What we know about the US operation in Venezuela

President Donald Trump shocked the nation and the world early Saturday when he announced that the United States had captured the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, and intended to "run the country."

The action came after a monthslong campaign by Trump's administration to oust the authoritarian leader, and raised questions about the legality of what happened in the South American country.

Here's what we know:

What happened?

The United States carried out "a large scale strike against Venezuela," Trump said on Truth Social, his social media platform. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured during the operation, according to the president.

Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a news conference Saturday that Trump gave the order to capture Maduro late on Friday. A vast array of US forces began their mission, named "Absolute Resolve," which lasted into early Saturday, Caine said.

The operation involved 150 aircraft launching across the hemisphere, he said, and working to dismantle Venezuelan air defenses so that military helicopters could deliver troops into Caracas, the country's capital. The entire mission took about two hours and 20 minutes, the general said.

Trump said Saturday at the news conference that US forces encountered significant resistance. Caine said Maduro and Flores "gave up" and were taken into custody.

The couple was taken to the USS Iwo Jima, one of the US warships that have been prowling the Caribbean, Trump said in an interview on Fox News.

The Venezuelan government accused the United States earlier Saturday of carrying out military attacks in Caracas and other parts of the country after large explosions were reported at a military base in the city. Video obtained by the Reuters news agency and verified by The New York Times shows smoke billowing near La Carlota Airport in Caracas, as explosions ring out.

Did Trump have the authority to capture Maduro?

There are questions about the legality of the strikes. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during the news conference Saturday that it would not have been possible to let US lawmakers know in advance. Trump and Rubio said several times that the operation was primarily an act of law enforcement, rather than the military action over which Congress has a greater purview.

The president had brushed off concerns about the constitutionality of his administration's actions during an interview earlier on Fox News.

Sidestepping criticism of the raid and whether there was any legal justification for his administration's actions, Trump said that Democrats who criticize him should commend the effort.

"They should say, 'Great job,'" he said. "They shouldn't say, 'Oh, gee, maybe it's not constitutional.'"

Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said the administration "must immediately brief Congress on its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision." His remarks came before Trump said that the United States intended to run Venezuela.

Was anybody hurt or killed?

It was unclear Saturday morning what could have been the death and injury toll, Venezuelan officials said in statements, but they noted that Venezuelans had been killed during the operation.

A U.S. official said there had been no US casualties but would not comment on Venezuelan casualties.

Who is in charge of Venezuela now?

Trump said the United States was going to "run the country" until a transition can take place. He gave few details of how that might work in practice, though, and his remarks mostly focused on how US interests would extract and sell oil from the country.

According to the Venezuelan constitution, power should pass to the vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, who runs economic policy. Trump said at the news conference that Rubio had spoken to Rodríguez, who had been newly sworn-in as president, and added that she had said she would support what the United States is doing.

"She's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again," he said.

But in a live address to Venezuelans on Saturday, Rodríguez undermined Trump's comments, forcefully denouncing the United States and stating that Maduro was the rightful president.

She added that Venezuela was open to having a respectful relationship with the Trump administration, but only within the framework of international and Venezuelan law. "That is the only type of relationship I will accept, after they have attacked and militarily assaulted our beloved nation," she said.

What happens next?

Maduro and Flores were being taken to New York to face charges, US officials said. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media that the two had been indicted on drug and weapons charges and "will soon face the full wrath of American justice."

A photo of Maduro in US custody, released by Trump, shows him in handcuffs, with a blacked-out mask and headphones.

The attorney general posted an unsealed indictment, which appears similar to the 2020 indictment of the Venezuelan leader, charging him with narco-terrorism and cocaine importation conspiracies. The charges also include possession of machine guns. When combined with drug trafficking charges, those gun charges carry strong prison sentences upon conviction.

A 2020 indictment against Maduro accused him of overseeing a violent drug organization known as Cartel de los Soles. U.S. intelligence agencies had assessed that Maduro was actually at odds with one group, Tren de Aragua, and analysts said that the Cartel de Los Soles did not exist as a concrete organization. The term has been used to refer to the involvement of high-ranking military officers in the drug trade, though no evidence has been disclosed of Maduro's directing the effort.