A large group of protesters gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Sunday following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a U.S. military strike on Caracas early Saturday morning.
The demonstration, organized by The People’s Forum, drew New Yorkers chanting on video, “No more coups, no more wars, Latin America isn’t yours!”
Why It Matters
The military operation that resulted in Maduro’s capture represents an unprecedented escalation in U.S.-Venezuela relations and has sparked protests across more than 100 American cities.
President Donald Trump confirmed on Saturday the U.S. captured Maduro and his wife during what he described as a “large-scale strike” against the Venezuelan capital. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that both have been formally indicted in the Southern District of New York on narco-terrorism charges.
The action raises significant questions about international law, congressional oversight, and the legal authority for military operations abroad. The Armed Services committees in both houses of Congress have not been notified by the Trump administration of any actions, according to a person familiar with the matter.
What To Know
The military operation early Saturday saw Maduro taken from his home on a military base in Caracas. Multiple explosions rang out as low-flying aircraft swept through the Venezuelan capital in an attack lasting less than 30 minutes. Video verified by the Associated Press showed tracers and smoke clouding the landscape as repeated explosions illuminated the night sky.
Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed in the operation, said Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, without giving a number. Trump said some U.S. forces were injured but none were killed. Trump also stated the U.S. planned to “run” Venezuela until a transition of power could take place, claiming the American presence was already in place, though there were no immediate signs the U.S. was running the country.
Maduro and Flores were placed aboard a U.S. warship bound for New York, where they face criminal charges in connection with a Justice Department indictment.
The operation echoed the 1990 U.S. invasion of Panama that led to the capture of Manuel Antonio Noriega exactly 36 years ago Saturday. Last week, a CIA drone strike targeted a docking area allegedly used by Venezuelan drug cartels—the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since U.S. strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats began in September.
Anti-war protests have been organized in cities spanning from New York to California, with demonstrations scheduled throughout the weekend in major cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Detroit, Austin, Nashville, and New Orleans, as well as dozens of smaller communities.
What People Are Saying
ANSWER Coalition: “This Trump administration has committed an outrageous new act of war — attacking Venezuela and kidnapping the country’s president. This is another criminal act by Trump. He has murdered fishermen, stolen tankers full of oil, and has now invaded Venezuela and kidnapped the country’s head of state.”
It continues: “This war is not about drug trafficking, it is not about democracy — it is about stealing Venezuela’s oil and dominating Latin America. It is an outrageous escalation in a campaign of murder in international waters and piracy targeting civilian ships trading with Venezuela.”
Concluding: “We need to take to the streets and say no to another endless war! The people of this country do not want another war! A U.S. war would cause death and destruction for the people of Venezuela. The war machine consumes an unimaginable amount of our tax dollars while working families struggle to make ends meet. In an all-out war with Venezuela, it will be working class young people who are sent to kill and die, not the children of executives at ExxonMobil and LockheedMartin. The people need to take to the streets and say not to Trump’s war on Venezuela!”
The People’s Forum NYC via X: “Massive picket has formed in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where Venezuela’s President, Nicolas Maduro was taken after being illegally kidnapped by the Trump administration yesterday.”
What Happens Next
Maduro is expected to appear in federal court in lower Manhattan on Monday at noon before U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, according to NBC News.