Nearly 200 US troops entered Caracas to seize Maduro, Pentagon chief says
Close to 200 US military personnel entered the Venezuelan capital Caracas as part of the operation to seize Maduro, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has said.
“Nearly 200 of our greatest Americans went downtown in Caracas… and grabbed an indicted individual wanted by American justice,” Hegseth said in a speech to US sailors and shipbuilders in Virginia.
Ousting Maduro ‘is not regime change’, says Trump’s former national security advisor
Ousting Maduro will not achieve regime change in Venezuela if other leading figures remain in power, John Bolton, former national security advisor to Donald Trump told France24.
Bolton said that the US operation had “failed” as long as Maduro’s regime was not fully dismantled.
Thousands march in Caracas for release of ousted leader Nicolas Maduro
Thousands of Venezuelans marched in Caracas Monday demanding the release of toppled leader Nicolas Maduro, seized in a daring US military raid that rocked the capital over the weekend.
The protesters gathered outside the Venezuelan parliament as it swore in interim leader Delcy Rodriguez, who had served as Maduro’s vice president.
Maduro pleaded not guilty Monday to drug trafficking and other charges in a court in New York, where he was forcibly taken with his wife Cilia Flores after Saturday’s surprise military strike.
Delcy Rodriguez sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president
Venezuela’s parliament swore in Delcy Rodriguez as interim president on Monday, two days after US forces seized her predecessor Nicolas Maduro to face trial in New York.
Rodriguez, who has indicated she will cooperate with Washington, took the oath of office during a ceremony in the National Assembly, telling lawmakers in an address that she did so “in the name of all Venezuelans”.
She said she was “in pain over the kidnapping of our heroes, the hostages in the United States,” referring to Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
Brazil’s Lula held call with Venezuela’s interim president on Saturday
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had a phone call on Saturday with Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez, his office said on Monday, after the United States deposed leader Nicolas Maduro.
Lula condemned the US actions as crossing an “unacceptable line.”
Turkey’s Erdogan says he told Trump Venezuela must not be dragged into instability
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday he told Trump in a phone call that Venezuela must not be dragged into instability after the toppling of its leader Nicolas Maduro.
Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Erdogan also said Ankara would stand with the people of Venezuela.
He said Maduro and the Venezuelan people had shown in the past that they were friends of the Turkish nation, and that violating countries’ sovereignty and international laws could create major global problems.
Venezuela’s bonds soar after Maduro’s capture
Venezuela’s default-hit government bonds surged on Monday after the surprise weekend seizure of Maduro by the US fuelled hopes for one of the largest and potentially most complex ever sovereign debt restructurings.
Bonds issued by the government and state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, known as PDVSA, jumped as much as 10 cents on the dollar, or almost 30%, as bullish investors swooped on the developments.
JPMorgan analysts, who had predicted the “strong bounce” in prices, said investors were putting aside their questions and focusing on who is likely to now be in charge in Venezuela and the path to a debt restructuring.
Head of Venezuelan parliament vows to use all available means to ‘bring back’ Maduro
The newly re-elected head of Venezuela’s parliament vowed Monday to explore all avenues to “bring back” Maduro.
“My main function in the days to come… as president of this National Assembly, will be to resort to all procedures, all platforms, and all avenues to bring back Nicolas Maduro Moros, my brother, my president,” Jorge Rodriguez told lawmakers.
His statement came shortly after Rodriguez, brother of interim president Delcy Rodriguez, was reelected head of Venezuela’s National Assembly.
The Rodriguez siblings are now in control of Venezuela’s executive and legislative branches, and Delcy Rodriguez has won the full support of the military and of Maduro’s lawmaker son Nicolas Maduro Guerra.
At the Colombian border, Venezuelan’s worry for the future
FRANCE 24’s James Andre reports from Cucuta, Colombia.
Is Venezuela really a primary drug trafficker to the United States?
Venezuela has been in Washington’s crosshairs for months, with the Trump administration accusing leader Maduro, of flooding the United States with drugs.
But is the South American country really a primary drug trafficker to the United States? FRANCE 24’s Emerald Maxwell reports.
Venezuelan interim president’s brother reelected as parliament head
Venezuela’s parliament has reelected as its head Jorge Rodriguez, brother of interim president Delcy Rodriguez.
The Rodriguez siblings are now in control of Venezuela’s executive and legislative branches, and Delcy Rodriguez has won the full support of the military and of Maduro’s lawmaker son Nicolas Maduro Guerra.
Protesters for and against Maduro gather outside courtroom
(Heather Khalifa, AP)
(Shannon Stapleton, Reuters)
Nicolas Maduro pleads not guilty in New York court
Maduro pleaded not guilty in a New York court to narco-trafficking and weapons charges, as he slammed the US military operation that resulted in his capture.
“I am innocent, I am not guilty,” the 63-year-old told the court, adding he was seized at his home in Caracas.
He said he was “still the president” of Venezuela, according to US media inside the courtroom.
Maduro makes first appearance in US courtroom on drug trafficking charges
Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is making his first appearance in an American courtroom on the narco-terrorism charges the Trump administration used to justify capturing him and bringing him to New York.
Maduro appeared around noon before a judge for a brief, but required, legal proceeding that will likely kick off a prolonged legal fight over whether he can be put on trial in the US.
Protesters clash outside NY court where Maduro will appear
FRANCE 24’s Jessica Le Masurier reports from New York.
US preparing to reopen embassy in Caracas if Trump wants, official says
The United States is preparing to reopen the US embassy in Venezuela’s capital in case Trump wants to resume such operations, a senior State Department official has said.
“As President Trump said, we are making preparations to allow for a reopening should the President make that decision,” the official told Reuters.
‘Let’s go Nico!’: Venezuela’s parliament pledges ‘solidarity’ with ousted leader
Venezuela’s new parliament opened Monday with lawmakers chanting “Let’s go Nico!” as they forcibly denounced the recent capture of leftist leader in a US military operation.
“The president of the United States, Mr Trump, claims to be the prosecutor, the judge, and the policeman of the world,” senior lawmaker Fernando Soto Rojas told his colleagues in an inaugural session of Venezuela’s National Assembly.
“We say: you will not succeed. And we will ultimately deploy all our solidarity so that our legitimate president, Nicolas Maduro, returns victorious to Miraflores,” the presidential palace, he added.
Maduro’s son, lawmaker Nicolas Maduro Moros, vowed in the same session that his toppled father and deposed first lady Cilia Flores “will return” to Venezuela.
“Sooner or later they will be with us… They will return,” he said.
Maduro’s son vows unconditional support for interim leader Rodriguez
A lawmaker son of Maduro on Monday expressed his unconditional support for interim president Delcy Rodriguez, who had served as his father’s deputy.
“To you, Delcy Eloina, my unconditional support for the very hard task you’ve been given. Count on me…,” Nicolas Maduro Guerra told an opening session of parliament after the weekend toppling of his father in a US military raid.
“The homeland is in good hands, dad, and soon we’ll embrace here in Venezuela,” Maduro Guerra added, choking back tears.