What we know about Maduro’s capture and the fallout

Venezuela’s ousted president, Nicolás Maduro, pleaded not guilty to federal drug and weapons charges in a New York City courthouse Monday, two days after he was captured in a U.S. military raid on Caracas, Venezuela.

“I’m innocent. I’m not guilty. I am a decent man,” Maduro said in court through an interpreter. He added, “I am still president of my country.”

The fallout for Venezuela is still far from clear. President Donald Trump has said the United States will “run” the country for the foreseeable future and reclaim American oil interests there.

The country’s new leader, Delcy Rodríguez, has raised the prospect of dialogue with the United States. But as she was sworn in Monday, she decried what she called the “illegitimate military aggression” of the United States and said that Maduro was still president.

The U.S. raid followed a monthslong campaign by the Trump administration to oust Maduro, an authoritarian leader.

Here’s what we know:

What happened?

The United States carried out “a large-scale strike against Venezuela” in which Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured, Trump said.

Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that Trump ordered the operation late Friday. The mission, which took about two hours and 20 minutes, involved 150 aircraft that worked to dismantle Venezuelan air defenses to clear a path for military helicopters carrying troops to Caracas, the capital, he said.

Nearly 200 Special Operations forces took part in the raid, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

U.S. forces encountered significant resistance, Trump said. At least 80 people were killed, including military personnel and civilians, according to a senior Venezuelan official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe preliminary reports. Cuban state media reported that 32 Cubans were killed in the U.S. attack. President Miguel Díaz-Canel of Cuba said they were from Cuba’s armed forces or its interior ministry.

No Americans were killed, Trump said. Two U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that about half a dozen soldiers were injured in the operation.

Did Trump have the authority to capture Maduro?

Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the mission as a law enforcement operation rather than a military action, which would have required greater congressional oversight.

On Monday, Trump administration officials held a classified briefing with leaders in Congress, after Democrats called on the administration to explain its legal justification for the raid and its plan for the region. House Speaker Mike Johnson also defended the legality of the military operation to capture Maduro and the decision by the White House not to notify or seek approval from Congress.

At an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Monday, staunch U.S. allies described the raid as a violation of international law.

Who is in charge of Venezuela now?

Maduro, a self-described socialist, had led Venezuela since 2013. The Biden administration accused him of stealing the 2024 election that kept him in power.

The country’s new leader, Rodríguez, was Maduro’s vice president and is known as an economic troubleshooter. Trump said after the U.S. raid that she was “essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.”

But during her swearing-in ceremony Monday, Rodríguez maintained that Maduro was still president and said she was pained by the “illegitimate military aggression” by the United States. She also described Maduro and his wife as hostages.

Venezuela’s main opposition leader, María Corina Machado, has asked that her political ally, Edmundo González, be recognized as Venezuela’s president immediately. But Trump declined to support Machado after senior U.S. officials convinced him that backing the opposition could further destabilize the country.

Machado said in a Fox News interview Monday night that she was planning to return to Venezuela “as soon as possible” and that she believed the opposition would win more than 90% of the vote in free and fair elections.

What will happen to Maduro?

Maduro and Flores were brought to the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan on Monday. His appearance drew dozens of demonstrators — both critics and supporters of his capture — who were separated by a metal barrier outside the courthouse.

An unsealed indictment charged Maduro with narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracies and possession of machine guns — charges that would carry lengthy prison sentences if he were convicted. Flores is also charged in the cocaine conspiracy.

The indictment appears similar to a 2020 indictment against Maduro that accused him of overseeing a violent drug organization known as Cartel de los Soles. In a revised indictment, the Justice Department dropped its claim that Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles is an actual group.

Maduro told the court that he had been “kidnapped,” and pleaded not guilty to all four counts against him. The next hearing is scheduled for March 17, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein said.