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Tag: Nicolas Maduro

  • Who is Delcy Rodríguez? The woman who’s Venezuela’s interim president

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    As uncertainty simmers in Venezuela, interim President Delcy Rodríguez has taken the place of her ally deposed President Nicolás Maduro, captured by the United States in a nighttime military operation, and offered “to collaborate” with the Trump administration in what could be a seismic shift in relations between the adversary governments.Rodríguez served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, overseeing much of Venezuela’s oil-dependent economy and its feared intelligence service, and was next in the presidential line of succession.She’s part of a band of senior officials in Maduro’s administration that now appears to control Venezuela, even as U.S. President Donald Trump and other officials say they will pressure the government to fall in line with its vision for the oil-rich nation.On Saturday, Venezuela’s high court ordered her to assume the role of interim president, and the leader was backed by Venezuela’s military.Ally or adversaryRodríguez, a 56-year-old lawyer and politician has had a lengthy career representing the revolution started by the late Hugo Chávez on the world stage. It’s been unclear if the leader would warm up to the Trump administration or follow the same adversarial line as her predecessor.Her rise to become interim leader of the South American country came as a surprise on Saturday morning, when Trump announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been in communication with Rodríguez and that the Venezuelan leader was “gracious” and would work with the American government. Rubio said Rodríguez was someone the administration could work with, unlike Maduro.But in a televised address, Rodríguez gave no indication that she would cooperate with Trump, referring to his government as “extremists” and maintaining that Maduro was Venezuela’s rightful leader.“What is being done to Venezuela is an atrocity that violates international law,” Rodríguez said, surrounded by high-ranking civilian officials and military leaders.Trump warned on Sunday, if Rodríguez didn’t fall in line, “she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.” He added that he wanted her to provide “total access,” from oil facilities to basic infrastructure like roads, so they can be rebuilt.Trump’s comments also followed Rubio having asserted in TV interviews on Sunday that he didn’t see Rodríguez and her government as “legitimate” because he said the country never held free and fair elections.On Sunday, in statements posted to her Instagram, she took a major shift in tone in a conciliatory message where she said she hoped to build “respectful relations” with Trump.“We invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence,” she wrote.Rise to interim presidentA lawyer educated in Britain and France, the interim president and her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, head of the Maduro-controlled National Assembly, have sterling leftist credentials born from tragedy. Their father was a socialist leader who was arrested for his involvement in the kidnapping of American business owner William Niehous in 1976, and later died in police custody.Unlike many in Maduro’s inner circle, the Rodríguez siblings have avoided criminal indictment in the U.S., though the interim president did face U.S. sanctions during Trump’s first term for her role in undermining Venezuelan democracy.Rodríguez held a number of lower-level positions under Chávez’s government, but gained prominence working under Maduro to the point of being seen as his successor. She served the economic minister, foreign affairs minister, petroleum minister and others help stabilize Venezuela’s endemically crisis-stricken economy after years of rampant inflation and turmoil.Rodríguez developed strong ties with Republicans in the oil industry and on Wall Street who balked at the notion of U.S.-led regime change. The interim president also presided over an assembly promoted by Maduro in response to street protests in 2017 meant to neutralize the opposition-majority legislature.She enjoys a close relationship with the military, which has long acted as the arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela, said Ronal Rodríguez, a spokesperson for the Venezuela Observatory of Rosario University in Bogota, Colombia.“She has a very particular relationship with power,” he said. “She has developed very strong ties with elements of the armed forces and has managed to establish lines of dialogue with them, largely on a transactional basis.”Future in powerIt’s unclear how long Rodríguez will hold power, or how closely she will work with the Trump administration.Geoff Ramsey, a senior nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington research institute, said Rodríguez’s initially firm tone with the Trump administration may have been an attempt to “save face.” Others have noted that Maduro’s capture required some level of collaboration within the Venezuelan government.“She can’t exactly expect to score points with her revolutionary peers if she presents herself as a patsy for U.S. interests,” Ramsey said.Venezuela’s constitution requires an election within 30 days whenever the president becomes “permanently unavailable” to serve. Reasons listed include death, resignation, removal from office or “abandonment” of duties as declared by the National Assembly.That electoral timeline was rigorously followed when Maduro’s predecessor, Chavez, died of cancer in 2013. However, the loyalist Supreme Court, in its decision Saturday, cited another provision of the charter in declaring Maduro’s absence a “temporary” one.In such a scenario, there is no election requirement. Instead, the vice president, an unelected position, takes over for up to 90 days — a period that can be extended to six months with a vote of the National Assembly.In handing temporary power to Rodríguez, the Supreme Court made no mention of the 180-day time limit, leading some to speculate she could try to remain in power even longer as she seeks to unite the disparate factions of the ruling socialist party while shielding it from what would certainly be a stiff electoral challenge.—Janetsky reported from Mexico City and Debre reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Associated Press writers Joshua Goodman in Miami, Darlene Superville aboard Air Force One and Jorge Rueda in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.

    As uncertainty simmers in Venezuela, interim President Delcy Rodríguez has taken the place of her ally deposed President Nicolás Maduro, captured by the United States in a nighttime military operation, and offered “to collaborate” with the Trump administration in what could be a seismic shift in relations between the adversary governments.

    Rodríguez served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, overseeing much of Venezuela’s oil-dependent economy and its feared intelligence service, and was next in the presidential line of succession.

    She’s part of a band of senior officials in Maduro’s administration that now appears to control Venezuela, even as U.S. President Donald Trump and other officials say they will pressure the government to fall in line with its vision for the oil-rich nation.

    On Saturday, Venezuela’s high court ordered her to assume the role of interim president, and the leader was backed by Venezuela’s military.

    Ally or adversary

    Rodríguez, a 56-year-old lawyer and politician has had a lengthy career representing the revolution started by the late Hugo Chávez on the world stage. It’s been unclear if the leader would warm up to the Trump administration or follow the same adversarial line as her predecessor.

    Her rise to become interim leader of the South American country came as a surprise on Saturday morning, when Trump announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been in communication with Rodríguez and that the Venezuelan leader was “gracious” and would work with the American government. Rubio said Rodríguez was someone the administration could work with, unlike Maduro.

    But in a televised address, Rodríguez gave no indication that she would cooperate with Trump, referring to his government as “extremists” and maintaining that Maduro was Venezuela’s rightful leader.

    “What is being done to Venezuela is an atrocity that violates international law,” Rodríguez said, surrounded by high-ranking civilian officials and military leaders.

    Trump warned on Sunday, if Rodríguez didn’t fall in line, “she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.” He added that he wanted her to provide “total access,” from oil facilities to basic infrastructure like roads, so they can be rebuilt.

    Trump’s comments also followed Rubio having asserted in TV interviews on Sunday that he didn’t see Rodríguez and her government as “legitimate” because he said the country never held free and fair elections.

    On Sunday, in statements posted to her Instagram, she took a major shift in tone in a conciliatory message where she said she hoped to build “respectful relations” with Trump.

    “We invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence,” she wrote.

    Rise to interim president

    A lawyer educated in Britain and France, the interim president and her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, head of the Maduro-controlled National Assembly, have sterling leftist credentials born from tragedy. Their father was a socialist leader who was arrested for his involvement in the kidnapping of American business owner William Niehous in 1976, and later died in police custody.

    Unlike many in Maduro’s inner circle, the Rodríguez siblings have avoided criminal indictment in the U.S., though the interim president did face U.S. sanctions during Trump’s first term for her role in undermining Venezuelan democracy.

    Rodríguez held a number of lower-level positions under Chávez’s government, but gained prominence working under Maduro to the point of being seen as his successor. She served the economic minister, foreign affairs minister, petroleum minister and others help stabilize Venezuela’s endemically crisis-stricken economy after years of rampant inflation and turmoil.

    Rodríguez developed strong ties with Republicans in the oil industry and on Wall Street who balked at the notion of U.S.-led regime change. The interim president also presided over an assembly promoted by Maduro in response to street protests in 2017 meant to neutralize the opposition-majority legislature.

    She enjoys a close relationship with the military, which has long acted as the arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela, said Ronal Rodríguez, a spokesperson for the Venezuela Observatory of Rosario University in Bogota, Colombia.

    “She has a very particular relationship with power,” he said. “She has developed very strong ties with elements of the armed forces and has managed to establish lines of dialogue with them, largely on a transactional basis.”

    Future in power

    It’s unclear how long Rodríguez will hold power, or how closely she will work with the Trump administration.

    Geoff Ramsey, a senior nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington research institute, said Rodríguez’s initially firm tone with the Trump administration may have been an attempt to “save face.” Others have noted that Maduro’s capture required some level of collaboration within the Venezuelan government.

    “She can’t exactly expect to score points with her revolutionary peers if she presents herself as a patsy for U.S. interests,” Ramsey said.

    Venezuela’s constitution requires an election within 30 days whenever the president becomes “permanently unavailable” to serve. Reasons listed include death, resignation, removal from office or “abandonment” of duties as declared by the National Assembly.

    That electoral timeline was rigorously followed when Maduro’s predecessor, Chavez, died of cancer in 2013. However, the loyalist Supreme Court, in its decision Saturday, cited another provision of the charter in declaring Maduro’s absence a “temporary” one.

    In such a scenario, there is no election requirement. Instead, the vice president, an unelected position, takes over for up to 90 days — a period that can be extended to six months with a vote of the National Assembly.

    In handing temporary power to Rodríguez, the Supreme Court made no mention of the 180-day time limit, leading some to speculate she could try to remain in power even longer as she seeks to unite the disparate factions of the ruling socialist party while shielding it from what would certainly be a stiff electoral challenge.

    —

    Janetsky reported from Mexico City and Debre reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Associated Press writers Joshua Goodman in Miami, Darlene Superville aboard Air Force One and Jorge Rueda in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.

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  • Who’s Running Venezuela After the Fall of Maduro?

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    The Venezuelan opposition has always been riven with divisions. During Trump’s first term, the U.S. recognized Juan Guaidó, a legislator, as the legitimate head of the country’s interim government, on the erroneous assumption that American support would pressure members of the military to defect from the regime. The gambit failed, and the interim government fell apart in 2022. Machado distinguished herself by her belief that Maduro could only be forced from power with the direct intervention of a foreign power. The irony is that she turned out to be right but at a steep personal cost. Machado appears to be experiencing a fate shared by those who put their trust in Trump. “He just doesn’t like her,” the former White House official told me. “Maybe it has to do with his loss of enthusiasm for the opposition over all. He views them as losers. He hates losers. And, frankly, there’s Trump’s ego. She stole his Nobel Prize from him.”

    There’s been speculation that, prior to Maduro’s capture, Rodríguez may have spoken with members of the Trump Administration. For now, it’s impossible to say. “I found it interesting that the United States had such an easy time capturing Maduro and his wife while they slept,” Francisco Rodríguez, a former Venezuelan legislator and economist, told Foreign Affairs. “That strongly suggests there was some type of internal collaboration from the Venezuelan forces that were guarding him.” Rodríguez, however, remains one of the Venezuelan regime’s staunchest loyalists. At the Saturday press conference, Trump said that Rubio had already spoken with Rodríguez, who’d just been installed as interim President by the Venezuelan Supreme Court. Rodríguez, for her part, wasted no time repudiating the U.S.’s actions. “There is only one President in this country,” she said, on Saturday. “His name is Nicolás Maduro Moros.” Venezuela, she went on, “will never again be anyone’s colony—neither of old empires nor of new empires, nor of empires in decline.”

    Rodríguez, who is fifty-six, was a middling government bureaucrat before Maduro took power. Her father, a Marxist guerrilla known for his role in the kidnapping of an American businessman in 1976, was later jailed by the Venezuelan government; he died in custody after being tortured by the secret police. “All her hate for Venezuela’s old political establishment”—which was strongly pro-U.S.—“goes back to that abuse,” Brian Naranjo, a former American diplomat, told the Wall Street Journal. Her brother Jorge was Maduro’s chief political strategist; he went on to head the Venezuelan legislature, overseeing the 2024 elections that were marred by fraud. Delcy, a lifelong ideologue, earned a reputation for ruthlessness and competency, running Maduro’s foreign ministry and later managing both the economy and the country’s oil industry. “I’ve been watching her career for a long time,” a senior U.S. official told the Times. “She’s certainly someone we think we can work at a much more professional level than we were able to do with [Maduro].”

    By Sunday, there were some indications as to what Trump and Rubio might consider to be a productive “working” relationship. “If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” Trump told The Atlantic. Rubio, who spent the day largely sidestepping questions about Trump’s plans to “run” the country after Maduro’s ouster, reasserted his long-standing position in a string of television interviews. “We don’t believe that this regime in place is legitimate,” he said, in an ABC interview. During another appearance, he added, “What you’re seeing right now is a quarantine that allows us to exert tremendous leverage over what happens next.”

    The logic appears to be that Rodríguez has the bona fides to reassure the main players in the Venezuelan government and military that their interests, for now, will be protected. Diosdado Cabello, the Interior Minister, and Vladimir Padrino López, the country’s top general—to name just two of the most influential actors—are hardly naïve. Will they believe that their own future can coexist with whatever the Trump Administration has planned for Venezuela? A day after being sworn in, Rodríguez tried to strike a more conciliatory tone. “We extend an invitation to the U.S. government to work together on a coöperative agenda, oriented toward shared development,” she said.

    Still, her two hard-line audiences—the Trump Administration and the Venezuelan regime—would seem to be at cross purposes. Trump has been explicit about wanting U.S. companies to help jump-start the country’s flagging oil industry and to begin extracting profits for themselves. “Don’t ask me who’s in charge, because I’ll give you an answer, and it’ll be controversial,” Trump said, adding, “We should run the country where we can take advantage of the economics—which is valuable oil and valuable other things.” It is a bald proposition that lacks even the pretense of restoring Venezuelan democracy. It’s also immensely costly and politically fraught. A Venezuelan friend—relieved to see Maduro in handcuffs and yet appalled by how it came to pass—texted me with an old refrain: tanto nadar para morir en la orilla. So much swimming just to die on the shore. ♦

    An earlier version of this article misstated the location of Trump’s press conference.

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    Jonathan Blitzer

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  • Breaking down Maduro’s alleged crimes in Venezuela as he awaits arraignment

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    Breaking down Maduro’s alleged crimes in Venezuela as he awaits arraignment – CBS News









































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    Nicolás Maduro is being transported to federal court in New York City where he will face charges related to drug trafficking with his wife, Cilia Flores. CBS News chief correspondent Matt Gutman reports.

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  • Venezuela live updates as Maduro to appear in U.S. court, Trump threatens other nations

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    What to know about the charges against Maduro and his wife

    Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges stemming from what prosecutors said was his role in a scheme to import “thousands of tons” of cocaine into the United States and enrich himself, his family and senior members of the Venezuelan government.

    The indictment was unsealed Saturday by Attorney General Pam Bondi after Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken into military custody in an overnight operation and brought to the U.S. to face criminal charges. 

    “They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” Bondi said.

    Maduro, Flores and four others are named as defendants in the indictment, including Maduro’s son, Nicolás Ernesto Maduro.

    Maduro faces four charges: narco-terrorism conspiracy; cocaine importation conspiracy; possession of machineguns and destructive devices; and conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices.

    Flores is accused of brokering a meeting between a large-scale drug trafficker and the director of Venezuela’s National Anti-Drug Office and allegedly accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes.

    Read more here.

     

    Concern simmers in Cuba after warning

    Concern is simmering in Cuba, one of Venezuela’s most important allies and trading partners, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a new stern warning to the Cuban government.

    Rubio, in an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said he thinks “they’re in a lot of trouble.”

    “I’m not going to talk to you about what our future steps are going to be and our policies are going to be right now in this regard,” Rubio said. “But I don’t think it’s any mystery that we are not big fans of the Cuban regime, who, by the way, are the ones that were propping up Maduro.”

    He said Cuban officials were with Maduro in Venezuela ahead of his capture.

    “It was Cubans that guarded Maduro,” Rubio said. “He was not guarded by Venezuelan bodyguards. He had Cuban bodyguards.” The secretary of state added that Cuban bodyguards were also in charge of “internal intelligence” in Maduro’s government, including “who spies on who inside, to make sure there are no traitors.

    The Cuban government said Sunday that 32 Cubans were killed during the U.S. military operation to capture Maduro.

    Mr. Trump said that the Cuban economy, battered by years of a U.S. embargo, is in tatters and will slide further now with the ouster of Maduro, who provided the Caribbean island subsidized oil.

    “It’s going down,” Mr. Trump said of Cuba. “It’s going down for the count.”

    -CBS/AP

     

    “That’s enough now!” says Greenland’s prime minister after Trump’s latest threats

    “That’s enough now,” Greenland Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen said on social media late Sunday after repeated threats from President Trump to annex the autonomous Danish territory.

    “No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation. We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussions. But this must happen through the proper channels and with respect for international law,” he wrote.

    Since returning to White House a year ago, Mr. Trump has repeatedly claimed that making Greenland part of the United States would serve U.S. national security interests, given its strategic location in the Arctic. Greenland is also rich in key critical minerals used in high-tech sectors.

    In an interview with The Atlantic magazine published Sunday, Mr. Trump reiterated his wish to take over Greenland. “We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense,” he told the magazine.

    Sunday night aboard Air Force One, he told reporters, “It’s so strategic right now. Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place.” 

    “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” he said.

    — CBS/AFP

     

    Trump: U.S. “in charge” of Venezuela, acting leader Delcy Rodriguez cooperating

    Speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, President Trump said he has not spoken directly with Venezuela’s acting leader, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, but said she was cooperating with the U.S.

    “We’re in charge” of Venezuela right now, Mr. Trump said, 

    He said the U.S. had been prepared for further military action in Venezuela but it hadn’t been needed so far, adding that this could change “if they don’t behave.”

    The president said he’s spoken with several U.S. oil companies about commitments to rebuilding Venezuela’s infrastructure, saying they “wanna go in so bad.” 

    Mr. Trump also alluded to possible action against Colombian President Gustavo Petro, saying Colombia is “very sick too, run by a very sick man.” Mr. Trump said he felt Petro is “not going to be doing it for very long,” and when asked if he would carry out a military operation there as well, the president responded, “Sounds good to me.”

     

    Venezuela’s acting leader says nation seeks “peace and peaceful coexistence”

    Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who is serving as acting leader following President Nicolás Maduro’s capture, said in a statement Sunday night that Venezuela seeks “peace and peaceful coexistence.”

    “Our country aspires to live without external threats, in an environment of respect and international cooperation,” Rodriguez said. “We believe that global peace is built by guaranteeing the peace of each nation first.”

    Rogriguez said she hopes to have a “balanced and respectful” relationship with the U.S. “based on sovereign equality and non-interference.”

    Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez speaking in Caracas on Nov. 5, 2024.

    JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images


    “We extend the invitation to the U.S. government to work together on a cooperation agenda, oriented to shared development, within the framework of international legality and strengthen a lasting community coexistence,” she added.

    “President Donald Trump: our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war.”

     

    Congress to be briefed Monday on Venezuela

    Trump administration officials will give some members of Congress a classified briefing on Venezuela at 5:30 p.m. Monday, according to multiple sources. 

    Those invited include chairs and ranking members from the Senate Foreign Relations, Senate Armed Services, House Foreign Affairs and House Armed Services committees, as well as the so-called Gang of Eight — the chair and ranking member of the House and Senate intelligence committees and the four leaders of the House and Senate. 

    The briefing is set to be delivered by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine, according to an administration official. 

     

    Maduro and Flores being held at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn

    Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, being held in different sections of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, a federal facility with the capacity for holding high-security defendants. 

    MDC is known for having housed other high-profile defendants including Luigi Mangione, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Ghislaine Maxwell.

    Law enforcement sources tell CBS News that Maduro is being held on one of the top floors of MDC. They say he is not being held in isolation, but is being held with other higher profile inmates.

    His status likely means protection from the general population, said Marc Fernich, an attorney who represented notorious drug trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who was held at a federal jail a few miles away in Manhattan. 

    “If Maduro is placed in round-the-clock solitary, it will be for his own protection or to guard against suicide,” Fernich said.

    He added that the Brooklyn jail currently houses many members of Venezuela’s most well-known transnational gang, Tren de Aragua.

     

    At least 4 Americans still detained in Venezuela

    There are at least four detained Americans being held in Venezuela, according to a hostage advocate familiar with the situation. The U.S. government is aware that some Americans who had been detained in Venezuela prior to the holidays remain in custody there.

    Asked on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” about reports of previously detained Americans still being held in Venezuela, Sen. Chris Van Hollen said, “I’ve not gotten an update from the administration on those detained Americans. But certainly, my view is we should work to bring back every American who is wrongfully detained overseas.”

    He added: “My view is that the administration should designate as wrongfully detained any Americans that the Venezuelan Government has seized wrongfully.”

     

    Trump says Maduro was “kingpin of a vast criminal network” trafficking drugs into the U.S.

    President Trump on Saturday called Maduro an “illegitimate dictator” and alleged he “was the kingpin of a vast criminal network responsible for trafficking colossal amounts of deadly and illicit drugs into the United States.” 

    In a U.S. military operation that struck Venezuelan military facilities in the early hours of Saturday, Maduro and his wife were captured and flown to the U.S. to face charges. 

    Venezuela's captured President Nicolas Maduro

    Venezuela’s captured President Nicolás Maduro stands next to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrator Terry Cole as he is led in custody after landing at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, Jan. 3, 2026. 

    Handout via REUTERS


    Mr. Trump said, “Now, Maduro will never again be able to threaten an American citizen or anybody from Venezuela.”

    “The dictator and terrorist Maduro is finally gone in Venezuela,” the president said. “People are free.”

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  • Altered and misleading images proliferate on social media amid Maduro’s capture

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    AI-generated images, old videos and altered photos proliferated on social media in the hours following former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s capture. Several of these images quickly went viral, fueling false information online. 

    CBS News analyzed circulating images by comparing dubious images to verified content and using publicly available tools such as reverse image search. In some cases, CBS News ran images through AI detection tools, which can be inconsistent or inaccurate but can still help flag possibly manipulated content.

    Checking the source of the content, as well as the date, location, and other news sources are all ways to suss out whether an image is accurate, according to experts.

    AI-generated images of Maduro flood social media

    After President Trump announced Maduro’s capture in a social media post early Saturday morning, questions brewed about the logistics of the mission, where Maduro would be flown and the future of Venezuela. Meanwhile, images of Maduro that were likely manipulated or generated with AI tools circulated on social media, garnering millions of views and thousands of likes across platforms. 

    One photo purporting to show Maduro after his capture was shared widely, including by the mayor of Coral Gables Florida, Vince Lago, and in a joint Instagram post by two popular conservative content accounts with over 6 million combined followers. Using Google’s SynthID tool, CBS News Confirmed team found the photo was likely edited or generated using Google AI. 

    CBS News also found a video generated from the photo, showing military personnel escorting Maduro from an aircraft. It was posted around 6:30 a.m. — 12 hours before CBS News reported that a person in shackles was seen disembarking the plane carrying Maduro and confirmed his eventual arrival Saturday evening at Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal facility in Brooklyn.

    Another unverified photo that made the rounds on social media depicts Maduro in an aircraft with U.S. soldiers. While two different AI detection tools gave inconsistent results as to its authenticity, CBS was not able to confirm its legitimacy.

    On Saturday, Mr. Trump posted an image captioned “Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima” after the South American leader’s capture. Later that evening, the White House Rapid Response account shared a video that appeared to show Maduro being escorted down a hallway by federal agents.

    Old images recirculate

    Old videos and images from past events recirculated, purporting to show reactions to Maduro’s capture and strikes in Caracas. One video showing people tearing down a billboard image of Maduro dates as far back as July 2024. Another video purporting to show a strike in Venezuela had circulated on social media as far back as June 2025.

    Another image showing a man with a sack over his head while sitting in the back of a car circulated widely, sparking online speculation as to whether the photo showed Maduro’s capture. Many users flagged that the photo was probably not of Maduro, but as of this afternoon the post had 30,000 likes and over a thousand reposts. A Daily Mail article from 2023 reported that the photo shows Saddam Hussein after his capture, sitting with a Delta Force member, but CBS has not independently confirmed this.

    CBS News reached out to X and Meta regarding the companies’ policies on AI-generated images, but has not received a response. X’s rules page says it may label posts containing synthetic and manipulated media and Meta says it prohibits AI that contributes to misinformation or disinformation.

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  • 1/4: CBS Weekend News

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    1/4: CBS Weekend News – CBS News









































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    Nicolás Maduro held in same jail as Sean “Diddy” Combs, Luigi Mangione; Uncertainty in Venezuela as Trump threatens country’s new president.

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  • 1/4/2026: Maduro; Here Come the Humanoids; Alysa Liu

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    First, a report on the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Then, a look at the progress made on AI-powered humanoid robots. And, Alysa Liu: The 60 Minutes Interview.

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  • What’s at stake after Trump removes Maduro from power

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    Tony Dokoupil speaks about President Trump’s decision to remove the dictator Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and all that’s at stake in that call.

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  • Americans trying to get home from Caribbean after attack on Venezuela prompts airspace closure

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    U.S. airlines are flying in and out of the Caribbean again Sunday after the surprise U.S. attack on Venezuela prompted the FAA to close the airspace over much of the Caribbean Saturday. Kris Van Cleave reports on how many stranded Americans are still waiting for flights home.

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  • Former Trump national security adviser H.R. McMaster on Venezuela raid that captured Maduro

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    What happens next in Venezuela after the U.S. capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro with President Trump saying he plans to “run” that country? Retired Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, who served as national security advisor in the first Trump administration, shares his thoughts on that question and more.

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  • Many Venezuelans outside their home country celebrating Maduro’s capture

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    Many Venezuelans outside their home country celebrating Maduro’s capture – CBS News









































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    Celebrations marking the end of Nicolás Maduro’s rule erupted throughout the weekend for many Venezuelans living outside their home country. Cristian Benavides has more.

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  • Uncertainty in Venezuela as Trump threatens country’s new president

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    A day after the U.S. raid in Venezuela that captured former President Nicolás Maduro, President Trump has put new Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez on notice. “If she doesn’t do what’s right”, Trump told the Atlantic on Sunday, “she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.” Charlie D’Agata reports.

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  • Nicolás Maduro held in same jail as Sean

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    Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is being housed at Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn, after he was captured by U.S. forces and flown to New York to face federal drug trafficking and weapons charges. Matt Gutman has more.

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  • Maduro to appear in federal court for arraignment at noon Monday

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    Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro is scheduled to appear in federal court at noon Jan. 5 in New York, according to the District Court for the Southern District of New York media office.Maduro will be arraigned on a four-count indictment charging him with leading a 25-year narco-terrorism conspiracy that included several high-ranking members of his administration.He will appear before United States District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in Manhattan.Maduro and his wife, Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro, were captured at their home on Jan. 3 during a U.S. military attack on Venezuela and brought to the United States.The New York City courthouse where the arraignment will take place has seen its fair share of high-profile cases, including that of U.S. President Donald Trump, alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter Luigi Mangione and rapper Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. Video below: After years away, some Venezuelans are hopeful for a path back homeHundreds of people lined up outside the courthouse Sunday evening to catch a glimpse of Maduro when he arrives at the courthouse Monday morning. In a newly unsealed indictment, Maduro is accused of running an illegitimate, corrupt government that was funded through a drug operation that flooded the United States with cocaine. He is also facing charges of narco-terrorism, drug-trafficking and weapons offenses. Trump, who ordered the military entry into Venezuela to arrest the president and his wife, vowed the United States would “run” the South American country until a democratic transition could occur.

    NEW YORK —

    Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro is scheduled to appear in federal court at noon Jan. 5 in New York, according to the District Court for the Southern District of New York media office.

    Maduro will be arraigned on a four-count indictment charging him with leading a 25-year narco-terrorism conspiracy that included several high-ranking members of his administration.

    He will appear before United States District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in Manhattan.

    Maduro and his wife, Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro, were captured at their home on Jan. 3 during a U.S. military attack on Venezuela and brought to the United States.

    The New York City courthouse where the arraignment will take place has seen its fair share of high-profile cases, including that of U.S. President Donald Trump, alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter Luigi Mangione and rapper Sean “P. Diddy” Combs.

    Video below: After years away, some Venezuelans are hopeful for a path back home

    Hundreds of people lined up outside the courthouse Sunday evening to catch a glimpse of Maduro when he arrives at the courthouse Monday morning.

    In a newly unsealed indictment, Maduro is accused of running an illegitimate, corrupt government that was funded through a drug operation that flooded the United States with cocaine.

    He is also facing charges of narco-terrorism, drug-trafficking and weapons offenses.

    Trump, who ordered the military entry into Venezuela to arrest the president and his wife, vowed the United States would “run” the South American country until a democratic transition could occur.

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  • The U.S. investigation that led to Nicolás Maduro’s capture and what may be next for Venezuela

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    Perhaps no American official has spent more time face-to-face with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro than Roger Carstens. Carstens was America’s top hostage negotiator in the Trump and Biden administrations. He freed a total of 65 Americans unjustly held in countries including Russia, Iran and Maduro’s Venezuela. Yesterday, U.S. forces captured the Venezuelan dictator and his wife. Both are in jail in New York tonight awaiting trial on drug trafficking charges. Over the years, Roger Carstens convinced Maduro to release 20 American hostages — and in that time, Carstens got to know the man who is at the center of the U.S. foreign policy tonight.

    Scott Pelley: The administration would paint Maduro as a blood-thirsty drug dealer. Is that the man you knew?

    Roger Carstens: I don’t think so. And yet– let me answer that by this way. In one way I could say I’m not naïve to the crimes that were committed by the regime writ large. And if you’re the president of a country you of course have responsibility for what’s being happen– what’s happening– in your government. On the flip side, I would say that being the person in the room with President Maduro my job was to get Americans back and that’s best done by building a very human relationship. And in doing so I didn’t find him to be a blood-thirsty maniac. I found him to be– a practical person, someone who wanted to find ways to solve the problems– that was– were faced by his country.

    Scott Pelley: When you first heard that Maduro had been captured what did you think?

    Roger Carstens: In a way I wasn’t shocked. I think probably as early as August or September in watching the different military moves and the diplomatic moves take place it seemed that unless he were willing to make some sort of deal or accommodation with the United States, I felt that the possibility of Delta Force showing up at 2 a.m. was very real. 

    Scott Pelley: Do you believe that the Maduro that you met was an international drug dealer?

    Roger Carstens: From all the information that I’ve received I would say no. I think the– the country clearly touched drugs—and there’s information– I always have to be very– clear that I might see certain amounts of information and there’s always a treasure trove of information that I’ve never seen or never will see due to classification or compartmentalization.But what I witnessed was not someone who’s necessarily hard-core in the drug business. And I’ll be interested to see in how the prosecution goes about proving their case.

    63-year-old Nicolás Maduro was in power 12 years. In 2024 he lost his reelection bid but remained in power and forced the winner into exile.

    Maduro ruled Venezuela’s 28 million people as an autocrat, imprisoning his opposition and leaving the economy of an oil rich nation in shambles. Yesterday the U.S. Department of Justice revealed an indictment of Maduro accusing him in a so-called narco-terrorism conspiracy. 

    Sandy Gonzalez: These investigations aren’t easy. They’re– they can be stressful, and they can take up a lot of time. This one ten-plus years. 

    One of the investigators at the center of the case was Sandy Gonzalez. He served 25 years in the Drug Enforcement Administration, part of that in Venezuela and investigating Maduro.

    Sandy Gonzalez

    60 Minutes


    Sandy Gonzalez: Close to 20 years ago, DEA at the Special Operations division started looking at high level drug trafficking in Venezuela. And it eventually led to high-ranking military police officials in Venezuela and ultimately government officials.

    Scott Pelley: And Maduro was among them?

    Sandy Gonzalez: Yes.

    Scott Pelley: What was the most significant evidence against Maduro?

    Sandy Gonzalez: It’s a state sponsored drug trafficking organization. So, it’s a massive conspiracy. And what I mean by that is not everybody is going to be holding the kilos of cocaine. But in a conspiracy you link everybody together. That’s part of the chain. Maduro was part of that chain, first as a Minister of Foreign Affairs and then later as a president. So, when you’re the president of a country and you are giving the green light to engage in this activity and you’re putting people in critical positions, in governors, ministers, heads of agencies and allowing them to carry out these drug trafficking activities, you’re just as guilty as the person making the drugs and transporting the drugs.

    Scott Pelley: But is it a matter of Maduro simply looking the other way or was he enriching himself from the drug trade?

    Sandy Gonzalez: I believe the evidence is going to show he was enriching himself. It was much more than just looking the other way. There was direct involvement.

    Scott Pelley: With Maduro now gone, what in your view, changes?

    Sandy Gonzalez: So it was a great step. But Maduro isn’t the only person in that government that is involved in drug trafficking. There are still several DEA fugitives in Venezuela in positions in that government. The job’s just started.

    Scott Pelley: Maduro may be gone, but the drug conspiracy remains.

    Sandy Gonzalez: Yes.

    Also remaining in Venezuela are a few Americans reportedly held in prisons who were not rescued Saturday morning. Former hostage negotiator Roger Carstens told us that Maduro held and tortured Americans who had been arrested for minor offenses. 

    Roger Carstens: You know– everyone had a different story. But the bottom line is that they were arrested for something in Venezuela and within a few days they were eventually sent to the intelligence or the military prisons in Caracas. Once in prison, then they were used as leverage by President Maduro in negotiations with the United States. But I can say to my mind and my knowledge and having read all the intelligence, there did not seem to be a concerted program to go find Americans to use them as leverage. It’s just that whenever an American was arrested they would end up being used as leverage.

    Roger Carstens

    Roger Carstens

    60 Minutes


    Scott Pelley: What did Maduro want in exchange?

    Roger Carstens: You know, I think initially I wasn’t sure that he knew what he wanted. But eventually meeting with President Maduro and discussing what it is that he might want, he settled on person-to-person swaps. There were a few people in U.S. prisons that he wanted to have returned, and that’s what we ended up settling on over time.

    Scott Pelley: How many Americans are still held there?

    Roger Carstens: You know, I don’t have the numbers exactly anymore because I’m no longer in the government, but as I understand it four or five.

    Scott Pelley: In your view, should they have been rescued during this military operation?

    Roger Carstens: I– I think I would’ve loved to have seen that. I imagine the– challenges of conducting a military hostage raid are significant. The advantage of doing it the other night when we eventually– went to get Maduro is that you’ve already eradicated the air defense capabilities of the Venezuelan military, you’ve– challenged their command and control architecture, so adding on an additional mission of trying to get some hostages out, that might’ve been doable. But where are they? So, since we may not know where all of them are, you could find yourself having to hit two, three, or four objectives. And now you’re taking it to a level of complexity that might’ve been too much for–that night. It might’ve been just enough to get President Maduro and then after the fact work on trying to get the release of these remaining Americans.

    To release any remaining Americans and run Venezuela, the administration is speaking to Maduro’s same government, now headed by Maduro’s loyal vice president, Delcy Rodriguez. The U.S. did not leave troops on the ground and Venezuela’s repressive military, intelligence, and police units are still in place. Yesterday, the president said this about Venezuela’s near future. 

    President Trump (at press conference on 1/3/26): We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transitions.

    Democrats, including Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, are asking what’s next?

    Scott Pelley: Yesterday the President said, quote, “We’re not afraid of boots on the ground.”

    Sen. Mark Kelly: I think right now we run the risk of Venezuelan– Venezuela for– falling into some form of, you know, chaos. I mean, who’s gonna run the country? Is it Delcy Rodriguez? Is it Maduro’s hand-picked person? Or is it a democratically elected leader? We should be on the side of democracy. I mean, we’re the good guys here.

    Kelly serves on the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services committees.

    Sen. Mark Kelly

    Sen. Mark Kelly

    60 Minutes


    Scott Pelley: Isn’t removing Maduro good for U.S. national security?

    Sen. Mark Kelly: I think having Maduro out of the country now in New York being prosecuted for his crimes is a positive thing. The big question is just what comes next and who winds up in charge in Venezuela? They weren’t thinking ahead here. Now they say they’re gonna run the country. What does that actually mean? I think this president needs to do a much better job articulating to the American people what is the plan going forward here? And then explain to the American people, what is this really about? Is it about law enforcement? Is it about drug smuggling into the United States? Is it– is it about regime change? Or is it about what the president said 20 times yesterday, this is about extracting mineral rights, oil from a foreign nation? He hasn’t made that clear.

    Yesterday, the president said it was about drugs. 

    President Trump (at press conference on 1/3/26): 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. As alleged in the indictment, he personally oversaw the vicious cartel known as Cartel de los Soles, which flooded our nation with lethal poison responsible for the deaths of countless Americans, the many, many Americans, hundreds of thousands over the years, of Americans died because of him. 

    In an interview today, President Trump threatened Venezuelan Vice President Rodriguez with what he called a fate worse than Maduro’s if she didn’t cooperate with the United States. Roger Carstens has negotiated extensively with the Venezuelan vice president. 

    Scott Pelley: The Venezuelan vice president is now in charge. Her brother is the head of the national assembly. Are these people that the United States can work with?

    Roger Carstens: You know when you take a look at Delcy Rodríguez— she’s a lawyer– lots of international experience, hard-core technocrat. And– I would say in my meetings with her I found her to be pragmatic and rationable and reasonable. 

    Scott Pelley: But the vice president has said that she wants Maduro back, wants to have nothing to do with the United States going forward.

    Roger Carstens: I have to wonder, is she playing to a domestic audience? Is she playing to an audience made up of the military and the intelligence community of Venezuela? I’m not sure. But what I do know is everyone’s essentially gonna and eventually gonna have to deal with the cards that have been laid on the table. And her cards are going to be pretty tough in that the United States right now to my mind has the upper hand and she’ll have to have some sort of accommodation.

    Scott Pelley: You’ve known the Venezuelan vice president for a long time. I wonder if you’ve sent her a message since all this happened.

    Roger Carstens: You know, I did pass a message off– to her and her brother. And the message was simply like, “Look, if you can, find a way, work towards cooperating with the United States.” And I think my fear is that if the– current people in charge really dig in hard– then the United States, having already eradicated Venezuela’s air defense capability and– shown an ability to degrade their communications modes, and their command and control structures, that it’d probably be very easy for the United States to, you know, rearm, re-up, and then go right back in to grab people. Probably be a harder legal case to make, to do such a thing. But I think the– the right move for everyone is to just start to work together. And so the message I– I passed was one of simply saying, “This is a time for tryin’ to solve problems. And please be willing to– and open to working with the U.S.”

    Produced by Maria Gavrilovic, Aaron Weisz, Nicole Young and Pat Milton. Associate producers, Madeleine Carlisle, Ian Flickinger and Kristin Steve. Broadcast associates, Michelle Karim and Georgia Rosenberg. Edited by Peter M. Berman. Assistant editor, Aisha Crespo

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  • Venezuelan communities hold meetings in Chicago area after US captures President Maduro

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    CHICAGO (WLS) — Community meetings were planned across the Chicago area on Sunday after the U.S. military’s strikes in Venezuela and capture of the South American country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife.

    Protesters gathered in downtown Chicago on Saturday just hours after President Donald Trump announced details of the attack. Many say they are against his decision to carry it out.

    ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

    Federal Plaza in the Loop was packed with demonstrators pushing back against the Trump administration on Saturday. They say his actions were an unnecessary act of war.

    Conversely, many Venezuelan nationals are happy to see the regime removed, but there are questions over how the operation was carried out without Congress being made aware.

    SEE ALSO | Trump’s plan to seize and revitalize Venezuela’s oil industry faces major hurdles

    Some demonstrators want the Trump administration to be focused on issues unfolding in the United States. Others ABC7 spoke with say this attack on Venezuela reminds them of previous U.S. involvement in international conflict.

    Trump says the U.S. is going to run Venezuela in the interim until a transition can happen.

    Maduro is currently being held in a Brooklyn, New York, detention center and faces drug and weapons charges. Venezuela’s vice president, meanwhile, addressed the country on state television after the attack, calling for Maduro’s release.

    Sunday afternoon’s community meetings are expected to take place in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood and in north suburban Schaumburg.

    Copyright © 2026 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.

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    Christian Piekos

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  • Nicolas Maduro arrest: Protesters rail against Venezuelan despot outside jail where he awaits prosecution – amNewYork

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    Over one hundred protesters marched outside of the MDC jail where Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is currently being detained, denouncing the measures the United States took to capture him.

    Photo by Dean Moses

    Over one hundred protesters marched on Sunday outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center jail in Brooklyn, where Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is currently being detained, denouncing the measures the United States took to capture him.

    According to the demonstrators who strode up and down the sidewalk in the shadow of the same jail that holds Luigi Mangione and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, New Yorkers have no love for Maduro. However, they say they are furious over his apprehension since they feel President Donald Trump acted illegally to enter Venezuela.

    “The United States, once again, decided to act against international laws, kidnapping a sitting leader of a foreign government with no rhyme or reason that could be justified, and is looking to further destabilize countries whose governments they don’t agree with. We need to be out here in the streets making that known that we don’t agree with it,” protester William Novello said, adding that he wants the world to know that not every American agrees with the military strike. “People around the world can act in solidarity, knowing that the people in the United States are trying to fight back against what their government does. They need to see us out here.”

    Crowds gathered at MDC Brooklyn to protest Maduro’s U.S. detention.Photo by Dean Moses

    Police barricaded off the entrance to the jail facility, forcing the demonstrators to occupy the sidewalk just outside the area, where they clung to picket signs reading “No U.S war on Venezuela” and “U.S out of the Caribbean” while the crowd chanted “Hands off Venezuela’s oil” and “No blood for oil.”

    Lindsay Katt said she watched the news in horror when the explosions in Caracas were first reported and felt the need to join the protest.

    “I think it’s unconscionable. I understand that this leader is disliked greatly and has his own problems. I think those things aren’t mutually exclusive. I don’t believe that one justifies the other. And I think the moment we start to negotiate whose humanity is worth protecting, all of our humanity becomes negotiable,” Katt said. “If we don’t step up together, anyone who has the power over us has the conditioning and ability to repress us.”

    they say they are furious over his apprehension because President Donald Trump invaded Venezuela to do so.Photo by Dean Moses

    Those stomping the street also say they are fuming over the U.S taking control of Venezuela itself, while also announcing its intention to take control of the country’s oil supply.

    “I think what the US government has done is a violation of the sovereignty of Venezuela. They have no right to go into another country and tell them what they should do, and they openly say they’re there to get the oil, the gold, the lithium, the natural resources of the whole region. That’s not good for working people in Venezuela. It’s not good for working people here,” Seth Galinski said. “They’re trying to steal the wealth of Venezuela and other countries, and they’re dragging us towards the Third World War.”

    Maduro is expected to appear in Federal court in Lower Manhattan on Monday to face drug charges.

    “Hands off,” a sign read.Photo by Dean Moses

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    By Dean Moses and Florencia Arozarena

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  • Maduro | Sunday on 60 Minutes

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    After the U.S military’s overnight strike on Venezuela and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, Scott Pelley reports on the recent events and the criminal charges they face. 60 Minutes, tonight.

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  • What does Maduro’s capture mean for Venezuelans in the U.S.? We answer your questions

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    A man wipes his tears as members of the Venezuelan exile community gather in prayer during Sunday Mass led by Reverend Israel Mago, one day after the United States attacked Venezuela and captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Sunday, January 4, 2026, in Doral, Florida.

    A man wipes his tears as members of the Venezuelan exile community gather in prayer during Sunday Mass led by Reverend Israel Mago, one day after the United States attacked Venezuela and captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Sunday, January 4, 2026, in Doral, Florida.


    Carl Juste

    cjuste@miamiherald.com

    During a national television appearance on Sunday morning, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants in the U.S. who lost deportation protections under the Trump administration have the opportunity to apply for refugee status.

    “We need to make sure that our programs actually mean something, and that we’re following the law,” Noem said during an interview on Fox News.

    In the wake of the United States’s capture of Venezuela strongman Nicolás Maduro, the remarks generated confusion among Venezuelan immigrants. But even before the U.S. government carried out the dramatic military operation Saturday, Venezuelan immigrants were already living in vast uncertainty as high-profile targets of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

    The Trump administration has stripped over 600,000 Venezuelans of their work permits and deportation protections under Temporary Protected Status. He has also invoked an 18th Century law, the Alien Enemies Act, to deport Venezuelans to a notorious prison in El Salvador; ended a parole program that legally brought over 117,000 Venezuelans to the United States, and arrested asylum seekers at their court hearings.

    What’s next for Venezuelan immigrants in the United States? Here are answers to some key questions:

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said “every individual that was under TPS has the opportunity to apply for refugee status.” What does that mean?

    In a word: unclear.

    Under federal law, individuals must be located outside the United States to become part of the U.S. Refugee Program. They must also be referred by someone else for their applications to be considered.

    President Trump’s administration set a historically low cap of 7,500 refugees nationally for fiscal year 2026, down from 125,000 in fiscal year 2025 under President Joe Biden. Trump also directed the 2026 admissions to be largely allocated to Afrikaners from South Africa.

    The Department of Homeland Security rejected interpretations that Noem’s comments mean that the over half-a-million Venezuelans that lost TPS would now be considered for refugee admissions.

    “This is not what Secretary Noem said. President Trump is bringing stability to Venezuela and bringing to justice an illegitimate Narco Terrorist dictator who stole from his own people,” the agency said on social media. “Secretary Noem ended Temporary Protected Status for more than 500,000 Venezuelans, and now they can go home to a country they love.”

    Many former TPS recipients from Venezuela have pending asylum cases. And if a former TPS recipient had not applied for asylum, they might still have some time. Having TPS status stops the clock on the requirement to file for asylum within a year of arriving to the United States as long as the one-year-clock has not expired.

    But the Trump administration has made it harder for immigrants to apply for asylum, even asking immigration judges to close people’s cases in court and then arresting them after their hearing.

    “She made [the remarks] in the narrowest possible way. Anyone can apply for anything but there are no plans to grant them asylum,” said David Bier, director of Immigration Studies at the Cato Institute.

    The administration stripped over 600,000 Venezuelans of protections and work permits under Temporary Protected Status. What happens to them now?

    For now, nothing changes.

    The Trump administration stripped hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans from their immigration relief under TPS, which is granted to people already in the United States who came from countries in turmoil. The administration said that conditions like healthcare and crime had improved in Venezuela, making it possible for Venezuelans to return home. But they noted that regardless of conditions, Venezuela’s TPS designation was not in the best interest of the United States.

    For many former TPS holders, their only remaining pathway to stay in the United States is seeking asylum. But some experts think that it will be harder now for Venezuelan immigrants to claim asylum based on a claim of political persecution.

    “They have no status and the administration will argue that now that Maduro is gone, their persecution claims are invalid,” Bier said.

    What will happen to U.S. deportation flights to Venezuela?

    Between February and November 2025, the U.S. conducted 73 deportation flights to Venezuela, sending back 13,656 of its nationals, according to Human Rights First, which tracks removal flights.

    But the United States unilaterally suspended deportation flights to the South American country in mid-December, according to Venezuela’s government. That could soon change as part of any negotiations between Washington and Caracas.

    “Expect an increase in deportation flights to Venezuela as a condition that the U.S. will require Delcy Rodriguez to meet,” said Jason Marczak, vice president and senior director of the Atlantic Council, in reference to Maduro’s vice president, who the Venezuelan Supreme Court ordered to be interim president. “These regular deportation flights have been one of the few points of cooperation with Venezuela over the course of the last year.”

    The U.S. used the Alien Enemies Act last year to deport to El Salvador hundreds of Venezuelans accused of being gang members. Could the administration try to invoke the act again?

    In March 2025 Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act against alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, saying they were trying to invade the United States. He sent about 250 Venezuelans to CECOT, a notorious prison in El Salvador. Public records later showed most of the men deported did not have criminal records in the U.S. and they were later sent back to Venezuela.

    The Washington Post has reported that Stephen Miller, White House senior advisor to Trump, has said that “a strong reaction from Caracas could provide the pretext to invoke the Alien Enemies Act to quickly deport hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants from the United States.”

    However, to invoke the Alien Enemies Act the United States would have to declare war against Venezuela. After the U.S. attack on Caracas, Trump and other officials have emphasized that no further military operations are planned. However, Trump did say the United States is “ready to stage a second and much larger attack.” although he mentioned it won’t likely be needed. And Congress has not voted on or approved a declaration of war.

    “They could try to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, but they are simultaneously arguing that we aren’t at war with Venezuela, so legally and politically, it wouldn’t make sense,” Bier said.

    This story was originally published January 4, 2026 at 5:10 PM.

    Syra Ortiz Blanes

    el Nuevo Herald

    Syra Ortiz Blanes covers immigration for the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald. Previously, she was the Puerto Rico and Spanish Caribbean reporter for the Heralds through Report for America.

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    Syra Ortiz Blanes

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  • Russia, China and Iran condemn U.S. action in Venezuela

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    Russia, China and Iran have all publicly condemned the U.S. action in Venezuela. CBS News producer Leigh Kiniry has the latest.

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