Maduro in NY: US Capture & Arrival – Live Updates

Macron tweets in support of Venezuelans

French President Emmanuel Macron reacts to the removal of Maduro in a post on X.

He adds that he spoke to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

“I fully support her call for the liberation and the protection of the political prisoners of Nicolás Maduro’s regime,” Macron writes. “Like all Venezuelans, she can count on France’s support to raise her voice in favour of a peaceful, democratic transition that fully respects the sovereign will of the Venezuelan people.”

Venezuela‘s Maduro arrives in US after capture

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived Saturday evening at a military base in the United States after his capture by US forces in Caracas.

Maduro was seen surrounded by FBI agents as he descended the boarding stairs of a US government plane at a New York state National Guard facility, and was slowly escorted along the tarmac.

The leftist leader was expected to be flown by helicopter to New York City, where he faces drug trafficking charges.

Maduro leaves plane after it lands at New York airport

According to images broadcast live on France 24, Nicolas Maduro, with a hood over his head, got off a plane onto US soil.

Maduro arrives in NY following US capture

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has arrived in New York following his capture by US forces in an overnight military operation, US media reported Saturday

Crowds celebrate Maduro’s capture by US forces

People celebrate in Santiago, Chile January 3, 2026. @Pablo Sanhueza, Reuters

People gather at the Obelisk to celebrate in Buenos Aires, Argentina January 3, 2026. @Mariana Nedelcu, Reuters

A woman celebrates next to a boy wrapped in a Venezuelan flag, in Madrid, Spain, January 3, 2026. @Violeta Santos Moura, Reuters

Venezuelan VP Rodriguez’s speech contradicts Trump’s claims

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez on Saturday claimed that Nicolas Maduro is Venezuela’s “only president”, denouncing the US operation that resulted in his capture as a flagrant violation of the United Nations charter.

Rodriguez’s speech contradicted remarks made by US President Donald Trump who claimed that Rodriguez was willing to cooperate with Washington, FRANCE 24’s correspondent Noris Argotte Soto said, reporting from Caracas.

Cuban president denounces ‘state terrorism’ against Venezuela

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 US 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 percent of Cuba’s already scarce oil imports in exchange for thousands of medical personnel who work in the South American country.

US tracked Maduro for months before operation, officials reveal

US intelligence agents had been secretly monitoring leftist leader Nicolas Maduro’s every move for months, amid escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas. The surveillance reportedly began in August, as Maduro tried to avoid detection by frequently changing locations.

“How he moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore – what were his pets,” Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine said Saturday as he described the surveillance.

The mission also involved months of “pinpoint” planning and rehearsal. Trump said US forces built a replica house identical to the one where Maduro was staying.

The US military was ready by early December but waited for a window of “aligned events”, including the weather. Trump said he initially ordered the mission four days ago, but held off for the right conditions.

The carefully coordinated surveillance and planning paved the way for the US operation that led to Maduro’s capture, marking an unprecedented escalation in US efforts to exert influence in Venezuela.

US launch strikes on Venezuela, captures President Maduro

The United States carried out a “large-scale strike” on Venezuela early Saturday, capturing President Nicolas Maduro and flying him out of the country after months of intensified pressure from Washington.

The extraordinary nighttime operation was announced by President Donald Trump on social media just hours after it took place.

US tracked Maduro for months before operation, officials reveal

US intelligence agents had been secretly monitoring leftist leader Nicolas Maduro’s every move for months, amid escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas. The surveillance reportedly began in August, as Maduro tried to avoid detection by frequently changing locations.

“How he moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore – what were his pets,” Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine said Saturday as he described the surveillance.

The mission also involved months of “pinpoint” planning and rehearsal. Trump said US forces built a replica house identical to the one where Maduro was staying.

The US military was ready by early December but waited for a window of “aligned events,” including the weather. Trump said he initially ordered the mission four days ago, but held off for the right conditions.

The carefully coordinated surveillance and planning paved the way for the US operation that led to Maduro’s capture, marking an unprecedented escalation in US efforts to exert influence in Venezuela.

UN Security Council to meet Monday over US action in Venezuela

The United Nations Security Council is due ⁠to meet on Monday after the US attacked Venezuela and deposed its long-serving autocratic President Nicolas Maduro, a move that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres views as setting “a dangerous precedent”.

Colombia, backed by Russia and ​China, requested the meeting of the 15-member council, diplomats said. The UN Security Council ‍has met twice – in October and December – over the escalating tensions between the United States and Venezuela.

Germany’s Merz calls for orderly transition in Venezuela

German Chancellor Christian Merz on Saturday said Nicolas Maduro had led Venezuela into ruin and that his last election was falsified, explaining why Germany and many other countries do not recognize his presidency.

Merz also added that any response to the US operation must follow international law and urged a peaceful, election-based transition to a legitimate government.

Starmer says UK will ‘shed no tears’ over US seizing Maduro

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Saturday the UK will discuss the “evolving situation” in Venezuela with US counterparts in coming days, while noting Britain will “shed no tears” about Washington’s seizure of Nicolas Maduro.

“The UK has long supported a transition of power in Venezuela. We regarded Maduro as an illegitimate president and we shed no tears about the end of his regime,” the British leader said in a statement.

“I reiterated my support for international law this morning,” Starmer added, saying London seeks “a safe and peaceful transition to a legitimate government that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people”.

Venezuelans in Chile sell items and flags in downtown Santiago in support of Maduro’s capture

Venezuelans in exile selling items and flags in the colours of Venezuela, in support of the American operation carried out last night.

Venezuela’s Delcy Rodriguez says Maduro only president of country

Venezuelan ‍Vice President ​Delcy Rodriguez said on ⁠Saturday that Nicolas Maduro is Venezuela’s

only president, after ​US President ‍Donald Trump said she ​had been sworn in after ​Maduro was captured in a military operation in the South American nation in the early morning.

Rodriguez spoke ‍on state television from ​Caracas with her brother, national assembly head Jorge Rodriguez, ‌interior minister Diosdado Cabello and the ‍foreign and defence ministers.

Rodriguez called for calm and unity to defend the country amid Maduro’s “kidnapping” ‍and said Venezuela will never ‌be ​the colony of any nation.

Maduro’s capture disrupts Caribbean holiday travel, hundreds of flights canceled

The US military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and flew him out of the country early Saturday has also disrupted Caribbean travel at a busy travel time for the region.

No airline flights were crossing over Venezuela on Saturday, according to FlightRadar24.com. And major airlines canceled hundreds of flights across the eastern Caribbean region and warned passengers that the disruptions could continue for days after the Federal Aviation Administration imposed restrictions.

Flights to Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Aruba and other destinations near Venezuela were canceled. The airlines are waiving change fees for passengers who have to reschedule their flights this weekend.

The FAA had earlier said it imposed a temporary airspace restriction on Puerto Rico’s international airport and surrounding regions.

An announcement by Luis Munoz Marín International Airport in San Juan posted on the social media site X said restrictions were put in place because of the “security situation related to military activity” in Venezuela.

As a result, most commercial airlines to and from the airport that are operated by US airlines have been suspended or may be canceled.

Venezuelans breathe ‘sigh of relief’ after US captures President Maduro

Venezuelans breathed a “sigh of relief” after President Nicolas Maduro was captured by US forces early Saturday, Venezuelan writer Vicente Ulive said in an interview with FRANCE 24, citing Maduro’s widespread unpopularity since his re-election in what Ulive described as a stolen vote in 2024.

“People were very relieved to see him leave,” he added.

With US forces now gone, Venezuelans are waiting to see what will happen next, Ulive said, adding that a power vacuum has emerged.