU was "closely monitoring the situation.” She also noted the EU has "repeatedly stated that Mr. Maduro lacks legitimacy" but added, "we call for restraint. The safety of EU citizens in the country is our top priority.”

Breitbart [1/3/2026 5:08 PM, Frances Martel, 2416K] reports the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued an incensed statement on Saturday condemning an American law enforcement action in Caracas that resulted in the capture of longtime Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro – whose last public appearance was a meeting with top Chinese diplomats. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that American forces had entered Venezuela to capture Maduro and his wife, “first combatant” Cilia Flores, on a litany of charges linked to drug trafficking and support for terrorism. The United States and law enforcement officials in several other Latin American countries have for years identified Maduro as the head of the Cartel de los Soles, an international cocaine trafficking syndicate run out of the Venezuelan military. Maduro also used his leverage as dictator to aid the expansion in the hemisphere of activities by terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and state sponsors of terrorism such as Cuba and Venezuela . The Chinese Communist Party was among the most vocal supporters of the Venezuelan narco-regime, reportedly benefiting through the large-scale purchase of sanctioned oil. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned various Chinese companies less than a week ago for benefiting from the illicit traffic of Venezuelan oil. Beijing, with its official presumably still in Caracas, took no actions to defend Maduro, but published a concerned statement through its foreign ministry. “China is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns the US’ blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its president,” the Foreign Ministry said through a spokesperson. “Such hegemonic acts of the US seriously violate international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region. China firmly opposes it.” “We call on the US to abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and stop violating other countries’ sovereignty and security,” the statement concluded. In reality, Nicolás Maduro has not been the president of Venezuela since 2018, when he organized a sham presidential election he lost and the National Assembly used its constitutional power to declare a rupture in the democratic order and install Juan Guaidó as interim president. Guaidó, while constitutionally the president, exercised no power during his tenure and was removed in 2022. Maduro held another sham election in 2024 that he lost to former diplomat Edmundo González; the socialist regime claimed that Maduro had won the election, but published no evidence of this. González, with the aid of the most popular politician in the country, former lawmaker María Corina Machado, assembled teams on the ground to count votes and published local tallies online, showing Maduro’s overwhelming defeat. The facts surrounding the illegitimacy of Maduro’s rule were entirely absent on Saturday in Chinese state media coverage of his arrest. Speaking to “Chinese experts,” the state-run Global Times propaganda outlet declared that President Trump and his team had acted recklessly and violated international law. China regularly violates international law through illegal fishing, the invasion of neighboring countries’ waters, the ongoing genocide of the Uyghur people of occupied East Turkistan, and crimes such as intellectual property theft, support for the fentanyl trade, and live organ harvesting. “Overthrowing the Maduro government has long been an objective pursued by the US, but capturing a sitting head of state in this manner is highly unusual and can be described as reckless,” one Chinese expert, researcher Lü Xiang, was quoted as saying. “It not only violates international law, but also lacks any legal basis under US domestic law.”

NBC News [1/3/2026 2:15 PM, Sahil Kapur, Frank Thorp V, and Kristen Welker, 2218K] reports while Republican leaders and allies of President Donald Trump praised his strike in Venezuela to capture leader Nicolás Maduro, Democrats and even some Republicans from various ideological corners of the party are pushing back. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Trump is facing questions from Capitol Hill about the legality and the wisdom of the attack, with critics fearing it could drag the U.S. into another costly war with no end in sight. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a MAGA firebrand who has recently accused Trump of betraying the movement, questioned Trump’s justification for the strike, saying on X that if it is truly about going after drug traffickers, “then why hasn’t the Trump admin taken action against Mexican cartels?” Instead, she accused Trump of seeking regime change in “a clear move for control over Venezuelan oil supplies.” “Americans disgust with our own government’s never ending military aggression and support of foreign wars is justified because we are forced to pay for it,” Greene continued. “And both parties, Republicans and Democrats, always keep the Washington military machine funded and going. This is what many in MAGA thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong.” Centrist Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., echoing others in both parties, said in a statement that the capture of Maduro is “great for the future of Venezuelans and the region.” But the military veteran said he worries the strike will embolden other countries to take similar actions. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a fiscal hawk and libertarian, argued that the Trump administration is contradicting its own legal justifications for the military strike. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the decision not to notify lawmakers beforehand.

Breitbart [1/3/2026 9:54 PM, Elizabeth Weibel, 2416K] reports protests erupted in cities such as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New York City after it was announced that the U.S. captured Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro. Video footage posted to X showed protesters marching through New York City carrying signs that said, "Free Pres. Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores, Now!" and "No Blood For Oil.” According to ABC7NY, "a group of people demonstrated in Times Square" over Maduro’s capture. The protesters claimed that Maduro’s capture was not "about drug trafficking or democracy," but that it was "about stealing oil and dominating Latin America.” The outlet also noted that while some Venezuelans celebrated Maduro’s capture, others expressed that they were worried about their family members still in Venezuela. One person, Marilla Moreira, who "fled Venezuela almost 30 years ago during the Chavez era" expressed that she was "so happy," while Kenia Fernandez who moved to the city "a year and a half ago" revealed that her mother was "scared.” "She told me not to send videos or anything to her in Venezuela because she’s afraid they’ll intercept her phone or social media," Fernandez told the outlet. In Philadelphia, "more than 100 people" were reported to have "marched from Philadelphia City Hall to the U.S. Armed Forces recruitment center on Spring Garden Street," calling for Congress "to take back its power," according to WHYY.org. Protesters in the city held up signs with the words, "No War on Venezuela," and "End U.S. Imperialism," according to the outlet. One person, David Gibson, one of the organizers of the protest, said Congress is "supposed to represent the people," adding that citizens are supposed to be "the ones who are supposed to decide whether or not to go to war.” Another organizer, who was described as being "a Venezuelan American and Philadelphia resident" stated that the protesters were gathered because they "agree that Venezuela should have sovereignty.” "We’re all here because we agree that Venezuela should have sovereignty," the man said. "We’re here because we believe that Venezuela should be free from U.S. imperial aggression and violence.”

New York Post [1/3/2026 4:47 PM, Rich Calder and Khristina Narizhnaya, 42219K] reports NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani ripped the Trump administration Saturday over the U.S military’s capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, condemning the act as an overly aggressive "act of war.” The socialist pol said he called President Trump personally to let him know he vehemently opposed the arrest of the notorious dictator and his wife Cilia Flores – who’ve been fugitives since 2020 — on narcoterrorism charges. "I called the president and spoke with him directly to register my opposition to this act, and to make clear that it was an opposition based on being opposed to a pursuit of regime change, to the violation of federal international law, and a desire to see that be consistent each and every day," Mamdani told reporters during an unrelated Brooklyn news conference. "I registered my opposition. I made it clear, and we left it at that," added Mamdani, referring to his first confrontation with Trump since being sworn in as mayor on Wednesday. Mamdani slammed the raid hours earlier on X after being briefed by NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and other city honchos on the planned NYC imprisonment of Maduro and Flores. "Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law," he said. "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.” Here’s the latest on Nicolás Maduro’s capture: Socialist "Squad" Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, suggested that illegal drug trafficking, which Trump has said results in 300,000 U.S deaths a year, was not the real motive for the raid. "It’s not about drugs. If it was, Trump wouldn’t have pardoned one of the largest narco traffickers in the world last month," the Queens native wrote on X, "It’s about oil and regime change. "And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn’t. Especially to distract from Epstein + skyrocketing healthcare costs.”

AP [1/3/2026 1:07 PM, Josh Funk, 606K] reports embattled Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan, who was convicted of obstruction last month for helping an immigrant evade federal officers, has sent her resignation letter to the governor. The letter was sent Saturday. Republicans had been making plans to impeach her ever since her conviction in December. Dugan wrote that over the past decade she handled thousands of cases with "a commitment to treat all persons with dignity and respect, to act justly, deliberately and consistently, and to maintain a courtroom with the decorum and safety the public deserves.” But she said the case against her is too big of a distraction. "As you know, I am the subject of unprecedented federal legal proceedings, which are far from concluded but which present immense and complex challenges that threaten the independence of our judiciary. I am pursuing this fight for myself and for our independent judiciary," Dugan said in her letter. Last April, federal prosecutors accused Dugan of distracting federal officers trying to arrest a Mexican immigrant outside her courtroom and leading the man out through a private door. A federal jury convicted her of felony obstruction. The case against Dugan was highlighted by President Donald Trump as he pressed ahead with his sweeping immigration crackdown. Democrats insisted the administration was trying to make an example of Dugan to blunt judicial opposition to the operation. Republican Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos praised Dugan’s decision. "I’m glad Dugan did the right thing by resigning and followed the clear direction from the Wisconsin Constitution," Vos said. Democrat Ann Jacobs, who leads the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said she agreed with Dugan that Milwaukee should have a permanent judge in place while this fight plays out. "Despite her situation, she is ever the champion of justice, wanting to remove the judiciary from a political battle over her fate. I’m sure this is terribly hard for her but she is true to her faith and her principles," Jacobs said in a post on X. On April 18, immigration officers went to the Milwaukee County courthouse after learning 31-year-old Eduardo Flores-Ruiz had reentered the country illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in a state battery case. Dugan confronted agents outside her courtroom and directed them to the office of her boss, Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley, because she told them their administrative warrant wasn’t sufficient grounds to arrest Flores-Ruiz. After the agents left, she led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a private jury door. Agents spotted Flores-Ruiz in the corridor, followed him outside and arrested him after a foot chase. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced in November he had been deported.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [1/3/2026 11:00 AM, Julie Bosman, 135475K]
Breitbart [1/3/2026 11:06 AM, Elizabeth Weibel, 2416K]
Reuters [1/3/2026 5:17 PM, Hannah Lang, 36480K]

CNN [1/4/2025 5:13 AM, Nicquel Terry Ellis, 18595K] reports at Fardowsa Ali’s restaurant in Minneapolis, she said the usual steady flow of diners seeking Somali sambusas or desserts has been replaced with threatening phone calls. “It’s really sad,” said Ali, who opened Albi Kitchen last summer. “I called police because one guy called here and said he was going to come here and break everything.” The threats and declining business began after conservative content creator Nick Shirley posted a video accusing day care centers in Minneapolis’ Somali community of fraud – including one in the same building as her cafe, Ali said. Since the video was posted, Ali and other business owners and families in the state’s deeply rooted Somali community have said they were threatened, harassed and bullied on social media. A day care facility was vandalized and parents are afraid to send their children to school. Somali restaurants and coffee shops that once bustled with patrons were nearly empty last week and people are scared to show up to their jobs. The backlash from Shirley’s video has exacerbated the anxiety residents of Somali descent in Minnesota were already feeling after President Donald Trump called the community “garbage” and sent immigration enforcement agents to the state in December, making the Twin Cities the latest target of his deportation push, which was previously seen in cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte and New Orleans. “This climate of fear is disrupting livelihoods, separating families, and undermining the sense of safety and belonging for an entire community,” Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Minnesota chapter, said of how the nation’s largest Somali diaspora has felt in recent weeks.

Washington Examiner [1/3/2026 3:59 PM, Staff, 1394K] reports after a busy year for the California Legislature, hundreds of new state laws are taking effect in the new year, affecting everything from immigration to housing and health care. Here are some to watch for in 2026. Unaccompanied immigrant children in court – Assembly Bill 1261: This law requires the state to provide free legal representation for unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings in federal court, as well as state-related immigration proceedings. The bill also states that if an immigrant youth has private legal counsel, the state does not need to provide counsel to the child during immigration proceedings. Anti-mask law for law enforcement – Senate Bill 627: This law, authored by Sen. Scott Weiner (D-San Francisco) prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing masks on the job. This applies to any law enforcement agency operating in the state, including federal law enforcement. The law states there are exceptions, including for law enforcement officers conducting undercover operations and tactical operations in which gear covering an officer’s face is required for safety. Weiner, as well as the Department of Homeland Security and the White House, were unavailable for comment on Friday. Homeland Security previously said it would not follow the law. Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Center Square in September that the law is unconstitutional and would interfere with efforts to protect federal law enforcement officers from being "doxxed and targeted by known and suspected terrorist sympathizers." Immigrant children at school – Assembly Bill 49: Otherwise known as the California Safe Haven Schools Act, this bill would bar law enforcement from entering school property for activity that targets immigrant children unless they had a court order or judicial warrant. School officials would have to request identification from officers who come to a school for that purpose. The law also prohibits the release of students’ records or information about a student’s family without a court order or warrant.

New York Post [1/3/2026 3:36 PM, Staff, 42219K] reports "If you don’t know, now you know," Secretary of State Marco Rubio summed up Saturday: Drug lords and dictators around the world, especially in the Western Hemisphere, are on notice after US forces blew through prepared defenses to arrest Venezuelan "President" Nicolás Maduro and his wife. Operation Absolute Resolve was stunningly successful, fresh testimony to the tremendous professionalism of America’s servicemen and -women — and of course to the resolve of President Donald Trump. This was a surgically precise operation to arrest a goon who has impoverished his nation and undermined our own by exporting drugs and vicious criminals; the European Union, like Washington, refused to recognize him as the legitimate president after he blatantly stole the 2024 election. Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s vice president, takes charge for now in Caracas — and says she won’t let the country be a US "colony.” Trump says we’re "going to run the country" and has noted that the Pentagon has a "second wave" ready to act if needed; he told The Post’s Steve Nelson that he sees no need for US boots on the ground in Venezuela as long as Rodríguez ­behaves herself. His goal is a "safe, proper and judicious transition," which means national voting as soon as possible, for a return to full democracy. Excellent: Let the people decide in a free and fair election. That should be the top priority of all people of goodwill, around the globe and in US politics: Make sure what comes next is the best for the people of Venezuela. Of course reflexive America-haters like UN Secretary-General António Guterres prefer to wring their hands, while Trump-bashers like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted that the operation is "about oil and regime change" as well as a bid to "to distract from Epstein + skyrocketing healthcare costs.” OK: Taking out an international criminal who controls a once-sovereign nation plainly does overlap with "regime change," and Trump (being Trump) keeps talking about Venezuela’s oil resources, but this is endlessly far from any foolish crusade to remake the world. It is about fighting the global cartels; this operation signals other players from Mexico to China that Trump is deadly serious about ending the flow of deadly drugs. It’s also about restoring the Monroe Doctrine, the centuries-old US policy against letting old-world nations interfere in this hemisphere: Maduro’s bid to remain in power despite the wishes of Venezuela’s people relied not just on Cuba, but on Iran, China and Russia and even the Mideast terror group Hezbollah. As for the oil: The regime’s feckless management of Venezuela’s industry was central to the nation’s impoverishment as exports dropped from over than 3 million barrels a day to under 900,000 — with the profits benefiting only Maduro’s clique. Fixing that (adding a half-million barrels a day should be within reach in a matter of months) will be a huge win for living standards and political stability.

Houston Chronicle [1/3/2026 6:10 PM, Staff, 2983K] reports Americans woke up Saturday to the surprise that the United States is “going to run” Venezuela after U.S. special forces captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. That was President Donald Trump’s words. Apparently the United States is back in the business of regime change. While running for the presidency in 2016 and 2024, Trump vowed to keep the United States out of endless wars. MAGA true believers who thought they were ushering in an age of America First now need to grapple with this new reality — one where the White House feels empowered to unilaterally risk American blood and treasure on foreign wars without approval from Congress or buy-in from the public. Maduro’s capture comes after months of the president’s escalating campaign in the region — the culmination of U.S. strikes on boats allegedly carrying drugs, the seizure of oil tankers and a CIA-led port explosion. Even now we’re still asking: Why? Why is the U.S. taking such drastic military action? Is it to “take back” our oil? To deport Venezuelans en masse? To fight drug trafficking? To send a message to Cuba? Perhaps this cloud of justifications just conceals the truth — there is no real reason. Trump seems to be doing this because he can. Whether Republican or Democrat, everyone needs to demand some real answers from our government and insist that Congress reassert its sole and solemn constitutional responsibility to declare war. Protestors took to the streets of Montrose on Saturday and more are planned for Sunday, but the real action needs to be from Washington. Lost in this haze are other basic questions. Will U.S. troops be on the ground in Venezuela and for how long? Who will fill the vacuum Maduro leaves behind? What is our long-term plan for peace? And how does this incursion fit into the United States’ larger foreign policy? For that matter, what is our larger foreign policy? Meanwhile, the images of smoke and fire billowing from a sprawling military base in Caracas have filled many with terror. Lavinia Milano, a Venezuelan asylum-seeker living in the northern suburb of Spring, immediately thought of her brother, who lives just a few miles from that military base. “I was terrified for him,” Milano told an editorial board member. But after finally reaching him three calls later, she was surprised to hear his jubilant voice. He described watching the sky burn red after the bombs fell, the walls of his home shaking with the force. Still, he popped champagne in celebration. “Why are you crying?” her brother asked her. “We’re free!” For Milano and millions of other Venezuelans forced to leave their home, seeing Maduro bedraggled and in grey sweats, his eyes and ears covered and his hands bound onboard a U.S. warship, promised a new, hopeful era. The despotic leader who for so long towered over their lives had finally tumbled. During the first press conference after the strike, President Donald Trump predicted a bright future for Venezuelans. U.S. oil companies, he said, would “start making money for the country.” He declared that Maduro would be brought to justice for drug trafficking that killed “countless Americans” and for sending criminal gang members across our borders.

Washington Post [1/3/2026 2:51 PM, Max Boot, 24149K] reports in recent months, President Donald Trump has assembled the largest U.S. naval armada in the Caribbean since the invasion of Panama in 1989. There were far too many forces simply to blow up some suspected drug boats — but not enough to invade Venezuela, a nation of nearly 30 million people. Now we know what all that naval might was for. The U.S. force was the perfect size for a commando raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. That is exactly what the U.S. Army’s Delta Force pulled off under the cover of darkness early Saturday morning in a bold and brilliant operation that showed once again why the U.S. Special Operations Command and the U.S. intelligence community are the best in the world. A U.S. Special Operations raid in a large foreign capital full of hostile fighters could easily go wrong, as did the 1993 “Black Hawk Down” fiasco in Somalia. That operation damaged President Bill Clinton politically and led to Defense Secretary Les Aspin’s downfall. It must have taken nerves of steel for Trump to give the go-ahead. Because the raid seemingly went like clockwork, Trump was able to take a victory lap at a typically rambling Saturday news conference at his Mar-a-Lago Club. Maduro was no terrorist leader, and he was no direct threat to the United States, despite the administration’s attempts to label him as a “narco-terrorist.” But he is a vile despot who was implicated not only in corruption and drug trafficking but also in heinous human rights violations. No tears should be shed over the prospect that he will face trial in a U.S. federal court for some of his crimes. But the raid nevertheless raises difficult and troubling questions about why the operation was carried out and what the consequences will be.

Washington Post [1/3/2026 5:05 PM, George F. Will, 24149K] reports there is a constant tug toward universalism in U.S. foreign policy, and hence a recurring temptation for crusading. The strength of the tug waxes and wanes, responding to the perceived success or failure of the most recent undertaking to reorder realities abroad. Universalism flows from the ninth word of the most important sentence in this creedal nation’s catechism: “all.” All human beings are endowed with unalienable rights, including the right to government legitimated by consent. The perennial American argument concerns what, if anything, this catechism commits the nation to do. The 1823 Monroe Doctrine declared the Western Hemisphere closed to further European colonization, and, implicitly, open to U.S. intervention in order to guarantee … Here things become murky. Commercial considerations (long ago, bananas; today, oil) and geopolitics have driven interventions. Although European colonization in this hemisphere long ago subsided, perhaps the Monroe Doctrine is still apposite. But two years before the Monroe Doctrine was enunciated, Secretary Adams said of our nation: “Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own.” Many presidents, and most recent ones, have rightly disagreed. The current one, who also disagrees, speaks so often and so imprecisely, as in his meandering babble late Saturday morning, a cloud of confusion envelopes everything. Dissipating it can begin with this: That Nicolás Maduro is a monster is patent, as was the illegitimacy of his government, which disdained respect for the consent of the governed. But the urgent argument begins, not ends, with those two facts.

Wall Street Journal [1/3/2026 6:09 PM, Staff, 646K] reports President Trump’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro early Saturday is an act of hemispheric hygiene against a dictator who spread mayhem far and wide. Whether he admits it or not, Mr. Trump is now in the business of regime change that he’ll have to make a success. The stunning nighttime raid is the culmination of a showdown that was building for months as Mr. Trump sent a naval flotilla to the Caribbean. Mr. Maduro resisted U.S. offers to leave peacefully, and Mr. Trump followed through on his threat and ousted the despot. The U.S. President had to act or lose credibility with the world after choosing the face-off. Pulling it off without American casualties is remarkable. Mr. Trump said Mr. Maduro and his wife were headed to New York, where they will face trial for narco-trafficking. But Mr. Maduro’s damage goes well beyond the drug trade. His socialist and authoritarian policies burdened the region with millions of refugees. He flooded the U.S. with migrants in an effort to sow political discord. The dictator was also part of the axis of U.S. adversaries that includes Russia, China, Cuba and Iran. All were helping to keep Mr. Maduro in power. His capture is a demonstration of Mr. Trump’s declaration to keep America’s enemies from spreading chaos in the Western Hemisphere. It’s the “Trump corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine. All of this makes the military action justified, despite cries from the left that it is illegal under international law. Mr. Maduro stole last year’s presidential election after he lost in a rout. He barred popular opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from the ballot, and the candidate who took her place won and then went into exile to avoid arrest. The critics want to praise Ms. Machado’s courage while doing nothing to help the Venezuelan people.

Wall Street Journal [1/3/2026 7:40 PM, Nicholas Creel, 646K] reports critics calling President Trump’s capture of Nicolás Maduro unprecedented and illegal have short memories. We’ve done this before, and the courts blessed it. In December 1989, President George H.W. Bush ordered U.S. troops into Panama to capture Manuel Noriega, the country’s de facto military dictator, on federal drug-trafficking charges. Like Mr. Maduro, Noriega had been indicted by a U.S. grand jury. Like the Venezuela operation, the Panama invasion occurred without congressional authorization. And like what will now happen with Mr. Maduro, Noriega was forcibly brought to the U.S. and prosecuted in federal court. Noriega was convicted and imprisoned. The legal framework established in Noriega’s case will directly govern Mr. Maduro’s prosecution. Too bad for him that the arguments we can expect his lawyers to make have already been litigated, and rejected, by federal courts. The factual parallels between these two cases are striking. Operation Just Cause began on Dec. 20, 1989. U.S. forces struck multiple targets across Panama simultaneously, seeking to capture Noriega and restore democratic governance. Noriega immediately went into hiding. After days of searching, the U.S. found that he had taken refuge in the Vatican’s diplomatic mission. U.S. troops surrounded the building and, in a famous psychological operation, incessantly blasted rock music to wear him down. On Jan. 3, 1990, Noriega surrendered and was flown to Miami to face charges.

FOX News [1/3/2026 10:00 AM, Peter Pinedo, 40621K] reports after a year in which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement dramatically increased its operations under President Donald Trump and simultaneously faced an increase in attacks against officials, the agency is highlighting the "best of the best" agents for particularly heroic actions in the line of duty. In a Friday statement, ICE said that "despite the obstacles they face, including record numbers of violent anti-ICE rioters assaulting law enforcement, terrorist attacks, and bounties placed on their heads, our courageous officers have proven their commitment to upholding the rule of law in the United States and making America safe again." According to the agency, agents faced an increase of 1,347 percent in assaults and an 8,000 percent increase in death threats against them. ICE blamed these increases on "lies and smears from sanctuary politicians and radical activists, and hoaxes spread by the media." "Despite that, their heroic efforts have led to historic results, helping DHS remove more than 622,000 illegal aliens," ICE said, noting that tens of thousands of those removals were of criminal offenders, including murderers, rapists, child sex abusers, terrorists and gang members. That, coupled with more than 2 million illegal aliens who chose to self-deport, has created a cycle that benefits the American public," the agency said, adding, "As ICE continues to remove more illegal aliens, more illegal aliens wisely choose to self-deport and avoid arrest."

Houston Chronicle [1/3/2026 7:00 AM, Julián Aguilar, 2983K] reports until federal immigration agents declared the Rev. James Eliud Ngahu Mwangi a deportable alien, the Kenyan native was working as a Texas prison guard, with his employment authorization vetted by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. But Mwangi overstayed a visa, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said, and he was placed in deportation proceedings in October. Last month, he chose to voluntarily "self-deport" to his native Kenya instead of remaining in a detention facility in Conroe. Mwangi’s employment with the state agency wasn’t unusual. He was one of several hundred immigrants working for TDCJ with valid work authorization that was verified by state officials. Criminal justice experts said TDCJ’s need for immigrant labor, even in deep red Texas where tough-on-immigration rhetoric is expanding, speaks to the agency’s long-standing problem maintaining staffing levels. When Mwangi, the Kenyan priest, was placed in removal proceedings, his arrest raised questions over how the federal government could claim he was in the country illegally despite having a valid work permit. The path that led him to TDCJ is unclear, as he first entered the country on a business visa that doesn’t come with employment eligibility. It wasn’t until his visa expired and he requested asylum that he was allowed to work. His attorney told the Houston Chronicle Mwangi did everything he was supposed to and appeared to be unfairly targeted. It’s unclear if any other TDCJ employees have been detained by ICE.

Houston Chronicle [1/3/2026 4:37 PM, Maliya Ellis, 2983K] reports Galveston police have jailed a man they said impersonated an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and unlawfully detained an individual. Officials arrested Joshua Warner, 44, of Galveston, at his home in the 6400 block of Central City Boulevard last month on suspicion of impersonating a public servant, police said in a press release. Warner was in custody at the Galveston County jail on a $500,000 bond as of Saturday, and his next court date had yet to be set, according to jail records. The arrest followed an investigation that began in early November, after police received reports that a man later identified as Warner had unlawfully detained an individual in the 400 block of 24th Street, officials said. Police did not release information about the person allegedly detained by Warner. While searching Warner’s home, investigators seized a fake law enforcement identification card and badge, police said. Officials also seized Warren’s car, which looked similar to an unmarked police vehicle. Police encourage anyone who believes Warner unlawfully detained them or who has additional information to contact the Galveston Police Department at 409-765-3736.

Los Angeles Times [1/4/2026 12:03 AM, Andrea Flores, Libor Jany and James Queally, 14862K] reports the man shot dead on New Year’s Eve in Northridge by an ICE agent has been identified by Black Lives Matter L.A. Authorities claim the agent responded to an active shooter situation, but accounts suggest the victim may have been firing a gun into the air. The man who was shot and killed on New Year’s Eve by an off-duty U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in a Northridge apartment complex has been identified by Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, and on social media, as Keith "Pooter" Porter. Authorities have not yet released the full identity of the victim. Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, alongside Porter’s family and loved ones, are holding a community vigil in honor of Porter on Sunday. The remembrance will be held at the Village Pointe complex (17171 Roscoe Blvd., Northridge) where the fatal shooting took place in the final hour of Wednesday. "This vigil is about remembering Keith as a human being, not a headline or a hashtag and standing with his family as they demand truth and accountability," said a Black Lives Matter Los Angeles organizer in a statement. "An off-duty federal agent took his life, and the community deserves clear answers, full transparency and justice.” Friends and family of Porter expressed sadness over the sudden loss on social media. "This is the type of friend a lot of us wish we had," Bryon Taylor wrote on Facebook, who described Porter as a funny, cool and down-to-earth person who loved life. "I genuinely & whole heartedly loved this man. Pooter was an amazing friend to me. Whenever and for whatever I needed, he was there. This really really breaks my heart ... Praying for his mother, children, and his entire family," Mimi Love wrote on Facebook. One Instagram user, who claimed to work with Porter at Home Depot, commented on his last Instagram post: "He is one of the most popular people in this store. He’s already a legend around here from just being him ... This is beyond heartbreaking.” Authorities have not yet identified the ICE agent responsible. The New Year’s Eve death is under investigation by the Robbery-Homicide Division, which handles all shootings by officers from outside law enforcement agencies, said LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton. Since the incident involves a federal agent, the case is also being handled by the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice and Homeland Security Investigations.

CBS Miami [1/3/2026 10:14 AM, Sergio Candido, 39474K] reports newly elected Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins said Saturday that the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro represents a long-awaited moment of hope for South Florida’s Venezuelan community, while urging President Donald Trump to immediately reinstate Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans living in the U.S. In a statement Saturday, Higgins said the developments in Venezuela have prompted celebration and strong emotions across Miami, home to one of the largest Venezuelan populations in the country. She described the moment as historic for families who fled Maduro’s rule and have waited decades for signs of political change. At the same time, Higgins sharply criticized the earlier elimination of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans, saying the instability surrounding Maduro’s capture underscores that the country remains unsafe for return. She called the decision to end TPS reckless and dangerous, arguing that conditions in Venezuela continue to pose serious risks.

NewsMax [1/3/2026 4:09 PM, Staff, 4109K] reports Interior Secretary Doug Burgum says the Trump administration has effectively halted what he described as an "invasion" at the U.S. southern border, citing sharply reduced migrant crossings and a renewed crackdown on transnational criminal networks. In a post on X, Burgum said that under President Donald Trump, "border crossings have hit record lows," arguing that decisive enforcement policies have reversed years of what he called failed border management. "This administration has stopped the invasion at our Southern Border, and now we’re stopping the mass casualties caused by Maduro’s criminal network," Burgum wrote. "The U.S. will no longer allow cartels to make billions while drug trafficking kills hundreds of thousands of Americans. This is America First." Burgum’s remarks come as the Trump administration highlights border security as a central pillar of its second-term agenda. Administration officials point to expanded border wall construction, tighter asylum standards, and increased cooperation between federal agencies as key factors behind the decline in illegal crossings. They argue that clear enforcement policies have restored deterrence after years of mixed signals from Washington. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

San Diego Union Tribune [1/3/2026 8:01 AM, Alexandra Mendoza, 1538K] reports drivers traveling south into Tijuana should anticipate possible delays next week due to roadway work on Interstate 5 at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the U.S. General Services Administration said. Construction is set to begin on Tuesday night as part of a $2.7 million project to “enhance safety, security, and efficiency at the port,” officials said. The project will be conducted in two phases, requiring temporary lane closures. During construction, crews will remove the speed humps on a section of I-5 near the southbound inspection booths. Additionally, temporary traffic control barriers will be replaced with more permanent, poured-in-place dividers, officials said. While construction is underway, officials recommend considering the Otay Mesa Port of Entry and public transit if possible.

Wall Street Journal [1/3/2026 6:19 PM, Dean Seal, Allison Pohle, and Jacob Passy, 646K] reports U.S. military action in Venezuela disrupted air-traffic in the country and flights slated to travel across the Caribbean over the weekend, stranding passengers in Puerto Rico and other parts of the region. The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily prohibited U.S. carriers from operating flights near Venezuela and some Caribbean islands including Puerto Rico. The FAA issued its emergency notice around 1 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday about potential flight risks in the region. Authorities will lift the airspace restrictions when appropriate, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued a similar directive restricting flights operating near Venezuela. The air-travel restrictions prompted a scramble among airlines to cancel flights slated to travel near Puerto Rico and Caribbean territories. Those cancellations spurred a run on hotels in places like Puerto Rico’s capital, San Juan, and efforts to find trips home.

USA Today [1/3/2026 12:48 PM, Josh Rivera, 67103K] reports commercial air travel to and from Puerto Rico was disrupted on Saturday, Jan. 3 after federal authorities temporarily restricted U.S. airline operations at several Caribbean airports, citing security concerns related to escalating military activity in Venezuela. The pause includes flights at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU), the Caribbean’s busiest hub, as well as airports in Ceiba, Aguadilla, Ponce, Isla Grande, Vieques and Culebra, according to Puerto Rico Ports Authority Executive Director Norberto Negrón Díaz. Acting under orders from the Federal Aviation Administration, commercial passenger and cargo operations were suspended through 1 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 4, with the potential for extensions. Over 300 flights originating and arriving to the island were canceled as of midday Jan. 3, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González described the closure as a national security measure during a radio interview, as reported by local news outlet El Nuevo Día.

Reported similarly:
Univision [1/3/2026 10:08 AM, Staff, 5004K]

Washington Post [1/4/2026 6:00 AM, Derek Hawkins, 24149K] reports the Secret Service has launched one of the most ambitious hiring efforts in its history, seeking to bring on thousands of agents and officers to ease strain on its overstretched workforce and prepare for multiple major events in 2028, including the presidential election and the Olympics. Service leaders say they want to hire 4,000 new employees by 2028 — a surge that law enforcement experts say has no clear precedent and reflects mounting concerns about staff burnout, a loss of experienced agents and a relentless operational tempo. The added staff would make up for expected retirements and increase the size of the agency by about 20 percent, to more than 10,000 for the first time. Under a plan led by Deputy Director Matthew Quinn, the service aims to expand its special agent ranks from about 3,500 to about 5,000. Officials also want to add hundreds of officers to the Uniformed Division, for a total of about 2,000, and hire additional support staff. The figures have not been previously reported. The agency faces serious obstacles, however, including a shortage of qualified candidates; competition with other law enforcement agencies, especially in immigration enforcement; and bottlenecks in hiring and training, according to former service officials. A previous attempt to reach 10,000 employees over a roughly 10-year period ending in 2025 failed as the agency struggled with leadership turnover and disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic, among other issues. The service fell far short of recruitment and retention goals despite offering some of the biggest financial incentives of any federal law enforcement agency. “Our mindset is, we aren’t going to pay our way out of this,” said Quinn, a longtime Secret Service official who returned to the agency in May after several years in the private sector. “We can’t create enough incentives to negate the fact that we’re working our people very, very hard.” Quinn said he and Secret Service Director Sean Curran, the former head of President Donald Trump’s protective detail, have set out to make hiring a top priority, second only to protection. Senior administration officials have backed them, he said.

FOX News [1/3/2026 3:57 PM, Kurt Knutsson, 40621K] reports the University of Phoenix has confirmed a major data breach affecting nearly 3.5 million people. The incident traces back to August when attackers accessed the university’s network and quietly stole sensitive information. The school detected the intrusion on Nov. 21. That discovery came after the attackers listed the university on a public leak site. In early December, the university disclosed the incident, and its parent company filed an 8-K with regulators. The scope is large. Notification letters filed with Maine’s Attorney General show 3,489,274 individuals were affected. Those affected include current and former students, faculty, staff and suppliers. According to the university, hackers exploited a zero-day vulnerability in Oracle E-Business Suite. This application handles financial operations and contains highly sensitive data. Based on the technical details shared so far, security researchers believe the attack aligns with tactics used by the Clop ransomware gang. Clop has a long track record of stealing data through zero-day flaws rather than encrypting systems. The vulnerability tied to this campaign is tracked as CVE-2025-61882. Investigators say it has been abused since early August. The university says the attackers accessed highly sensitive personal and financial information. That includes Full names, Contact information, Dates of birth, Social security numbers, Bank account numbers, Routing numbers. This type of data creates a serious risk. It can fuel identity theft, financial fraud and targeted phishing scams. In letters sent to affected individuals, the university confirmed the breach affects 3,489,274 people. If you are a current or former student or employee, watch your mail closely. These notifications often arrive by postal mail, not email. The letter explains what data was exposed and includes instructions for protective services. We reached out to the University of Phoenix for comment, and a rep provided CyberGuy with the following statement: "We recently experienced a cybersecurity incident involving the Oracle E-Business Suite software platform. Upon detecting the incident on November 21, 2025, we promptly took steps to investigate and respond with the assistance of leading third-party cybersecurity firms. We are reviewing the impacted data and will provide the required notifications to affected individuals and regulatory entities."

Univision [1/4/2026 12:44 AM, Staff, 5004K] reports Governor Jenniffer Gonzalez acknowledged on Saturday, in a press conference, that after the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro , not only on the island but throughout the United States, "we could be prone to cyberattacks." From Fort Allen in Juana Díaz, González asserted that "all government agencies are on high alert for any cyberattack. We are all vulnerable—the government itself, both federal and state agencies. We are very attentive to this. We have been monitoring networks, and this reflects the potential for attacks by international actors, such as China, Iran, and Russia . God willing, it won’t happen, but we are on alert." When asked by several journalists about Nicolás Maduro’s alleged stop at the Ramey Air Force Base airport in Aguadilla , Jenniffer González replied that she had "no information" on the matter.

The National Pulse [1/4/2026 12:01 AM, Staff] reports a 21-year-old man was arrested while carrying a shotgun, handgun, and several rounds of ammunition near the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington, during New Year’s Eve celebrations. According to the Seattle Police Department (SPD), bystanders became concerned when the man was seen sitting on a bench near the Pacific Science Center, gripping what appeared to be a partially concealed shotgun. Law enforcement arrived at the scene around 7:20 PM on December 31 as New Year’s Eve revelers began to gather in the high-traffic area for the city’s fireworks show ringing in 2026. Seattle police were able to approach and detain the armed man without incident. Witnesses described him as wearing all black clothing and a red hat with “WAR” printed on it. Alongside the shotgun, police discovered he was also carrying a handgun and had a valid concealed pistol license. Additionally, detectives from the Criminal Intelligence Unit and the Arson Bomb Squad searched the suspect’s nearby vehicle. No additional weapons or explosives were found, and the vehicle was deemed safe.

NewsMax [1/3/2026 3:00 PM, Staff, 4109K] reports U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on Newsmax that Saturday’s operation to remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and charge him with criminal offenses has major implications for U.S. security and stability in the Middle East. "Well, my first reaction was to say, praise the Lord and thank you, President [Donald] Trump," Huckabee said on "Saturday Agenda," reacting to the reported operation and its significance. Huckabee said many Americans may not see an immediate connection between Venezuela and the Middle East, but he said the link becomes clearer when focusing on Hezbollah and Tehran’s reach. "A lot of people may not make the connection as to why this matters to us in the Middle East," he said. "What they don’t know is that Hezbollah is very active in Venezuela.". Huckabee said Iran and Venezuela have maintained deep ties over roughly two decades, and he described Hezbollah as operating widely across South America.

NewsMax [1/3/2026 2:10 PM, Staff, 4109K] reports
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday congratulated President Donald Trump following the capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro, praising what he described as bold leadership and a historic victory for freedom and justice. In a post on X, Netanyahu credited Trump with decisive action and lauded the U.S. military forces involved in the operation. "Congratulations, President @realDonaldTrump, for your bold and historic leadership on behalf of freedom and justice," Netanyahu wrote. "I salute your decisive resolve and the brilliant action of your brave soldiers.". The United States captured Maduro and flew him out of Venezuela in a stunning military operation early Saturday that plucked a sitting leader from office — the culmination of months of escalating Trump administration pressure on the South American nation. The statement quickly drew international attention, marking one of the most prominent reactions from a key U.S. ally to the dramatic development involving Maduro.

NewsMax [1/3/2026 4:26 PM, James Morley III, 4109K] reports
Conflicting reports emerged Saturday over the whereabouts of Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez following the U.S. capture of former leader Nicolas Maduro, with speculation circulating online that Rodríguez had fled to Russia. Russian officials swiftly denied those claims and Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed the reports as false and disinformation, stating unequivocally that Rodríguez did not travel to Russia and is not in Moscow. Moscow further said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke with Rodriguez by telephone, not in person, directly contradicting claims that she sought refuge abroad. President Donald Trump said Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized in the dark after U.S. forces disrupted power and command and control systems across the capital and taken into U.S. custody to face narcoterrorism charges in the Southern District of New York. In a statement posted on X, Zakharova said Russia’s embassy in Caracas was not damaged during U.S. strikes and no Russian citizens were injured.

FOX News [1/3/2026 2:56 PM, Benjamin Weinthal, 40621K] reports the Trump administration’s military operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is a devastating setback to the South American nation’s long-term ally, the Islamic Republic of Iran, experts contend. As Iran experiences yet another day of anti-regime protests across the country, Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), who has written about Maduro’s nefarious activities, told Fox News Digital that, "Maduro’s capture will be a blow to Iran’s interests in the Western Hemisphere as he was a longtime ally of Tehran under the banner of anti-imperialism and Americanism in the region.” He said, "How much of a blow it will be will depend on who comes to power after Maduro. Iran and Hezbollah have used Venezuela as an operational hub for terrorism, drug trafficking, and power projection in Latin and South America.” He continued, "Iran had a military partnership with Caracas as well, especially with drones. So Tehran is likely eyeing these developments very warily. Its interests in the region were already weakened after Bolivia’s presidential election, which brought to power a center-right leader who reestablished relations with Israel.” In November, Fox News Digital reported that the Islamic Republic was backing Maduro just as the Trump administration stepped up military pressure in the Caribbean and expanded its crackdown on criminal networks tied to the regime in Caracas. Brodsky said, "This will be a strike heard around the world. Iran’s regime will be watching it very closely as President Trump threatened the supreme leader during the 12-Day War. This historic strike adds to the perception of President Trump being unpredictable and risk-ready, which inspires fear in U.S. adversaries and bolsters the credibility of the threat of American military force. This strengthens U.S. deterrence.” The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it "strongly condemns the American military attack on Venezuela and the flagrant violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.” Potkin Azarmehr, a British-Iranian expert on Iran, told Fox News Digital that "Every fall of a dictator who is allied with the Ayatollahs is both a boost to the morale of the people in Iran and a setback for the ruling mullahs.” He added, "The Islamic Republic saw its ‘axis of resistance’ fall apart in the region. Now it’s witnessing its partner in crime further away toppled. This will seriously damage the regime’s revenues and resources. Many of the ruling officials must now be tempted to defect before it’s too late.” Iran’s axis of resistance was the troika alliance consisting of the now-defunct Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria and the weakened Hezbollah terrorist movement in Lebanon. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [1/3/2026 5:04 PM, Benjamin Weinthal, 40621K] reports the ruling Ayatollah of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei, on Saturday issued an angry response to the unfolding nationwide demonstrations against his regime’s political and economic corruption. The 86-year-old Khamenei, in his first public speech since the strikes and social unrest rocked his fragile regime seven days ago declared, "A number of agitated people, enemy mercenaries, had positioned themselves behind bazaar merchants and chanted slogans against Islam, against Iran and against the Islamic Republic. "Protest is legitimate, but protest is different from rioting." He warned that "officials should speak with protesters. Speaking with a rioter is pointless. Rioters must be put in their place.” Khamenei’s branding of the pro-democracy activists as "rioters" follows President Trump’s unprecedented message of solidarity to the demonstrators on Friday. "If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go," Trump wrote on Truth Social. According to information supplied to Fox News Digital from the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an organization that seeks to topple Khamenei’s regime, Khamenei’s security forces again opened fire on protesters. In Malekshahi, Ilam province, young people demonstrated, and the regime’s forces shot peaceful activists, resulting in deaths and injuries. As of Saturday, the regime has killed at least ten people. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said demonstrations unfolded in more than 100 locations in 22 of Iran’s 31 provinces. The NCRI said 30 protesters in Malekshahi were shot and were in critical condition. The dissident group also said that the people of Kazerun demonstrated Saturday in the city’s Shohada Square, where security fired live ammunition at the protesters. Young anti-regime demonstrators in the Golshan district of Shiraz blocked the road by setting tires on fire. Students at Shahrood University of Technology chanted, "Students will die but not accept humiliation." And students at Allameh University’s Hemmat dormitory in Tehran declared, "Death to the dictator." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NewsMax [1/3/2026 1:49 PM, Staff, 4109K] reports President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on ⁠Saturday that Ukraine hoped for a leaders’ summit in the United States by the end of January to discuss proposals on how to end the ⁠war with Russia. Zelenskyy said that Ukraine and national security advisors from 18 countries discussed in Kyiv security guarantees, economic agreements, and sequencing plans. Next week, ⁠the talks will continue during a European leaders’ meeting in Paris and then with U.S. ⁠negotiators. "And after that... we ⁠will be preparing for a meeting in the United States at the leadership level. We would like all of this to happen ⁠in ​January, by the end of January," Zelenskyy said.

Reuters [1/3/2026 2:21 PM, Gram Slattery, 36480K] reports U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he was frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the continued war in Ukraine, repeating that he had initially believed that ending the war would be easy. "I’m not thrilled with Putin. He’s killing too many people," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, during a press conference to discuss the overnight U.S. military operation in Venezuela and capture of its President Nicolas Maduro. Trump said he did not discuss Maduro with Putin when the two leaders spoke by telephone for over two hours on Monday, shortly before the U.S. president met with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Palm Beach. "We never spoke about Maduro," Trump said when asked if he and Putin had discussed the Venezuelan leader. Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration about the lack of progress toward ending the war in Ukraine, which began with Russia’s invasion in February 2022, focusing heavily on what he calls tens of thousands of troops being killed on both sides.

AP [1/4/2026 4:22 AM, Staff, 31753K] reports one person was killed and two others wounded when a Ukrainian drone struck a car in the Russian border region of Belgorod, local officials said Sunday, ahead of peace talks to end the nearly 4-year-old war in Paris this week. Belgorod regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said a young child was among the wounded. In Ukraine, three people were wounded in the Kharkiv region in drone strikes overnight into Sunday, the country’s State Emergency Service said. Meanwhile, the death toll from a Russian missile attack on the city of Kharkiv on Friday increased to four when two other bodies were found under the rubble of a building, Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram Sunday. The latest attacks came after national security advisers from Europe and other allies visited Kyiv on Saturday to discuss security guarantees and economic support, as a U.S.-led diplomatic push to end the war in Ukraine intensifies. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, preparing to travel to Paris for a meeting with partners, said Saturday that work on the peace proposals could now accelerate as Ukraine has shared all documents under discussion with the 18 national security advisers, including those on security guarantees. He said representatives from Ukraine’s General Staff and military sector would meet on Monday in Paris, followed by a meeting Tuesday of European leaders, where he said he hoped documents on security guarantees would be finalized. He said there also would be meetings with U.S. representatives in Paris.

New York Post [1/3/2026 8:19 PM, Anna Young, 42219K] reports Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the United States to detain Russian President Vladimir Putin — after US forces captured ousted Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in an overnight operation. Zelensky didn’t hold back when pressed about the US toppling Maduro’s regime after President Trump ordered airstrikes on military sites around the Venezuelan capital of Caracas early Saturday morning. "How should I react to this? What can I say?" the Ukrainian leader told reporters after meeting with European national security advisers Saturday. "If it’s possible to deal with dictators this way, then the US knows what to do next," he added, suggesting that Trump should handle Putin the same way, as Russia continues its attacks on Ukraine three years after invading the war-torn country. Russia was among several nations Saturday that demanded the Trump administration release Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, after they were captured from their home in the South American country. "In view of the confirmed reports about Venezuelan President Nicolás 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," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "We highlight the need to create conditions for resolving any existing issues between the United States and Venezuela through dialogue.” The couple arrived in New York City Saturday night to face federal narco-terrorism charges. Trump said the couple will face the "full wrath of American justice.” Maduro and Flores will be held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, sources said. They are expected to appear in federal court as early as Monday.

AP [1/4/2026 11:23 PM, Hyung-Jin Kim, 42219K] reports North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles toward the sea Sunday, its neighbors said, just hours before South Korea’s president left for China for talks expected to cover North Korea’s nuclear program. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement it detected several ballistic missile launches from North Korea’s capital region around 7:50 a.m. It said the missiles flew about 900 kilometers (560 miles) and that South Korea and U.S. authorities were analyzing details of the launches. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said that South Korea maintains a readiness to repel any provocations by North Korea and is closely exchanging information with the U.S. and Japan on the North’s missile launches. Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said that at least two missile launches by North Korea have been confirmed. “They are a serious problem, threatening the peace and security of our nation, the region and the world,” Koizumi told reporters. The launches were the latest weapons demonstration by North Korea in recent weeks. Experts say North Korea is aiming to show off or review its achievements in the defense sector ahead of its upcoming ruling party congress, the first of its kind in five years. Observers are watching the Workers Party congress to see whether North Korea will set a new policy on the U.S. and respond to its calls to resume long-stalled talks. North Korea has been focusing on testing activities to enlarge its nuclear arsenal since its leader Kim Jong Un’s summitry with U.S. President Donald Trump fell apart in 2019. Kim has also boosted his diplomatic credentials by aligning with Russia over its war in Ukraine and tightening relations with China. Observers say Kim would believe his leverage has sharply increased to wrest concessions from Trump if they sit down for talks again. North Korea hasn’t announced when it will hold the congress, but South Korea’s spy service said it will likely occur in January or February. Sunday’s launches also came hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung departed for China for a summit with President Xi Jinping. During the four-day trip, Lee’s office said he would request China, North Korea’s major ally and biggest trading partner, to take “a constructive role” in efforts to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea and the U.S. have long asked China to exercise its influence on North Korea to persuade it to return to talks or give up its nuclear program. But there are questions on how big of a leverage China has on its socialist neighbor. China, together with Russia, has also repeatedly blocked the U.S. and others’ attempts to toughen economic sanctions on North Korea in recent years. Later Sunday, South Korea convened an emergency national security council meeting where officials urged North Korea to stop ballistic missile launches, which violate U.N. Security Council resolutions. The council reported details of the launches and unspecified South Korean steps to Lee, according to the presidential office. The launches followed Saturday’s dramatic U.S. military operation that ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power and brought him to the U.S. to face narco-terrorism conspiracy charges. It represented America’s most assertive action to achieve regime change in a country since the nation’s 2003 invasion of Iraq. “Kim Jong Un may feel vindicated about his efforts to build a nuclear deterrent, as he likely did after Trump’s strikes on Iran,” said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. “However, leaders of hostile regimes will probably live with greater paranoia after seeing how quickly Maduro was extracted from his country to stand trial in the United States.” North Korea’s state media hasn’t commented on the U.S. operation. The official Korean Central News Agency said Sunday Kim visited a weapons factory on Saturday to review multipurpose precision guided weapons produced there. KCNA cited Kim as ordering officials to expand the current production capacity by about 2.5 times.

AP [1/4/2026 12:55 AM, Kanis Leung and Hyung-Jin Kim, 2416K] reports South Korean President Lee Jae Myung arrived in China on Sunday as Beijing looks to deepen ties with the nearby country after heightened tensions between China and Japan over Taiwan, a self-ruled island it claims as its sovereign territory. Lee’s four-day trip is his first visit to China since taking office in June. It comes at a time of heightened tensions between China and Japan, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in November that her country’s military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan. China’s official news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday afternoon that Lee arrived in Beijing. During his stay, Lee will meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, their second meeting in just two months. Ahead of his trip, Lee gave an interview to China’s state broadcaster CCTV at Seoul’s Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office also known as the Blue House. Lee was quoted as saying that it was his first interview held in the presidential palace and that he hoped people would understand that his government cares about the relations between Beijing and Seoul. In the interview, he assured that South Korea consistently respects the “One-China” policy when it comes to Taiwan, CCTV reported Friday. He said the healthy development of Beijing-Seoul relations depends on mutual respect. Lee also praised Xi as a “truly reliable neighbor.” Last week, China staged large-scale military drills around the island for two days to warn against separatist and “external interference” forces. At that time, the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused Taiwan’s ruling party of trying to seek independence through requesting U.S. support. The U.S. planned large-scale arms sales to Taiwan angered Beijing in December, leading to China sanctioning 20 U.S. defense-related companies. South Korea and the U.S. have urged China, North Korea’s traditional ally and economic pipeline, to use its influence on its socialist neighbor to convince it to return to talks or abandon its nuclear program. But China has long been suspected of avoiding fully implementing U.N. sanctions on North Korea and sending clandestine aid shipments to help the North stay afloat and continue to serve as a bulwark against U.S. influence on the Korean Peninsula. On Sunday, North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles toward the sea, South Korea’s military said, the latest weapons demonstration by the North ahead of its upcoming ruling party congress. Lee’s visit is meant to strengthen bilateral ties and discuss ways to restore peace on the Korean Peninsula, South Korean officials said.Lee said Seoul’s cooperation with the U.S, its military ally, does not mean South Korea-China relations should move toward confrontation, CCTV reported. He acknowledged that past misunderstandings between his country and China had hindered bilateral relations. “This visit to China aims to minimize or eliminate these past misunderstandings or contradictions, to elevate and develop South Korea-China relations to a new stage,” CCTV quoted him as saying.

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