Maduro Appears in New York Court as UN Security Council Hears Broad Criticism of U.S. Operation

Overview

• U.S. prosecutors charged Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores with narcoterrorism and related offenses, and Maduro made his first appearance before Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in New York.
• Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal named Delcy Rodríguez interim president and the armed forces recognized her, while she called for dialogue with Washington as the U.S. signals it will steer a transition and expand access to Venezuela’s oil.
• The UN Security Council convened an emergency session where countries including Brazil, China, Russia, Mexico and others criticized the intervention, Venezuela demanded Maduro’s release, and the U.S. defended the raid as a justified law‑enforcement action.
• Casualty figures from the operation remain disputed, with a Venezuelan medical group citing about 70 dead and 90 injured, a military source reporting at least 15 fatalities, Cuba saying 32 Cubans were killed, and the U.S. reporting no American deaths.
• Caracas ordered the arrest of those involved in the capture as street reactions and diaspora demonstrations split between celebration and condemnation, and regional authorities tightened monitoring at borders such as Brazil’s Roraima crossing.