‘’WASHINGTON TO RUN VENEZUELA” — TRUMP SAYS AFTER US FORCES CAPTURE MADURO IN DARING RAID.

In an unprecedented and highly controversial operation that has sent shockwaves across the world, United States forces struck Venezuela, toppled President Nicolás Maduro’s government, and transported him to a detention facility in New York, where he is expected to face trial. The U.S. military campaign, dubbed “Operation Absolute Resolve”, marked a dramatic escalation in Washington’s confrontation with Caracas and triggered intense diplomatic reactions globally.

At a Saturday news conference, President Trump said Washington would “run” Venezuela until a “safe, proper and judicious transition” could take place, signalling direct American control over governance and promising to tap the country’s vast oil reserves. He described the operation as necessary to end what he characterised as years of misrule and instability. The Trump administration had previously accused Maduro of collaborating with drug cartels and permitted a sustained pressure campaign that included seizures of oil tankers and lethal clashes at sea, actions widely condemned by critics as extrajudicial.

International reaction was swift and polarised. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez condemned the seizure as a “kidnapping,” insisting Maduro remains the legitimate head of state. The United Nations Security Council scheduled an emergency session, with Secretary-General António Guterres warning that the U.S. action could set a “dangerous precedent” for international norms and sovereignty. Human rights groups and regional leaders also expressed alarm at the scale of military force used against a sovereign government.

China, Venezuela’s largest single buyer of oil, said it was closely monitoring developments. Andy Mok, a senior research fellow at the Centre for China and Globalisation, noted that while Venezuelan oil accounts for only about four to five percent of China’s total imports, Beijing’s broader trade and investment interests across South America make the crisis strategically significant. Mok suggested the manner in which the operation was executed might reflect a longer-term U.S. approach in the region, and warned that a renewed Monroe Doctrine–style posture could heighten tensions with China, given Latin America’s role in Chinese foreign policy.

As diplomats and leaders debate the legality and consequences of the operation, ordinary Venezuelans have reported shock, fear, and uncertainty. The coming days are likely to see heightened diplomatic activity, legal challenges, and further geopolitical contestation as the world grapples with the implications of one country’s forces seizing the leader of another in such dramatic fashion.