Overview
- U.S. officials published a photo showing Nicolás Maduro blindfolded aboard the USS Iwo Jima, presenting it as evidence he is in U.S. custody after a special-operations raid.
- The Justice Department, via Attorney Pamela Bondi, said Maduro and his wife will be brought to face federal charges tied to narcotics‑terrorism conspiracy, with filings in New York.
- Venezuela denounced the strikes as unlawful aggression, declared a national emergency, and reported hits in Caracas, Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira as Vice President Delcy Rodríguez demanded proof that Maduro is alive.
- President Donald Trump described watching parts of the arrest live and signaled deliberations over Venezuela’s political next steps, while Senator Mike Lee relayed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio sees no further U.S. strikes planned.
- International responses ranged from condemnations and calls for restraint to comparisons with the 1989 Panama intervention, as Colombia announced troop deployments to its border with Venezuela.