In a cinematic and tectonic shift in global power, deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was “perp-walked” through a federal facility in Manhattan late Saturday, just hours after a lightning U.S. Delta Force raid snatched him from his Caracas compound.
The image of the 63-year-old strongman—handcuffed, wearing sandals and a black hoodie, and flanked by DEA agents—shattered a decade of socialist defiance. In a surreal exchange captured on video by the White House, Maduro looked at onlookers and said in English, “Good night, happy new year,” before being processed into the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn.
‘We’re Going to Get the Oil Flowing’
Speaking from a podium at his Mar-a-Lago resort, President Donald Trump wasted no time outlining a radical vision for the captured nation. Abandoning traditional diplomatic caution, Trump asserted that the United States would effectively oversee Venezuela during an indefinite “safe, proper, and judicious” transition.
- The Provisional Command: Trump announced he is “designating people” from his cabinet, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, to oversee Venezuelan affairs.
- Energy Takeover: The President signaled a massive return of American corporate power to the Orinoco Belt, home to the world’s largest oil reserves. “We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure,” Trump said. “We’ll be selling large amounts of oil.”
- The Monroe Doctrine Revived: The administration framed the mission, codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve, as a final enforcement of American primacy in the Western Hemisphere, intended to purge “narco-terrorist” influences and foreign rivals like Russia and China from the region.
A City in Chains: The Night of the Raid
The capture was the climax of a massive U.S. military buildup that had been quietly escalating since August.
According to Pentagon sources, Delta Force operators infiltrated the Fuerte Tiuna military complex—Venezuela’s high-security heart—around 2:00 a.m. while U.S. airpower conducted “suppression strikes” on nearby military barracks and airfields. Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were seized at their residence and whisked to the USS Iwo Jima before being flown to New York.
The ‘Legitimacy Trap’ in Caracas
While Maduro sits in a Brooklyn cell, a dangerous power vacuum has opened in Caracas.
- The Interim Order: The Venezuelan Supreme Court, still populated by loyalists, has ordered Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to assume the presidency. Rodríguez has condemned the capture as a “barbaric kidnapping” and demanded “proof of life.”
- The Opposition Snub: In a surprise move, President Trump appeared to distance himself from long-time opposition leader María Corina Machado. Despite her calls for Edmundo González to take power, Trump claimed she “does not have the support” to govern, suggesting he might instead seek a “cooperative” transition with figures already within the country.
- The Global Backlash: China and Russia have issued blistering condemnations, with Beijing demanding Maduro’s immediate release. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council is set to meet for an emergency session on Monday.
The Trial of the Century
Maduro and Flores face a superseding federal indictment for narco-terrorism, corruption, and weapons charges. Legal experts note that the MDC Brooklyn currently houses members of the Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang Trump has vowed to dismantle.
As New York City prepares for an unprecedented security operation around the Manhattan federal court, the “Man of Steel” finds himself in a position few thought possible: an inmate in the city he once railed against, awaiting a trial that marks the end of an era for the Bolivarian Revolution.