Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro was captured alongside his wife by US forces during a high-stakes military operation Saturday morning, leaving the South American country in a constitutional crisis.
Maduro and his wife were hauled to New York on Saturday afternoon and will face a judge as soon as Monday. Maduro’s son, Nicholas Ernesto Maduro Guerra, who’s known as “The Prince,” is charged alongside his parents. His whereabouts are unknown.
Follow along with the post’s live coverage of the capture of Nicolás Maduro:
The Constitutional Chamber of Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered on Saturday that Vice President Delcy Rodríguez assume the role of acting president of the country in the absence of Nicolás Maduro, who was detained early Saturday morning in an operation by US forces.
The court ruling said that Rodríguez would assume "the office of President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the Nation."
The ruling added that the court will debate the matter in order to "determine the applicable legal framework to guarantee the continuity of the State, the administration of government, and the defense of sovereignty in the face of the forced absence of the President of the Republic."
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced that commercial flights around Caribbean airspace can resume on Sunday.
"The original restrictions around the Caribbean airspace are expiring at 12:00 a.m. ET and flights can resume," Duffy said on X on Saturday night.
"Airlines are informed, and will update their schedules quickly. Please continue to work with your airline if your flight was affected by the restrictions."
Duffy had restricted travel to the Caribbean and Venezuela "to ensure the safety of the flying public" in the wake of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro's capture and airstrikes in the region.
America and the world are safer today thanks to the bold actions of President Trump and his team in Venezuela.
Exactly six years to the day after we took out Iranian Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani (an operation I had the privilege to help lead as Secretary of State), the President and his team neutralized another threat to America by capturing Venezuelan dictator and indicted narco-terrorist Nicolas Maduro.
Let’s be clear: Maduro is a fugitive of American justice who stole two elections and is not the legitimate ruler of Venezuela; that honor belongs to Edmundo González, the democratic opposition candidate who won the 2024 election.
This righteous American campaign to bring Maduro’s rule to an end will get Venezuelan drugs off American streets, create the conditions for a safer, more prosperous Western Hemisphere, and advance core American interests.
Hundreds of revelers chanted and celebrated outside a Brooklyn lockup as Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were hauled inside to face federal narco-terrorism charges.
The couple were greeted at Brooklyn Detention Center with the boisterous crowd triumphantly applauding and chanting "down with the dictator," "shame on you," and "dirty scumbag!"
Venezuelan national Ronny Chirinos was one of more than 200 opponents who eagerly waited outside the prison for more than an hour in the bitter cold for the ousted dictator to arrive in cuffs.
"It's such a joy to see the dictator fall, but the regime hasn't fallen yet," the 21-year-old, who relocated from Maracay to the Big Apple three years ago due to Maduro's regime, told The Post.
Hundreds gathered at the Brooklyn Detention Center, celebrating the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Michael Nagle
They were met with chants of "down with the dictator," "shame on you," and "dirty scumbag!" Michael Nagle
Over 200 people in total gathered outside the detention facility, waiting for hours to see the ousted dictator arrive in handcuffs. Michael Nagle
"I want everything to fall. That there is no one left."
Juskeily Matheeus, 27, and her 11-year-old son also rejoiced outside the Brooklyn prison, as passing cars honked in support and others screamed "Finally" in Spanish and "Viva Venezuela" while waving flags.
The jubilant mom said she was "celebrating the fall of Maduro!"
"I will never forget this day," said 27-year-old Venezuelan Jesus Rodriguez.
"I came to see Maduro get punished for all the bad things he's done for my country. I feel grateful for what Donald Trump did today for our country. I want to go back to be with my family. Now there is hope."
A caring Venezuelan cop eventually calmed the crowd by reassuring that Maduro was inside the prison.
The officer leaned out of her van with a megaphone, telling the group in Spanish: He's inside. Go home. Go back to your families. Hug them. He is inside."
The tyrant and his wife were captured by US forces during a high-stakes overnight military operation in Venezuela's capital of Caracas early Saturday morning.
The couple were dragged out of the South American country, landing in the Big Apple Saturday night.
Maduro and Flores were slapped with federal narco-terrorism charges and other offenses.
They are expected in federal court as early as Monday.
Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is seen in a new photo for the first time since arriving in the Big Apple — after he was captured by US forces in a stunning overnight operation.
Maduro arrives at DEA's NYC HQ following hs arrest in Venezuela.
The tyrant sported black sweats and a black hat sitting roughly on his head as he clutched a water bottle while being escorted by federal agents inside Manhattan’s Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters in Chelsea.
At least 40 Venezuelans were reportedly killed when US forces carried out overnight airstrikes in the country in a bold operation that led to the capture of ousted dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
One strike hit a three-story apartment complex in Catia La Mar, a low-income coastal town west of the Caracas airport around 2 a.m., killing 80-year-old Rosa González, her family told the outlet.
Residents described four men trying to save the elderly woman after the strike, placing her on a motorbike and rushing her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
President Trump said no American troops were killed during the stunning overnight mission.
He said some service members were injured, but did not specify how many or how badly.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth defended the administration's capture of former Venezuelan despot Nicolas Maduro as within American interests in a newly released interview.
"What was done by Venezuela against American oil interests, oil companies, is well understood... and it's also the security of our hemisphere," Hegseth told CBS News.
Hegseth went on to claim that Venezuela had been trafficking in weapons with American adversaries and laid American drug deaths at their feet.
"The drugs, and the cartels, the poisoning of the American people, the violence Tren de Aragua brought to our shores, all three of those combined together in this bold and courageous action from President Trump," Hegseth said.
When asked if war with Venezuela could end up a boondoggle like the war in Iraq, Hegseth promised that this situation would be the "exact opposite."
"We spent decades and decades and spent —purchased in blood and got nothing economically in return, and President Trump flips the script. He says, through strategic action, we can ensure that we have access to additional wealth and resources enabling a country to unleash that without having to spend American blood,” he said.
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.
Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, touched down in New York City Saturday night after being captured by US forces in a daring overnight operation Saturday morning.
The pair — who landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Upstate Newburgh just before 5 p.m. — arrived via helicopter at a Lower Manhattan heliport just before 7 p.m. and were driven away in a van in a small motorcade.
Maduro is expected in federal court as early as Monday. AP
Maduro and Flores will be taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, as they are set to face narco-terrorism charges in the Southern District of New York.
The tyrant is expected in the federal court as early as Monday.
Over 100 revelers flooded Times Square Saturday night to celebrate the Trump administration's stunning overnight operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Tores.
The raucous crowd were waving Venezuelan flags while singing and dancing as a large sound system blasted Latin American tunes.
"We are celebrating because the drug-trafficking dictator is gone," Augusto Maillet, 45, told The Post.
"We are so grateful to President Trump for arresting Maduro. There have been too many deaths, too many arrests, and too much drug trafficking."
One of three helicopters believed to be carrying Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores arrives at the Westside Heliport in New York City, U.S., January 3, 2026. REUTERS
A man carrying the Venezuelan flag around Times Square after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Tores, were arrested.
Times Square was filled with a large crowd of Venezuelans cheering after the Trump administration captured and later arrested Maduro and his wife and brought them to New York, where they will be indicted on multiple charges.
Maillet also blasted a swarm of "anti-war" activists that descended in Midtown earlier in the day to protest Trump's attack on the country's capital, Caracas, early Saturday morning.
"These people don't know what they are talking about," he added. "I am totally in disagreement with them. I don't understand why they are protesting.
Saturday's party ignited around 6 p.m., shortly after the ousted dictator and his wife touched down on New York soils to face narco-terrorism charges in the Southern District of New York.
One attendee, who was flanked by his wife and 2-year-old daughter, was in tears as the South American country's patriotic tune "Venezuela" echoed through the boisterous crowd.
"I woke up this morning and saw the news, I'm so happy," the man said.
"We are so happy. 13 years, and longer, if you count [Hugo] Chavez. It's been over 20 years of this. We are free. We are finally free."
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee blasted Big Apple Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his claim that the strikes in Venezuela were an illegal act of war.
"I pity ppl of NY for electing a mayor who sides with a drug trafficker & ally of Iran & Hezbollah rather than his constituents," the ex-Arkansas governor seethed on X Saturday.
"Will he & Sen Van Hollen go to Maduro"s [sic] jail cell to sip margaritas for solidarity," he wrote in reference to the Maryland Democrat who famously visited then-deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador and was photographed sitting at a table with margaritas.
Mamdani, 34, condemned the successful military action as a violation of federal and international law --- calling it a "blatant pursuit of regime change," in a fiery tweet earlier in the day.
The newly minted mayor also phoned President Trump to voice his disapproval, he revealed at a press conference in Greenpoint Saturday afternoon.
