A U.S. military aircraft arrived in New York on Saturday night carrying Nicolás Maduro and his wife after American forces moved in to take control of the Venezuelan leader.
Maduro, 63, and Cilia Flores were seen stepping off the aircraft at Stewart Air National Guard Base, surrounded by heavy law enforcement.
🇺🇸🇻🇪Maduro finally gets off the plane escorted by dozens of federal agents. pic.twitter.com/Z2bk1LGC1S
— MagellanQuest 🇪🇺/acc (@MagellanQuest) January 3, 2026
From there, the focus quickly shifted to what comes next.
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According to reports, Maduro will be held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The facility is known for housing high-profile defendants, including Ghislaine Maxwell and Sean “Diddy” Combs. Flores, meanwhile, was taken for a medical evaluation shortly after landing.
A government source told CNN that she was checked at the base around 6 p.m. Saturday. Both were removed from their bedroom earlier that day by U.S. military forces in Caracas.
As night fell in New York, President Donald Trump was already celebrating.
Speaking from Mar-a-Lago, the 79-year-old president described watching the operation unfold in real time. “I watched it literally like I was watching a television show,” he said, showing little restraint as he praised the mission.
By late morning, Trump went further.
At a press conference, he announced that the United States would now take control of Venezuela until new leadership is installed. He said the country, home to nearly 30 million people, would be run under U.S. oversight during the transition.
He also made clear that force was still on the table.
“We’re not afraid to have boots on the ground,” Trump warned, while also signaling plans to seize Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
As Trump spoke, anger was growing back home.
Protests broke out across New York City, including in Times Square, as demonstrators condemned the surprise military action. A senior Venezuelan official later told The New York Times that at least 40 people were killed during the operation, including soldiers and civilians.
The backlash soon reached City Hall.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly criticized the operation just days after taking office. In a viral post on X, he confirmed that Maduro and Flores were now in federal custody in the city.
“I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City,” Mamdani wrote.
Mamdani also stressed the local impact, pointing to the city’s large Venezuelan community.
Featured image via X screengrab
