A plane carrying captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, arrived Saturday evening at Stewart Air National Guard Base. Maduro is expected to face drug and weapons charges in Manhattan federal court next week.

Speaking in an interview with the New York Times on Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. would wait to pass judgment on Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, who earlier sharply condemned the U.S. operation that captured Maduro. Rubio said U.S. decisions would be based on officials’ actions in the coming days and weeks, adding that he believes they face a “unique and historic opportunity” to serve the country if they choose to do so.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Saturday that he spoke directly with Trump to register his opposition to the U.S. strikes in Venezuela.

Speaking at a news conference in Brooklyn on Saturday, Mamdani said he told Trump he opposed what he called "the pursuit of regime change."

"The president and I have always been honest and direct with each other about places of disagreement," Mamdani said. "I was honest and direct in the Oval Office, I will be honest and direct in the phone conversations we have, and New Yorkers have elected me to be honest and direct."

French President Emmanuel Macron said Venezuelans “can only rejoice” at the end of what he called Maduro’s dictatorship, and urged a peaceful, democratic transition that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer likewise said Britain “shed[s] no tears” over Maduro’s fall.

Demonstrators gathered outside U.S. embassies and government buildings Saturday to denounce the U.S. operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Photos show protesters marching and chanting in places including Washington, Athens and Mexico City, where crowds confronted police and targeted the U.S. Embassy with red handprints.

Venezuelans gathered in celebration across Florida, Latin America, and Europe after Trump announced that Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. Photos show crowds waving flags, cheering in the streets, and embracing outside landmarks from Mar-a-Lago to Miami and Madrid.

China’s embassy in Washington said Beijing is “deeply shocked” by the U.S. operation in Venezuela, condemning what it called a violation of international law and Venezuelan sovereignty. China urged the U.S. to abide by the U.N. Charter and warned the action threatens regional stability.

In posts on social media, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said the Trump administration’s plan to “run” Venezuela betrays its own "America First" message, arguing it prioritizes foreign intervention over urgent domestic issues.

"We are 'running' Venezuela now," Greene wrote on X, followed by a facepalm emoji. Greene, who plans to leave Congress this week, recently had a high‑profile falling out with Trump, driven in part by clashes over the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related records.

Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, sharply condemned the U.S. in a nationally televised address, calling the operation that captured Maduro an act of “military aggression” aimed at regime change. Flanked by senior military officials and top government leaders, Rodríguez insisted Maduro remains Venezuela’s only legitimate president and demanded his immediate return, rejecting Trump's claims that Washington could work with her to oversee the country’s transition.

“There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros,” Rodríguez said.

Newly sworn-in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was briefed on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, who are expected to be held in federal custody in New York.

Mamdani called the operation an "act of war" and a "violation of federal and international law," warning that the pursuit of "regime change" could have direct consequences for New Yorkers.

Russia denounced the U.S. military operation in Venezuela as “armed aggression,” backing the country’s leadership and calling for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to address the intervention.

“The pretexts used to justify such actions are untenable. Ideological hostility has triumphed over businesslike pragmatism," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement

Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, condemned the U.S. operation against Venezuela, saying the bombings and capture of Maduro violated the country’s sovereignty and risked destabilizing the region. “The bombings and the capture of President [Maduro] cross an unacceptable line," Lula, a frequent Trump critic, wrote on social media.

Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez told the Wall Street Journal that Rubio called him at 4:27 a.m. to confirm Maduro had been captured, telling him simply, “We got him.”

"I knew who he was talking about," Gimenez, a House Armed Services Committee member, said to the Journal.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado released a letter to the nation after Maduro and his wife were captured in a U.S. operation, declaring that “the time for freedom has come.”

Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025, urged citizens to remain organized and vigilant as a democratic transition begins. She called on Venezuelans at home and abroad to mobilize in support of a new government, writing, “Venezuela will be free.”

Machado added: "Nicolás Maduro from today will face international justice for the atrocious crimes committed against Venezuelans and against citizens of many other nations. Given his refusal to accept a negotiated solution, the United States government has fulfilled its promise to enforce the law.

The time has come for popular sovereignty and national sovereignty to prevail in our country. We are going to restore order, release the political prisoners, build an exceptional country, and bring our children back home.

We have fought for years, we have given it our all, and it has been worth it. What was meant to happen is happening."

Read the full letter here.

Asked directly whether U.S. troops could be deployed in Venezuela, Trump said he is “not afraid of boots on the ground,” noting American forces were involved “at a very high level” during the operation and adding the U.S. will maintain a presence tied to the country’s oil sector to ensure it is “run properly.”

President Trump said Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, has been sworn in as the country’s interim leader and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is now in contact with her. Rodríguez earlier Saturday condemned the U.S. operation and Nicolás Maduro’s capture.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Nicolás Maduro is “not the legitimate president of Venezuela” and described him as a “fugitive of American justice,” adding that Maduro “had multiple opportunities to avoid this.”

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. operation to extract Nicolás Maduro lasted about two hours and 20 minutes, involved roughly 150 aircraft, and included U.S. warplanes disabling Venezuelan air defenses so helicopters could enter Caracas. Caine said one aircraft was hit but remained flyable, another helicopter team came under fire during the extraction, and the mission, code-named "Absolute Resolve," was carried out at the Justice Department’s request.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation reflects Trump’s “deadly serious” commitment to reclaiming "stolen" oil.

"President Trump is deadly serious about stopping the flow of gangs and violence into our country, deadly serious about stopping the flow of drugs and poison to our people, deadly serious about getting back the oil that was stolen from us, and deadly serious about re-establishing American deterrence and dominance in the Western Hemisphere," Hegseth said.

Trump said his administration has “superseded” the Monroe Doctrine, the 1823 U.S. policy that warned European powers against intervening or colonizing in the Western Hemisphere.

"The Monroe Doctrine ... we’ve superseded it by a lot," Trump claimed. "They now call it the 'Donroe [Doctrine]' ... American supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."