The U.S. carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela early Saturday, capturing President Nicolás Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores. “Maduro and his wife will face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.” Attorney General Pam Boni expounds on X:

Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been formally charged in the Southern District of New York. Nicolás Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States.

The U.S. attack lasted less than 30 minutes and included low-flying aircraft sweeping through several parts of Caracas. It follows U.S. President Donald Trump on Day 1 of his second term declaring Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua a Foreign Terrorist Organization; followed by the deployment of three guided-missile destroyers to the waters off Venezuela in August; resulting in a blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers thereafter; and accompanied by U.S. strikes on 35 alleged drug trafficking boats killing 115 alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean Sea along the way.

By law, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez should assume the seat of power over Venezuela. However, Trump said in a press conference on Saturday that “the U.S. plans to run Venezuela until a transition of power can take place. We’re going to make sure the country is run properly. The U.S. will fix the oil infrastructure in Venezuela, and we’re going to get the oil flowing.”

When asked who, precisely, would be running the country until that transition of power could take place Trump stated: "We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition." He also said Secretary of State Marco Rubio made contact with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, and claimed when being sworn in as president she said:” "We’ll do whatever you need." Rubio added, “She was gracious but really doesn’t have a choice.”

However, in a televised address on Venezuelan state TV, Rodríguez denounced the U.S. actions as an "illegal and illegitimate kidnapping" and a "brutal attack" on Venezuela's sovereignty. She repeatedly insisted "Nicolás Maduro remains the only president of Venezuela,” and demanded his immediate release.

"We’ve entered the 250th year of American democracy and cannot allow it to devolve into the tyranny that our founders fought to escape,” Sen. Tim Kaine says, who will force a vote next week to block further military action against Venezuela without congressional approval. While the President of the United States doesn’t need the approval of the U.S. Congress to declare a war, the President does needs Congress to fund a war. The Constitution grants Congress the "power of the purse" in Article I, Section 8: Only Congress can raise, support, and fund the Army and Navy. While Presidents often initiate military actions without a formal declaration, they rely on congressional appropriations to sustain long-term operations.

Moreover, the War Powers Resolution of 1973 requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to action, and limits operations to 60 days without specific authorization or funding from Congress, leaving Trump with 2 months to get the public on side.

Since the late President Hugo Chávez took power in 1999, the Venezuelan government has been conspiring with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to smuggle cocaine into the United States.

Maduro ultimately lead the "Cartel of the Suns:" a Venezuelan drug-trafficking organization named after the insignias worn by high-ranking Venezuelan military officers. As he gained power in Venezuela, Maduro conspired with FARC by single-handedly negotiating multi-ton shipments of FARC-produced cocaine. Specifically, he directed the Cartel of the Suns to provide military-grade weapons to FARC; coordinated with narcotics traffickers in Honduras and other countries to facilitate large-scale drug trafficking; and engaged FARC leadership to train an armed forces unit for the Cartel of the Suns.

Most of the U.S.-bound cocaine is transported on go-fast boats, fishing vessels, and even makeshift submarines across the Pacific Ocean that originate primarily from Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama. After reaching staging areas in Central America and Mexico, the cocaine is moved over land to the U.S.-Mexico border, often concealed within legitimate cargo in trucks and cars. The U.S. government estimates that 200-250 metric tons of cocaine, roughly 10-13% of the global supply, are trafficked through Venezuela annually. Most is destined for Europe.

Venezuelans are reacting to Maduro’s capture with shock, concern and celebration but local merchant Juan Carlos Rincon has taken the balanced view: “Venezuelans are in God's hands now because many on the streets of Caracas are uncertain of their country's future.”

World leaders largely express concern about the U.S. capture of Maduro. Colombia, with whom Venezuela shares a border, has called for “urgent deescalation.” Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva calls the U.S. actions a "serious affront to Venezuela's sovereignty.” Iran, Russia and China have condemned the attacks and called for Venezuela to "be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive, let alone military, interference from outside." Finally, the Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres warns of worrying implications for the region. “These developments constitute a dangerous precedent.”

After capturing Maduro, Trump hints at military action in Cuba, Mexico and Colombia. “You’re making cocaine. You’re sending it into the United States. You’ll have to watch your ass," Trump says, but further on it’s the Americans themselves who’ll need to take stock.

Venezuela possesses the largest proven oil reserves on the planet, estimated at over 300 billion barrels, and nationalized its oil industry in 1976 often under-compensating foreign firms. Trump wants that revenue back. The Monroe Doctrine, a 19th-century policy asserting U.S. primacy in the Western Hemisphere, is expressly invoked by the White house as a plan to “recalibrate global military commitments to focus on urgent threats closer to home.”

The strategy seeks to deny external powers, specifically China and Iran, access to strategic resources in the region. The approach echoes the “Open Door Policy” of the early 20th century that sought to secure markets for American enterprise, and backed when necessary by military force.

Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado has reportedly discussed opening Venezuelan markets to U.S. companies, accommodating US expansionism in the region and signaling a shift toward direct interventionism in Latin America not seen in decades.

As Washington moves to install a transition government, the focus will likely turn to the restructuring of Venezuela’s oil industry and the renegotiation of its international alliances. That deal will depend entirely upon Trump’s ability to stabilize the country; manage allies who’ve heavily invested in the now deposed regime; convince the U.S. Congress to open their purse for greater control of the Western Hemisphere, and bring the public on side to the founder’s grand strategy of isolationism.