United States leaders reacted early Saturday morning as President Trump confirmed overnight military strikes in Venezuela and announced the capture of the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife.
Mr. Trump said Maduro and his wife had been flown out of Venezuela, but did not say where the pair were. Venezuelan officials have called for proof of life. The U.S. Army’s Delta Force, an elite special forces unit, carried out the operation to capture them, officials told CBS News.
Maduro, 63, has led Venezuela since 2013. His most recent election was disputed by international observers and the U.S. recognized opposition candidate Edmundo González as the winner. The U.S. imposed sanctions against election officials for allegedly rigging the outcome, but Maduro was still sworn in for a third term in January.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Saturday morning that Maduro and his wife have been indicted in the Southern District of New York on narco-terrorism charges.
It was not immediately clear whether the nation’s top lawyer was referring only to charges contained in an indictment filed against the Venezuelan leader in 2020, or if there would be new or different charges filed in an indictment Saturday.
In 2020, federal prosecutors alleged that Maduro and other senior Venezuelan government officials collaborated with the Colombian guerrilla group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, or FARC, to traffic cocaine and weapons to the United States
The Justice Department also accused Maduro of leading a criminal organization called Cártel de Los Soles in 2020. The Trump administration designated the group as a foreign terrorist organization last year, though experts have questioned that characterization. The U.S. has been offering a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture.
Senate Intelligence Chair Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, said he had spoken to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, “who confirmed that Maduro is in U.S. custody and will face justice for his crimes against our citizens.”
Cotton said that Venezuela’s interim government “must now decide whether to continue the drug trafficking and colluding with adversaries like Iran and Cuba or whether to act like a normal nation and return to the civilized world.”
“I urge them to choose wisely,” he said.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee said that he also spoke with Rubio, who said that Maduro would be brought to the U.S. Lee also said that Rubio “anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody.”
Lee added that the operation “likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack,” but did not offer any other details.
Democrat lawmakers criticized the Trump administration for acting unilaterally.
Sen. Andy Kim, a Democrat from New Jersey, said that Mr. Trump “rejected our Constitutionally required approval process for armed conflict because the Administration knows the American people overwhelmingly reject risks pulling our nation into another war.” Kim also accused Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of lying to Congress when they met with leaders last month about fatal strikes on alleged drug vessels and said the Trump administration’s goal was not regime change.
“Without authorization from Congress, and with the vast majority of Americans opposed to military action, Trump just launched an unjustified, illegal strike on Venezuela,” said Massachusetts Democrat Jim McGovern.
A CBS News poll in November found that 70% of Americans would oppose the U.S. taking military action in Venezuela, and 75% said the Trump administration would need Congressional approval. Most surveyed also said they did not see Venezuela as a major threat to the U.S.