The United States hit Venezuela with a “large-scale strike” early Saturday and said President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country after months of stepped-up pressure by Washington. President Donald Trump insisted the US government would run the country at least temporarily and was already doing so.

The legal authority for the strike — and whether Trump consulted Congress beforehand — was not immediately clear. The stunning, lightning-fast American military action, which plucked a nation’s sitting leader from office, echoed the US invasion of Panama that led to the surrender and seizure of its leader, Manuel Antonio Noriega, in 1990 — exactly 36 years ago Saturday.

Maduro and his wife, captured overnight from their home, were being transported via a US warship to New York, where they were to face criminal charges. The US is now evaluating next steps for Venezuela, Trump said Saturday on Fox News, “We’ll be involved in it very much.”

Here's the latest:

Rubio hints Cuba could be next after Trump takes Maduro out of Venezuela

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hinting that Cuba could be the next target of the Trump administration’s push to restore American dominance in the Western Hemisphere.

Rubio said he would be a bit concerned if he were a Cuban government official following the overnight US military operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. “If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I’d be concerned at least a little bit,” said Rubio, who has had a long preoccupation with both Venezuela and Cuba.

The US has had a long history of military interventions in Latin America, including its tacit support for the unsuccessful 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion led by Cuban exiles aimed at toppling Fidel Castro.

Venezuela's UN ambassador says his country has right to self defence

In a letter sent to the UN Security Council on Saturday, the Venezuelan ambassador to the UN warned that in light of the US strikes, the country “reserves the inherent right to self defence”.

The letter from Ambassador Samuel Reinaldo Moncada Acosta, obtained by AP, goes on to request an urgent meeting of the 15-member council and condemnation and cessation of US actions.

“What began more than four months ago as a police fantasy is now showing its true face: this is a colonial war aimed at destroying our republican form of government, freely chosen by our people, and at imposing a puppet government that allows the plundering of our natural resources, including the world’s largest oil reserves,” Acosta wrote.

Trump says Venezuelan vice president Delcy Rodríguez sworn in as president

US President Donald Trump claimed that Venezuelan vice president Delcy Rodríguez had been sworn in as president shortly before he spoke to reporters and added she had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“She is essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again. Very simple,” Trump said.

Earlier, opposition leader María Corina Machado said that the opposition candidate Edmundo González should assume power, saying that he rightfully won the 2024 presidential election.

Trump shares photo of captured Maduro

The president posted a photo on social media showing Maduro wearing a sweatsuit and a blindfold with the caption: “Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima.”

Maduro appeared to be wearing a flotation device around his neck. Next to him was someone wearing a jacket that had a DEA logo.

Maduro also had protective headphones on his ears and appeared to be lifting a water bottle with both arms to drink.

Trump says he spoke to Maduro as recently as last week

Trump told Fox News he spoke to Maduro several times, including most recently a week ago.

Maduro denied that in an interview on New Year’s Eve, saying he had only spoken to Trump in November.

Trump’s action against Maduro contrasts with clemency granted to ex-Honduras leader

Trump’s dramatic action against Maduro is the polar opposite of the clemency he granted to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández.

Trump in December pardoned Hernández though he was sentenced to 45 years in US prison for helping drug traffickers to safely move hundreds of tons of cocaine north through his country to the US.

Hernández, who enjoyed support from officials in the first Trump administration, was convicted by a US jury in New York — which Maduro is now set to face.

When asked in an interview with Politico about the pardon, Trump said, “I don’t know him” and “I know very little about him,” but added that he was told that Hernández “was set up”.

“The country, uh, deals in drugs, like probably you could say that about every country, and because he was the president, they gave him like 45 years in prison,” he said.

Justice Department released a new indictment of Maduro and wife

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 alleges that the drug trafficking efforts “enriched and entrenched Venezuela’s political and military elite”.

US authorities allege that Maduro partnered with “some of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world” to bring tons of cocaine into the US, according to the indictment.

Authorities estimate that as much as 250 tons of cocaine were trafficked through Venezuela by 2020, according to the indictment. The drugs were moved on go-fast vessels, fishing boats and container ships or via planes from clandestine airstrips, authorities allege.

UN is ‘deeply alarmed’ by the US strike

The United Nations said it was “deeply alarmed” by the US strikes and reported detention of President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. It expressed concern that the escalation was a violation of international law.

“These developments constitute a dangerous precedent,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said in a statement. Dujarric said the UN worried about the larger implications for Latin America and the Caribbean and called on “all actors in Venezuela” to respect human rights and the rule of law.

China slams US strike in Venezuela

China strongly condemned the US strike in Venezuela and the action against its president, the Foreign Ministry said, adding the Beijing government was “deeply shocked” and firmly opposed to the operation.

“Such hegemonic acts of the US seriously violate international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region,” it said.

It called on the U. to comply with international law and the principles of the UN Charter, urging it to stop violating the sovereignty and security of other nations.

Trump says a helicopter was hit and ‘a few’ US members were injured in Venezuela

Trump said a helicopter was hit during the operation in Venezuela and a few US members were injured, but he believed none were killed.

“A couple of guys were hit, but they came back and they’re supposed to be in pretty good shape,” he said.

He said the US lost no aircraft in the operation.

“We got it all back. One of them was hit pretty hard but—a helicopter—but we got it back.

“We had to do it because it’s a war,” he added a few moments later.

FAA imposes airspace restriction on Puerto Rico

The Federal Aviation Administration has imposed a temporary airspace restriction on Puerto Rico’s international airport and surrounding regions.

An announcement by Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan posted on the social media site X said the restriction was placed because of the “security situation related to military activity” in Venezuela.

As a result, most commercial airlines to and from the airport that are operated by US airlines have been suspended or may be cancelled.

Foreign airlines and military aircraft are not included in this restriction, the statement said. “Passengers are urged to check the status of their flight directly with their airline before heading to the airport.”

Trump dismisses criticism he did not seek congressional permission for Venezuela strike

Trump brushed off criticism from US Democratic lawmakers that he did not seek permission from Congress ahead of time and that the strike was illegal. He called his Democratic critics “weak, stupid people” and blaming his political opponents for inflation in the US.

He said the operation in Venezuela was “really genius.

.“All they do is complain,” he said of the Democrats.

“They should say, ‘Great job.’ They shouldn’t say, ‘Oh Gee, maybe it’s not constitutional.’ You know, the same old stuff that we’ve been hearing for years and years and years,” Trump said.

Trump says he proposed to the Mexican president that US take out cartels

Trump said the operation in Venezuela “wasn’t meant to be” a message to Mexico, but then he has proposed to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum that the US “take out” cartels in her country and suggested the .S might take action.

“We’re very friendly with her, she’s a good woman. But the cartels are running Mexico. She’s not running Mexico. The cartels are running Mexico,” Trump said.

He said he’s asked Sheinbaum numerous times, “Would you like us to take out the cartels?” but she has said no.

“Something’s going to have to be done with Mexico,” Trump said.

Trump says US will decide on what’s next for Venezuela

President Donald Trump said in an interview Saturday morning that the United States will be making decisions on what is next for Venezuela after capturing the Latin American country’s president and flying him out of the country.

“We’ll be involved in it very much” as to who will govern the country, Trump said.

“We can’t take a chance in letting somebody else run and just take over what he left, or left off,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News hours after the capture.

Maduro was at his home when he was seized in US operation, party leader tells AP

Venezuelan ruling party leader Nahum Fernández told The Associated Press that Nicolás Maduro and his wife were at their home within the Fort Tiuna military installation when they were captured.

“That’s where they bombed,” he said. “And, there, they carried out what we could call a kidnapping of the president and the first lady of the country.”

Celebrations erupt in Venezuelan community in South Florida

In South Florida, Venezuelans celebrated the news of Maduro’s capture at a rally held outside a South American eatery.

People wrapped themselves in Venezuelan flags, ate fried snacks and cheered as music was playing at the event. At one point, the crowd chanted “Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!”

The rally took place in Doral, Florida, a city of 80,000 people surrounded by Miami sprawl and home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States.

Reactions in Caracas to US strikes and Maduro’s capture are mixed

At a pro-Maduro protest in the capital, Caracas Mayor Carmen Meléndez joined a crowd that demanded that Maduro be returned immediately.

“Maduro, hold on, the people are rising up!” the crowd chanted. They also said: “We are here Nicolás Maduro. If you can hear us, we are here!” Elsewhere, residents were still taking in the events.

“How do I feel? Scared, like everyone,” said Caracas resident Noris Prada, who sat on an empty avenue looking down at his phone. “Venezuelans woke up scared, many families couldn’t sleep. I have been on the street, I just got back from Maracay, everything is blocked, everything is bad, very bad.”

“They impose the law,” electrician Alfonso Valdez said about the U.S. government. “They are the police of the world … they are assassins.”

Venezuelan opposition leader Machado’s spokespeople decline comment

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado’s spokespeople declined to comment on the US operation.

Machado was last seen in public last month, when she emerged from 11 months in hiding and travelled to Norway, where she was honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize.

US indicted Maduro on narcoterrorism charges in 2020

The Justice Department during Trump’s first term in office charged in the several indictments that Maduro had effectively converted Venezuela into a criminal enterprise at the service of drug traffickers and terrorist groups as he and his allies stole billions from the South American country.

The coordinated unsealing of indictments against 14 officials and government-connected individuals, and rewards of $55 million for Maduro and four others, attacked all the key planks of what then-Attorney General William Barr called the “corrupt Venezuelan regime,” including the Maduro-dominated judiciary and the powerful armed forces.

One indictment by prosecutors in New York accused Maduro and socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello, head of the rubber-stamping constitutional assembly, of conspiring with Colombian rebels and members of the military “to flood the United States with cocaine” and use the drug trade as a “weapon against America.”

Utah Senator Mike Lee said Rubio informed him that “he anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in US custody,” the lawmaker posted on social media.

Lee posted on X that he had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who briefed him on the strike. Rubio told Lee that Maduro “has been arrested by US personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States.”