21 minutes ago
By Tara Smith
Blakeman: Maduro’s ‘regime’ brought in drugs that ‘are killing New Yorkers every day’
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican candidate for New York governor, responded to the strikes and capture on social media, calling Maduro an illegitimate leader and criticizing his opponent, Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“He’s been running a drug-trafficking regime that floods American cities with lethal narcotics,” Blakeman posted on Facebook Saturday afternoon. “Those drugs are killing New Yorkers every day. Yet Governor Hochul is more outraged by action against Maduro than by the carnage on our streets,” he added.
Earlier Saturday, Hochul called the action a “flagrant abuse of power by acting without congressional approval” by Trump.
Blakeman wrote that drug trafficking crimes in New York have been linked to Venezuelan criminal networks and blamed the state’s bail laws for allowing offenders to be released back into communities.
6 minutes ago
Maduro arrives in New York, reportedly heading to Manhattan
A military aircraft carrying Maduro arrived at Stewart Airport ion Orange County Saturday afternoon. Credit: Getty Images/Kena Betancur
Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, arrived at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Orange County on Saturday afternoon, just hours after the United States orchestrated a series of strikes on critical infrastructure in Venezuela and extracted the country’s leader in a controversial raid.
An individual wearing shackles could be seen descending from the steps of the aircraft at around 5:25 p.m while surrounded by dozens of officials. Maduro and Flores are expected to be transported to lower Manhattan to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York City headquarters in Manhattan before being housed at the Metropolitan Detention Center, according to multiple reports.
A military aircraft carrying the couple landed at the airport, about 50 miles north of Manhattan, according to multiple reports.
Maduro has been charged with a narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices, according to an indictment made public Saturday.
It is not immediately clear where Maduro and Flores will be transported next.
9:10 p.m.
By Tara Smith and Morgan Campbell
‘The joy is unbelievable,’ former Venezuelan says
Riccardo Romero, of Merrick, wears a Venezuela hat at Arepa Cafe in Queens on Saturday. Credit: Morgan Campbell
Inside the Arepas Cafe in Astoria, the upbeat song “Yo Me Quedo en Venezuela” — “I am staying in Venezuela” — played as patrons celebrated, embraced and draped a Venezuelan flag from the restaurant awning to celebrate President Nicolás Maduro’s ouster.
Restaurant owner Riccardo Romero expressed optimism for his native country’s future.
“The joy is unbelievable,” Romero said in an interview, smiling widely. “I haven’t slept. I don’t think I’m going to sleep today.”
Romero, who has lived in the United States since 1991, said he’s been waiting for this moment.
“When they took power, I knew that Venezuela was going to suffer. My whole entire family came looking for freedom because the situation in Venezuela was rough,” he said Saturday.
“Venezuela is a very rich country and we have all the reserves to become a wealthy country.”
9:31 p.m.
By The Associated Press
Latin American, European leaders react to Maduro’s capture by the U.S.
Colombia prepares to receive refugees from Venezuela
President Gustavo Petro of Colombia, one of Trump’s fiercest critics, said the Colombian government convened a national security meeting before dawn Saturday and sent security forces to the border in preparation for a potential “massive influx of refugees” from neighboring Venezuela.
He said he would also call on the U.N. Security Council to consider “the aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and of Latin America.”
“Without sovereignty, there is no nation,” Petro wrote on social media.
German leader calls for stability in Venezuela
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a statement Saturday that Nicolás Maduro led Venezuela to disaster and noted that Germany, like many other countries, didn’t recognize his presidency after the South American nation’s last election.
Merz said that a legal classification of the U.S. intervention is “complex” and “we will take time” on the matter.
He said that political instability must not arise in Venezuela now and that it’s important to ensure “an orderly transition to a government legitimized by elections.”
Russia calls US action ‘an act of armed aggression’
Russia’s Foreign Ministry condemned what it called a U.S. “act of armed aggression” against Venezuela in a statement posted on its Telegram channel Saturday.
“Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive, let alone military, outside intervention,” the statement said.
The ministry called for dialogue to prevent further escalation and said it reaffirmed its “solidarity” with the Venezuelan people and government, adding that Russia supports calls for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting.
9:05 p.m.
By Newsday Staff
Read the Maduro indictment
In an indictment made public Saturday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
The indictment accuses Maduro of leading a “a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking.” It also alleges the trafficking “enriched and entrenched Venezuela’s political and military elite.”
Read the full indictment here: https://apnews.com/interactive/us-indicts-venezuela-maduro/
8:56 p.m.
Venezuelan vice president addresses the nation, demands Maduro be freed
The Associated Press reported Saturday that Venezuela’s vice president demanded that the country’s captured leader, Nicolás Maduro, be freed.
In a televised address to the nation that lasted less than 15 minutes, Delcy Rodríguez called Maduro the country’s rightful leader but also left open the door for dialogue with the U.S.
“Here, we have a government with clarity, and I repeat and repeat again … we are willing to have respectful relations,” she said, referring to the Trump administration. “It is the only thing we will accept for a type of relationship after having attacked (Venezuela).”
8:33 p.m.
LI immigrant advocate: Maduro operation at odds with TPS elimination for Venezuelans
Melanie Creps, executive director of the nonprofit Central American Refugee Center in Hempstead and Brentwood, said the Trump administration’s move last year to cut temporary protected status to Venezuelans in the U.S. runs at odds with the military’s latest actions.
Trump last year said life in Venezuela “has drastically improved,” spurring a policy change that threatened deportations for 600,000 Venezuelans living in the country, Newsday previously reported.
Temporary protected status, part of a program established by Congress in 1990, allows noncitizens to live and work in the U.S. The designation is granted to people from countries designated by the Department of Homeland Security as unsafe.
“Within the first month of them being in office, they ended TPS for Venezuelans claiming that country didn’t need that designation anymore, which implies that it’s stable,” Creps said in a phone interview. “And now, less than a year later, obviously this action proves that they don’t believe it was a stable, safe nation.”
While some Venezuelans, particularly those who lived under Maduro’s regime, may celebrate the military action, Creps said there remains significant questions about the future stability of the country and the status of those living on American soil. “Those who lived in fear under Maduro’s leadership absolutely might have some joy and relief in this move, but the future is far from secure for anyone in Venezuela,” Creps said.
Schumer, Jeffries call for ‘immediate’ briefing after Venezuela operation
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of Brooklyn, called for “an immediate” Trump administration briefing to Congress’ so-called “gang of eight” regarding Saturday’s military operation in Venezuela, which led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
“President Trump’s announced plan to run Venezuela is unacceptable,” the two top Democrats said in a statement.
The gang of eight refers to Schumer, Jeffries, and the top two Republicans in the House and Senate, John Thune of South Dakota and Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, along with the top Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees.
Schumer and Jeffries also are calling for briefings for all members of the House and Senate “early next week.”
Schumer said during a conference call with reporters that Senate Democrats will force a vote next week on a bill to block further military action against Venezuela.
The War Powers Act bill is sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.)
LIers with ties to Venezuela watch with hope, skepticism after Maduro capture
As President Nicolás Maduro was taken into custody, Venezuelan Long Islanders kept up with the dramatic situation as it unfolded on television screens, social media and WhatsApp message chains with family members in the country’s capital, Caracas.
Robert Reyna, of Baldwin, said he’s been in constant contact with an aunt and cousin in the Caracas area and watching the news with “tempered excitement” after Maduro was captured.
“I’m happy that this is an opportunity that could potentially provide a path for the country to create economic stability, political and social stability. It’s a country that has been plagued by high crime rates over these years, and that has always been very concerning,” Reyna, 50, said in an interview Saturday.
But Reyna said he has some “built-in skepticism” over the change. “The political situation there in Venezuela has always been very volatile, so now I’m just hoping for the best.”
Reyna, whose father immigrated to New York from Venezuela in the 1960s, said he last visited in the early 1990s and hasn’t been back due to the instability and travel restrictions. He said he’d love to one day take his wife and daughter to visit.
For now, though, Reyna said he’s most concerned about the geopolitical and economic impacts after President Donald Trump said the U.S. will “essentially” run the country until a “proper transition takes place.”
“I also just want to make sure that this transition of power that’s going to take place will be one that keeps the Venezuelan people in the forefront of any decision,” he said.
7:24 p.m.
By Newsday Staff
Trump releases photo of Maduro in custody
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a photo released by President Donald Trump on Saturday.
President Donald Trump on Saturday released a photo he said showed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima. The captured leader, dressed in a gray sweatsuit, wore a blindfold and headphones and clutched a water bottle in one hand in the photo, which was posted on Trump’s Truth Social account.
6:56 p.m.
Venezuelan advocate in NYC: Maduro capture ‘a light at the end of the tunnel’
Niurka Meléndez, co-founder of the New York City-based Venezuelans and Immigrant Aid, fled her homeland in 2015 to escape what she said was rampant political persecution and violence perpetrated by the Maduro administration.
“It’s a bit hard for the international community to understand what we are facing,” Meléndez, of Manhattan, said in a phone interview Saturday. “It’s just a systematic violation of our basic human rights.”
Meléndez in 2016 co-founded Venezuelans and Immigrant Aid, a nonprofit that provides legal information to people seeking protection in the United States. The toppling of Maduro’s regime may serve as a beacon for Venezuelans and provide an opportunity to return to the country they fled due to political and social violence, she said.
“Today is just our voice being heard,” Meléndez said. “I believe that what happened today is a light at the end of the tunnel for many like me that deserve to visit their homeland.”
Meléndez said she hopes for “justice” against Maduro. She said moving forward Venezuela will have to be built on the premise that a similar regime “cannot happen ever again.”
Hochul: Venezuelan operation a ‘flagrant abuse of power’
Gov. Kathy Hochul in a posting on X called the Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela a “flagrant abuse of power by acting without congressional approval.”
She noted that “New York is home to a vibrant Venezuelan community, and I stand with families here and abroad in their hopes for a better, more stable future.”
Hochul wrote that there “are no credible threats to New York at this time,” but that “State Police are coordinating with our partners in law enforcement to monitor the situation and keep New Yorkers safe.”
6:29 p.m.
Mamdani condemns capture of Maduro
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a news conference Saturday afternoon that he had spoken to President Donald Trump to register his opposition to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
“I called the president and spoke with him directly to register my opposition to this act and to make clear that it was an opposition based on being opposed to a pursuit of regime change to the violation of federal, international law and a desire to see that be consistent each and every day,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani had said in a statement issued earlier in the day that Maduro and his wife were expected to be held in federal custody in New York City.
At the news conference, the mayor said the city would make sure to limit the day-to-day impact of Maduro’s presence in the city “that will come as a consequence of actions the federal government is taking.”
He added, “There are tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home. Their safety is critically important to me, as is the safety of each and every New Yorker, and my job is to deliver for them.”
5:50 p.m.
Airspace restrictions imposed in the Caribbean, leading to flight cancellations
The U.S. military actions in Venezuela have triggered airspace restrictions over the Caribbean, and the Federal Aviation Administration warned flight delays and cancellations could last for days.
Early Saturday morning, Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Puerto Rico reported a temporary airspace restriction was issued for the area, citing the FAA order. The restriction was due to “a security situation related to military activity in Venezuela,” the airport said in a post on X.
More than 310 flights heading out and arriving to the airport were canceled as of 12:30 p.m. Saturday, according to FlightAware, which tracks flight delays and cancellations.
JetBlue, in an alert Saturday morning, said it would waive airline change and cancellation fees for customers traveling Jan. 3 and Jan. 4 to and from a series of Caribbean cities, including Aruba and San Juan, Puerto Rico. American Airlines issued a similar alert, indicating that changes must be booked by Sunday. Delta Airlines said that as of 12:25 p.m. it had issued travel waivers for customers traveling between Saturday and Tuesday from 13 impacted airports.
The U.S. State Department has warned Americans to avoid traveling to Venezuela “due to the high risk of wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest, and poor health infrastructure.”
5:40 p.m.
Trump: We need Venezuelan energy ‘for ourselves’ and for the world
WASHINGTON — Asked how the removal of Venezuela’s leader was part of his “America First” brand of foreign policy, President Donald Trump cited the nation’s energy needs.
“I think it is because we want to surround ourselves with good neighbors,” he said. “We want to surround ourselves with stability and we want to surround ourselves with energy. We have tremendous energy in that country. It’s very important that we protect it. We need that for ourselves. We need that for the world, and we want to make sure we can protect it.”
Trump and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, signaled that Cuban communist leaders should also be on watch following Saturday’s operation, noting the Cuban government provided Maduro with tactical support over the years.
“The guards that helped protect Maduro, this is well known, their whole spy agency, all that were full of Cubans,” Rubio said, adding later “So, yeah… if lived in Havana and I was in the government, I’d be concerned at least.“
5:30 p.m.
Congress not notified ahead of operation to remove Maduro, Trump says
WASHINGTON — Congress was not notified ahead of the U.S. operation to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump said Saturday.
“Congress has a tendency to leak,” Trump said during his Mar-A-Lago press conference this morning.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the operation to oust Maduro “was not the kind of mission that you can do congressional notification on.”
Rubio added: “It was a trigger-based mission, in which conditions had to be met night after night. … So it’s just simply not the kind of mission you can call people and say, ‘Hey, we may do this at some point in the next 15 days, but it’s largely a law-enforcement function.’ ”
Notifying lawmakers ahead of the operation, he said, would have endangered the mission.
5:25 p.m.
Trump: Venezuela to be jointly ‘run’ by U.S., private corporations
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said the United States and private corporations will jointly “run” Venezuela following the removal of longtime leader Nicolás Maduro.
“We’re going to be running it with a group, and we’re going to make sure it’s run properly,” Trump said. “We’re going to rebuild the oil infrastructure, which will cost billions of dollars. It will be paid for by the oil companies directly. They will be reimbursed for what they’re doing, but it’s going to be paid and we’re going to get the oil flowing the way it should be.”
Trump, fielding questions from reporters at Mar-A-Lago, said information would be forthcoming on the transition, but he also noted top Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, would be involved.
Trump said Maduro attempted to flee to a safe room before he was captured by U.S. forces.
5:19 p.m.
Rubio: Maduro not the ‘legitimate’ president of Venezuela
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S.-led removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was justified because the authoritarian leader was not recognized internationally as the country’s duly elected leader.
“He is not the legitimate president of Venezuela,” Rubio said at a Mar-A-Lago press conference. “That’s not just us saying it — the first Trump administration, the Biden administration, the second Trump administration. None of those three recognize him. He’s not recognized by the European Union and multiple countries around the world.”
5:12 p.m.
Top military officials detail operation to capture Venezuelan leader
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s top military officials on Saturday said the operation to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was months in the making.
“This operation, known as Operation Absolute Resolve, was discreet, precise and conducted during the darkest hours of January 2, and was in the culmination of months of planning and rehearsal,“ said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said “over the weeks through Christmas and New Year’s, the men and women of the United States military sat ready, patiently waiting for the right triggers to be met and the president to order us into action.”
“Last night, the weather broke just enough, clearing a path that only the most skilled aviators in the world could maneuver through ocean, mountain, low clouds, ceilings,” Caine said of the operation to oust the Maduro regime.
Caine said the operation “involved more than 150 aircraft launching across the western hemisphere in close coordination.”
5:05 p.m.
Trump puts Maduro allies on notice: ‘What happened to Maduro can happen to them’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, whose political rise was tied to his “America First” brand of politics, defended his decision to remove Venezuela’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday.
“Under our new national security strategy, American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again,” Trump said at a Mar-A-Lago news conference.
Trump warned Maduro’s allies that the United States would maintain a strong military presence surrounding the country.
“The American armada remains poised in position, and the United States retains all military options until United States’ demands have been fully met and fully satisfied,” Trump said. “All political and military figures in Venezuela should understand what happened to Maduro can happen to them.”
4:59 p.m.
Maduro and his wife will be tried in New York or Miami, Trump says
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife will face trial either in New York or Miami.
“Maduro and his wife will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil,” Trump said at a Mar-A-Lago news conference this morning. He said the couple is being brought to New York by U.S. authorities, “and then a decision will be made soon between New York and Miami or Florida.”
Trump described Maduro as “the illegitimate dictator” and accused him of being “the kingpin of a vast criminal network responsible for trafficking colossal amounts of deadly and illicit drugs into the United States.”
“Hundreds of thousands, over the years, of Americans died because of him,” Trump said.
4:52 p.m.
Trump: U.S. going to ‘essentially’ run Venezuela until transition takes place
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump addressed the nation shortly after 11:40 a.m. Saturday, praising the U.S. military operation against Venezuela as a “spectacular assault.”
“Military capacities were rendered powerless as the men and women military working with us, law enforcement, successfully captured Maduro in the dead of night,” Trump said of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who was detained by U.S. authorities alongside his wife.
Trump, speaking during a Mar-A-Lago news conference, said the U.S. will maintain a presence in the oil-rich nation for an unspecified period of time.
“We’re there now, but we’re going to stay until such time as the proper transition can take place,” Trump said. “So we’re going to stay until such time, as we’re going to run it essentially, until such time as a proper transition can take place.”
Trump added that U.S. businesses would also have a footprint in the country, saying they would “spend billions of dollars fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure and start making money for the country.”
New York congressional delegation reacts
From top left, Laura Gillen, Nick LaLota, Chuck Schumer, Tom Suozzi and Andrew Garbarino. Credit: Getty
Rep. Nick LaLota was the first Long Island congressional member to respond to what President Donald Trump said was a “large-scale strike” leading to Nicolás Maduro’s arrest on charges of narco-terrorism and trafficking.
LaLota (R-Amityville) framed the operation as “a necessary step toward justice for American families devastated by Venezuelan-made and -trafficked drugs.”
The action “strengthens America’s national security in our hemisphere,” he added, and he lauded the U.S. military, law enforcement and intelligence community who carried it through. But he also cautioned that “American leaders must apply the hard lessons learned in Iraq and take deliberate steps to minimize the power vacuum risks that can follow the removal of a sinister regime.”
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) posted on the social media site X that, “Maduro is a bad actor and stopping the flow of drugs into the United States is an important goal.” He added, “We must, however, comply with the law and congressional oversight.”
Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre), although agreeing Maduro deserved to be brought to justice, argued that Trump had the responsibility to consult with Congress “before engaging in acts of war.”
Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, said, “I look forward to receiving updates from the Trump administration on the next steps.” He said that includes “learning more about its whole-of-government efforts to disrupt the operations of transnational criminal organizations and end the deadly flow of drugs into our country.”
Maduro, Garbarino said, was a narcoterrorist and an “illegitimate leader” who “will rightfully stand trial for facilitating the trafficking of deadly drugs across our borders that have killed hundreds of thousands of Americans.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Trump administration’s launching of a military action “without congressional authorization and without a credible plan for what comes next is reckless.”
Schumer underscored in a statement that Maduro is “an illegitimate dictator.” But he said, “The administration has assured me three separate times that it was not pursuing regime change or taking military action in Venezuela. Clearly, they are not being straight with Americans.”
The Democratic senator insisted that the Trump administration must brief Congress immediately on its objectives “and its plan to prevent a humanitarian and geopolitical disaster that plunges us into another endless war or one that trades one corrupt dictator for another.” He also suggested that Trump was trying to “distract from skyrocketing costs Americans face and the historic cover up of the Epstein files.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, like other Democrats, criticized the Trump administration for failing to, in his words, “properly notify Congress” in advance of the operation. He said in a statement that “far too many questions remain unanswered.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bronx, Queens), asserted in a social media post on X that the operation was not about drugs, but “about oil and regime change.” She raised a wag the dog-like diversion theory, saying the administration needs a Maduro trial to distract from the focus on the Epstein matter and “skyrocketing healthcare costs.”
As recently as Dec. 17, Long Island’s members of the U.S. House had spilt along party lines in votes on two defeated War Powers resolutions that would have forced Trump to go to Congress for approval before attacking Venezuela and would have halted his campaign of striking vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.
LaLota and Garbarino voted in line with most House Republicans in rejecting the efforts to rein in Trump’s actions. Gillen and Suozzi supported the resolutions.
4:34 p.m.
Why is the U.S. targeting Maduro?
What led the United States to attack Venezuela and capture Nicolas Madura? Here’s some of the history.
Read more here.
4:27 p.m.
By The Associated Press
US captures Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife
CARACAS, Venezuela — The United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and flew him out of the country in a stunning military operation early Saturday that plucked a sitting leader from office — the culmination of months of escalating Trump administration pressure on the oil-rich South American nation.
Maduro and his wife, taken overnight from their home on a military base, were aboard a U.S. warship on their way to New York, where they were to face criminal charges. The U.S. is now evaluating next steps for Venezuela, President Donald Trump said Saturday on Fox News.
Read more here.