The US raid on Venezuela and the capture of its president, Nicolás Maduro, continues to feature prominently, with many papers choosing an image of the ousted leader in handcuffs as he arrived in New York for their front pages.
The Daily Telegraph, external says Trump has now “set his sights on Greenland” after the raid on Caracas, as he says he needs the territory for defence against Russia and China. The paper acknowledges that a US invasion of Greenland is unlikely, but adds that the renewed threat may alarm European leaders.
The Guardian, external tells its readers that the prospect of the US seizing direct control of Venezuela appears to be receding after Trump’s warnings to the interim president, Delcy Rodríguez. It describes the operation to depose Madura as a ‘distorted fever dream’ which was made real by Trump’s return to power.
A number of theories about the seizure of Maduro are highlighted by the Times, external. His son, Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra, a Venezeulan congressman, is quoted voicing suspicions it was an inside job and that “history will tell who the traitors were”. Eva Bolinger, the biographer of the country’s former leader, Hugo Chavez, alleges that President Trump made a deal with Rodriguez and “everything else is just noise”.
Domestic reaction to events in Venezuela is the focus of The Daily Mail, external, which claims Labour is “tearing itself apart” because Sir Keir Starmer has refused to describe the attack as illegal. It says the Prime Minister is under increasing pressure from left-wing MPs to criticise the US. Sir Keir initially said he wanted to establish the facts before adding that the government would “shed no tears” over the end of the Maduro Regime.
The Daily Express, external claims Sir Keir Starmer is plotting what it calls a “full blown Brexit betrayal” by edging the UK closer to the EU single market. The I Paper’s take is that his push for a “softer Brexit” is an attempt to appease what it calls “unruly” Labour MPs posing a threat to his leadership. Sir Keir has said the UK should align more closely with the EU if it is in the national interest.