In a dramatic escalation of U.S.–Venezuela tensions, President Donald Trump announced that American forces carried out a coordinated military operation that ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and brought him and his wife, Cilia Flores, to New York to face federal narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges.

 Following the overnight strikes on key Venezuelan military and government targets, Trump said Washington would temporarily administer Venezuela and intends to revitalize its faltering oil industry  the world’s largest  with U.S. companies investing billions to repair infrastructure and sell large volumes of Venezuelan crude to other countries. 

The operation, described by the administration as necessary to curb criminal networks and stabilize the country, has drawn intense international scrutiny. Legal experts and global leaders widely questioned the legality of a military intervention without United Nations or congressional approval, warning it could violate core principles of sovereignty and international law. 

Maduro’s government denounced the assault as an “act of aggression,” while some Venezuelan opposition figures and regional leaders offered mixed reactions amid fears of wider geopolitical fallout.