Trump Says U.S. is “In Charge” of Venezuela, Maduro Expected in Court Monday
By Jennifer Jacobs, Joe Walsh, James LaPorta, Tucker Reals
What to know about the U.S. military attack on Venezuela
- Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and brought to the U.S. They will appear in federal court at noon on Monday, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York.
- President Trump said in a Saturday press conference that the U.S. would “run” Venezuela temporarily during the transition, and “get the oil flowing.” He said Sunday the U.S. was “in charge” of Venezuela.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio signaled on Sunday the U.S. doesn’t plan to directly govern Venezuela, but will continue to enforce an “oil quarantine” as part of a plan to influence policy.
- Maduro and his wife landed in New York on Saturday hours after being captured during a U.S. military operation in Caracas. They are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and will face federal charges related to drug trafficking and working with gangs designated as terrorist organizations, which Maduro denies.
- The U.S. Army’s Delta Force, an elite special forces unit, carried out the operation to capture Maduro, officials told CBS News.
- The operation followed months of U.S. military buildup in the region, with the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and numerous other warships positioned in the Caribbean, and a series of deadly strikes on more than 30 boats the administration says were carrying drugs.
The Cuban government said Sunday that 32 Cubans were killed during the U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“As a result of the criminal attack perpetrated by the United States government against the sister Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, carried out in the early morning of January 3, 2026, 32 Cubans were killed in combative actions, who were serving missions on behalf of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, at the request of counterpart bodies of the South American country,” the Cuban government said.
“Our compatriots fulfilled their duty dignifiedly and heroically and fell, after fierce resistance, in direct combat against the attackers or as a result of the bombing of the facilities,” the statement continued.
President Trump acknowledged their deaths aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, telling reporters, “A lot of Cubans were killed yesterday.”
By Jordan Freiman
Trump says he hasn’t spoken with Delcy Rodriguez, but that she’s cooperating with U.S.
Speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, President Trump said he has not spoken directly with Venezuela’s acting leader, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, but she was cooperating with the U.S.
Mr. Trump insisted the U.S. is “in charge” of Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, and said the U.S. had been prepared for further military action in Venezuela but it hadn’t been needed so far, adding that could change “if they don’t behave.”
The president said he’s spoken with several U.S. oil companies about commitments to rebuilding Venezuela’s infrastructure, saying they “wanna go in so bad.”
Mr. Trump also alluded to possible action against Colombian President Gustavo Petro, saying Colombia is “very sick too, run by a very sick man.” Mr. Trump said he felt Petro is “not going to be doing it for very long,” and when asked if he would carry out a military operation there as well, the president responded, “Sounds good to me.”
By Jordan Freiman
8:44 PM
Venezuela’s acting leader says Venezuela seeks “peace and peaceful coexistence”
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who is serving as acting leader following President Nicolás Maduro’s capture, said in a statement Sunday night that Venezuela seeks “peace and peaceful coexistence.”
“Our country aspires to live without external threats, in an environment of respect and international cooperation,” Rodriguez said. “We believe that global peace is built by guaranteeing the peace of each nation first.”
Rogriguez said she hopes to have a “balanced and respectful” relationship with the U.S. “based on sovereign equality and non-interference.”
“We extend the invitation to the U.S. government to work together on a cooperation agenda, oriented to shared development, within the framework of international legality and strengthen a lasting community coexistence,” she added.
“President Donald Trump: our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war.”
By Jordan Freiman
8:21 PM
Retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster shares insight on U.S. strategies in Venezuela
Retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, who had served as national security adviser during President Trump’s first term, says the capture of Maduro is just the first step in U.S. intervention in Venezuela.
Asked by “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil on Sunday about why the U.S. left many of Maduro’s lieutenants in place despite capturing the former Venezuelan president and his wife and striking military targets, McMaster said, “The point was to bring [Maduro] to justice and to take what is a very complicated first step to replacing the Maduro regime with a legitimate regime.”
McMaster also said the action both increases pressure on the regime and is “mainly focused on drying up their cash flow.”
“That’s what you see in the interdiction of the oil tankers and the destruction of the boats, cutting off his access to the narcotics funds,” he said.
Noting the differences between Venezuela and past U.S. military involvement in toppling the regimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, McMaster said, “Venezuelans ultimately have to do this themselves, but of course, what Maduro’s been very good at is crushing any opposition.”
Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/venezuela-us-military-strikes-maduro-trump/