Maduro Sent To US Jail, Venezuela Gets Acting President, Trump Weighs Next Move: Top Points

Last Updated:January 04, 2026, 13:34 IST

What next for Maduro and his wife captured by the US in late-night raid? What next for Venezuela? Who is acting president Delcy Rodriguez? What are US President Trump’s plans?

US President Donald Trump (right) said that Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and his wife have been indicted on charges of drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies and will face trial. (AP/File)

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who the US captured from Caracas in a late-night raid, was moved to a New York detention centre on Sunday.

A plane carrying Maduro landed near New York City on Saturday night, and he was helicoptered to the city before being taken by a large convoy to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn under a heavy police guard.

What next for Maduro? What next for Venezuela and the US? The top developments since the raid in 10 points.

1. THE CHARGES AGAINST MADURO: US President Donald Trump said that Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were captured in Caracas during a US military operation, have been indicted on charges of alleged “drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York, and will face trial. Trump said that Maduro and his wife “will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil". According to an unsealed indictment shared by Attorney General Pamela Bondi on X, Maduro and Flores face multiple counts of statutory allegations related to “drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies".

2. WHAT NEXT FOR MADURO? Indicted on various federal charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, Maduro is expected to make an initial appearance in Manhattan federal court on Monday, according to a Justice Department official.

3. WHO RUNS VENEZUALA? Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the powers and duties of acting president after the US removed Nicolas Maduro, CNN reported. The order was announced on Saturday night (local time), concluding that Maduro is in a “material and temporary impossibility to exercise his functions." Rodriguez will “assume and exercise, as acting president, all the powers, duties, and faculties inherent to the office of president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the nation," according to the order, read by Justice Tania D’Amelio in a session broadcast by the state television channel VTV, as reported by CNN.

Rodriguez appeared on state television flanked by her brother, the head of the national assembly Jorge Rodriguez, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez and said that Maduro remained Venezuela’s only president. The joint appearance indicated the group that shared power with Maduro is staying united – for now.

4. WHAT NEXT FOR ADMINISTRATION? “We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump told a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

5. TRUMP’S PLANS FOR THE COUNTRY: “We will make the people of Venezuela rich, independent, and safe. The illegitimate dictator Maduro was the kingpin of a vast criminal network responsible for trafficking colossal amounts of deadly and illicit drugs into the United States. Maduro and his wife will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil. Right now, they’re on a ship that will be heading to, ultimately, New York. And then a decision will be made, I assume, between New York and Miami or Florida," Trump said.

6. CHINA SEEKS THEIR IMMEDIATE RELEASE; LEADERS QUESTION MOVE: China on Sunday called on the US for the immediate release of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Beijing also asked America to stop toppling the government of Venezuela, and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation. The country expressed serious concern over the US’s forcible control of Maduro and his wife and their transfer out of the country. Several European and opposition leaders have reacted to the move. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was briefed on the operation and their planned imprisonment in federal custody in New York City, calling the unilateral action an “act of war" and a violation of federal and international law. Former US vice president Kamala Harris criticised President Donald Trump over the US actions in Venezuela, saying the move did not make America safer, stronger or more affordable.

7. MADURO’S PERP WALK: Deposed Maduro was seen wishing reporters and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents a Happy New Year and Good Night during his perp walk. The US released a video of captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in handcuffs staging the ‘Perp-walk’ as he was led to custody.

8. OPERATION ABSOLUTE RESOLVE: General Dan Razin Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Saturday (local time) said that “Operation Absolute Resolve" to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife was “discreet, precise". He said the operation involved months of planning and that all aircraft returned safely after the mission.

9. UNSC EMERGENCY MEET ON MONDAY: The UN Security Council (UNSC) will hold an emergency meeting on Monday regarding the US operation against Venezuela, the council presidency told Xinhua on Saturday. The meeting was convened at the request of Colombia, a non-permanent member of the Council, and was supported by permanent members China and Russia. “The presidency intends to hold the emergency meeting on Monday morning at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT)," said Khadija Ahmed, spokeswoman for the Somali Permanent Mission to the United Nations. Somalia holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council for January.

10. HOW THE RAID HELPS US: For months, the Trump administration criticised Maduro, 63, over what it called his involvement in shipping drugs to the U.S. It ramped up pressure with a massive military build-up in the Caribbean and a series of deadly missile attacks on alleged drug-running boats. Trump said as part of the takeover, major U.S. oil companies would move back into Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserves, and refurbish badly degraded oil infrastructure, a process experts said could take years. He said he was open to sending U.S. forces into Venezuela. “We’re not afraid of boots on the ground," he said.

With Agency inputs

News world Maduro Sent To US Jail, Venezuela Gets Acting President, Trump Weighs Next Move: Top Points

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