Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro has been captured and is facing trial in New York after he and his wife were seized in an extraordinary US operation on Saturday.
At least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were seen in the capital, Caracas, and rising smoke was spotted in numerous regions at approximately 2am during the “large-scale” attack on Saturday.
Hours after the attack was launched, US president Donald Trump confirmed Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been captured and flown out of Caracas. They were then indicted on several charges, including "narco-terrorism".
The overnight raid, which has shocked the international community, came after months of growing tensions between Maduro’s government and Donald Trump’s administration.
Trump said hours after the raid that the US was going to run Venezuela and seize control of its oil infrastructure, but when asked who was running the country on Sunday, US secretary of state Marco Rubio did not give a clear answer.
So who is in charge of Venezuela and what is next for the country?
How did the attack unfold?
More than 150 aircraft, including fighter jets, helicopters and bombers, were involved in the attack on Caracas after Trump gave the order Friday night.
At least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were seen in the capital, Caracas, and rising smoke was spotted in numerous regions at approximately 2am during the “large-scale” attack on Saturday.
Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were transported by sea and air to New York on Saturday evening, where they are set to face criminal charges.
Mr Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on "narco-terrorism" conspiracy charges, but the US justice department released a new indictment on Saturday of Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, accusing them of a role in narco-terrorism conspiracy.
The ousted Venezuelan leader will be held at Brooklyn’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Center ahead of his first court appearance, which could be as early as Monday.
Who is in charge of Venezuela?
Questions have been raised about the immediate future of Venezuela, with President Trump insisting the US would seize control of the country and its oil infrastructure.
"We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Mr Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference where he boasted that this "extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives".
He claimed the American presence was already in place, though there were no immediate signs that the US was running the country.
Venezuela's Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez is now the interim president after being sworn in by the nation's Supreme Court.
Trump said Rodriguez has said she is "willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” but on Saturday, she demanded Maduro's release, saying he was the "only president".
When asked about who was running Venezuela, Rubio deflected questions on Sunday.
“People keep fixating on that,” he said. “Here's the bottom line on it... we expect to see changes in Venezuela, changes of all kinds long term, short term.”
Asked why the US wouldn't work with opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, Rubio said the government was focused on "dealing with the immediate reality".
He said: “Unfortunately, the vast majority of the opposition is no longer present inside of Venezuela.”
What’s next for Venezuela?
US officials have said the US is “not at war with Venezuela” and that it is not planning any further military action, though Trump said "we're not afraid of boots on the ground".
There is also the question of natural resources. Venezuela is rich in oil and rare earth minerals, which serve as extremely valuable commodities. The South American country has $1.36 trillion worth of mineral wealth, according to Maduro.
On Saturday, Trump said: “We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country.”
On Sunday, Rubio denied that the US wanted Venezuela’s oil.
“We have plenty of oil in the United States,” he said. “What we're not going to allow is for the oil industry in Venezuela to be controlled by adversaries of the United States.”
What’s next for Maduro?
Maduro has arrived in New York and was shown arriving at a detention facility where he will await his first court appearance on US criminal charges.
In a video shared on Saturday night by the White House, Maduro wished an onlooker “Happy New Year” as he walked down a hallway in handcuffs and a black hoodie.
It is believed he could be in court as early as Monday.
He and his wife have been charged with conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the US.
"They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts," US attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X.
Over the past few months, Trump has accused Maduro of being a top-level member of a drug cartel, “Cartel de los Soles”, which he claims is trafficking drugs into the US.
Maduro has denied the allegations and Trump has not shared evidence of Maduro’s involvement, but has used these allegations to justify his lethal military operations against Venezuelan ships.
How has the world reacted?
In the hours after Maduro’s capture, some people took to the streets to protest the US operation, while others celebrated it.
At a protest in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, Mayor Carmen Melïndez joined a crowd demanding Maduro's return.
"Maduro, hold on, the people are rising up!" the crowd chanted. "We are here, Nicolas Maduro. If you can hear us, we are here!"
Venezuela's allies have rushed to condemn the US military action. In a statement, Russia's foreign ministry criticised what it called "an act of armed aggression" and said Caracas "must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive, let alone military, outside intervention".
Iran's foreign ministry also condemned the strikes, saying the action was "a blatant violation of its national sovereignty and territorial integrity."
In Venezuela on Sunday, people were anxiously discussing what would come next and some were stocking up on food and medicines, though streets were quieter than usual.
Elsewhere, cars were moving, bakeries and coffee shops were open, and some people were out jogging and cycling as if it was a normal weekend.
In Doral, Florida, home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States, people wrapped themselves in Venezuelan flags, ate fried snacks and cheered as music played. At one point, the crowd chanted "Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!”
Similar scenes were seen in other countries including Colombia and Argentina.
