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President Donald Trump said today that the United States will temporarily assume control of Venezuela after U.S. forces carried out a sweeping military operation that bombed sites across the country and captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, flying them to the United States to face criminal charges.

Speaking at a press conference in Florida, Trump said Washington would oversee Venezuela during a transition period, arguing that immediate control was necessary to prevent another disastrous outcome.

“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition” to new leadership, Trump said, adding that officials would be appointed to manage the process, though he did not specify who they would be.

Trump said the U.S. could not risk allowing a successor to emerge who would perpetuate the same conditions that existed under Maduro.

“We can’t take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesn’t have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind,” Trump said.

The president warned that additional military action remained an option if conditions on the ground required it.

“We are ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so. So we were prepared to do a second wave if we need to do so,” he said.

Asked whether U.S. control of Venezuela could involve American troops on the ground, Trump was blunt.

“We’re not afraid of boots on the ground,” he said, adding, “We don’t mind saying it, but we’re going to make sure that that country is run properly. We’re not doing this in vain.”

Trump confirmed that Maduro and his wife were headed to New York, where the Venezuelan leader has been indicted. Maduro arrived in New York this afternoon and could appear in court as early as Monday.

Trump said Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez “was sworn in as president just a little while ago” and had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in what he described as a “gracious” conversation. Hours later, however, Rodriguez appeared on state television demanding Maduro’s release.

“We demand the immediate liberation of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores,” she said, calling Maduro “the only president of Venezuela.”

The remarks were delivered at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, where he was joined by senior advisers including Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

U.S. officials said the operation had been in preparation for months and unfolded over several hours. The administration described it as part of a broader campaign to halt narcotics flowing into the United States, coming just weeks before the first anniversary of Trump’s second inauguration.

Two U.S. officials familiar with the planning told NBC News today that Trump approved the military and law enforcement actions more than a week ago.

Caine said military forces waited days for favorable weather conditions before executing the mission.

“Weather in Venezuela is always a factor this time of the year, and over the weeks through Christmas and New Year’s, the men and women of the United States military sat ready, patiently waiting for the right triggers to be met and the president to order us into action,” Caine told reporters.

“Last night, the weather broke just enough, clearing a path that only the most skilled aviators in the world could maneuver through,” he added.

Caine said Trump gave the final order at 10:46 p.m. ET Friday night. U.S. forces reached Maduro’s compound by 1:01 a.m. ET today and were back over open water with Maduro and his wife by 3:29 a.m.

Trump said he watched the mission live from Mar-a-Lago and described Maduro’s attempt to reach a reinforced safe room as U.S. forces closed in.

“He was trying to get to a safe place, which wasn’t safe, because we would have had the door blown up in about 47 — I think, 47 seconds,” Trump said. “It was a very thick door, a very heavy door, but he was unable to get to that door. He made it to the door. He was unable to close it.”

Caine said multiple types of aircraft and remotely piloted drones were used to protect helicopters and personnel during the operation. He said U.S. helicopters came under fire and American forces “replied to that fire with overwhelming force in self-defense.”

One U.S. aircraft was damaged but remained airworthy, Caine said. Later today, one U.S. official and one White House official told NBC News that several American troops were injured during the operation, all of whom are in stable condition.

Vice President JD Vance participated in the planning, according to a spokesperson.

“The vice president joined several late night meetings via secure video conference with National Security principals leading up to the operation,” the spokesperson said.

The strike marked the climax of months of escalating rhetoric and pressure from Trump and his administration toward Maduro. Conducted without congressional authorization, the operation immediately sparked sharp reactions on Capitol Hill. Trump said U.S. oil companies were ready to move into Venezuela.

“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,” he said.

Trump argued that managing Venezuela would not cost the U.S. taxpayer.

“It won’t cost us anything, because the money coming out of the ground is very substantial,” he said.

He later added, “We’re going to be taking out a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground, and that wealth is going to the people of Venezuela and people from outside of Venezuela that used to be in Venezuela, and it goes also to the United States of America in the form of reimbursement for the damages caused us by that country.”

Rodriguez accused Washington of pursuing regime change solely to seize Venezuela’s resources.

The U.S. “only had one objective: regime change in Venezuela. And that this regime change allows them to capture our energy resources, mineral resources and natural resources,” she said.

Minutes before Trump addressed reporters, he posted on Truth Social an image appearing to show Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima wearing a blindfold and holding a bottle of water, along with a video of U.S. strikes set to “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X that Maduro would “face the full wrath” of the American justice system.

An indictment unsealed today charges Maduro with narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

Prosecutors allege in the indictment that Maduro “is at the forefront of that corruption and has partnered with his co-conspirators to use his illegally obtained authority and the institutions he corroded to transport thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States.”

They further allege that Maduro and other officials sold passports, provided protection and facilitated the movement of massive quantities of illegal drugs through Venezuelan ports, including shipments linked to Mexican drug cartels.

Trump said he reviewed the evidence underlying the charges and blamed Maduro for crime and drug trafficking affecting the United States.

“I’ve seen what we have. It’s both horrible and breathtaking that something like this could have been allowed to take place for many years after his term as president of Venezuela expired,” Trump said. “Maduro remained in power and waged a ceaseless campaign of violence, terror and subversion against the United States of America, threatening not only our people, but the stability of the entire region.”

Maduro was first indicted in 2020 during Trump’s first administration. He rose to power in 2013 and was sworn into a third term one year ago, despite evidence he did not win the previous election.

At the United Nations, spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said today that Secretary-General António Guterres was “deeply alarmed by the recent escalation in Venezuela” and warned the U.S. action carried “potential worrying implications for the region.”

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, praised the operation, writing, “Venezuelans, the hour of freedom has arrived.”

In the United States, Trump’s supporters hailed the strike as a blow against drug trafficking and lawlessness, while Democratic leaders accused the president of bypassing Congress and questioned whether the action aligned with an “America First” agenda.

Trump has repeatedly suggested intervention in Venezuela in recent months. Last month, he told NBC News, “I don’t rule it out,” when asked about war with the country.

Days earlier, he announced a blockade of “sanctioned” oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. Last month, the U.S. seized two oil tankers off Venezuela’s coast, and U.S. forces continued strikes on vessels accused of carrying drugs in the Caribbean.

One day before his capture, Maduro said on state television that he was open to cooperation with the U.S. on narcotics enforcement.

“The U.S. government knows, because we’ve told many of their spokespeople, that if they want to seriously discuss an agreement to combat drug trafficking, we’re ready,” Maduro said.

Today, Democratic lawmakers criticized the administration for acting without congressional approval.

“Maduro is an illegitimate ruler, but I have seen no evidence that his presidency poses a threat that would justify military action without Congressional authorization,” Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut said.

Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey added, “Trump rejected our Constitutionally required approval process for armed conflict because the Administration knows the American people overwhelmingly reject risks pulling our nation into another war.”

Trump dismissed the criticism during a phone interview with Fox News, calling Democrats “weak, stupid people.”

“As far as last night is concerned, it was really genius. What they did is genius, and the Democrats, maybe they’ll take a shot, you know? They’ll take a shot. All they do is complain,” he said. “They should say, ‘You know what, we did a great job.’ … They do say, ‘Oh, gee, maybe it’s not constitutional.’ You know, the same old stuff that we’ve been hearing for years and years and years.”

Rubio defended the lack of advance notice to lawmakers.

“This is not the kind of mission that you do congressional notification,” he said. “On a trigger-based mission in which conditions had to be met night after night, we watch them monitor that for a number of days. So it’s just simply not the kind of mission you can call people and say, ‘Hey, we may do this at some point in the next 15 days.’”

Trump said lawmakers were not notified in advance because “Congress has a tendency to leak.”

Two U.S. officials told NBC News that details of the operation were so tightly held that even the Pentagon was not informed of its precise timing until late last night.

House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the action, writing on X, “Today’s military action in Venezuela was a decisive and justified operation that will protect American lives.”

Sources told NBC News that top lawmakers on the House and Senate intelligence committees were briefed after the operation was already underway, including both Republican chairs and Democratic ranking members.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said today that he spoke with Rubio and expects additional briefings next week.

“I spoke to Secretary Rubio early this morning, and I look forward to receiving further briefings from the administration on this operation as part of its comprehensive counternarcotics strategy when the Senate returns to Washington next week,” Thune said.

In November, a bipartisan Senate effort to require congressional approval for future military action in Venezuela fell short of passage. The push followed the administration’s release of declassified footage showing U.S. strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats.

In October, Trump said those strikes were part of his fight against cartels and suggested he did not need a declaration of war.

“Well, I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war. I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. OK, we’re gonna kill them. You know, they’re gonna be like, dead,” he said at the time.

Trump repeated those claims today, saying, “The Maduro regime emptied out their prisons, sent their worst and most violent monsters into the United States to steal American lives, and they came from mental institutions and insane asylums. They came from prisons and jails.”

A source familiar with intelligence operations said today that a small CIA team had been operating inside Venezuela since August, providing “extraordinary insight” into Maduro’s movements and making his capture “seamless.”

Near the end of his remarks, Trump compared Venezuela’s situation to Cuba.

“Cuba is an interesting case. Cuba is, you know, not doing very well right now. That system has not been a very good one for Cuba. The people there have suffered for many, many years,” he said.

“I think Cuba is going to be something we’ll end up talking about, because Cuba is a failing nation right now, a very badly failing nation, and we want to help the people. It’s very similar in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba.”

Rubio added, “If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I’d be concerned.”

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel condemned the U.S. action in a post on X.

His government “urgently demands the reaction of the international community against the criminal attack by the U.S. on #Venezuela. Our #ZonaDePaz [Zone of Peace] is being brutally assaulted. State terrorism against the brave Venezuelan people and against Our America. Homeland or Death We Shall Overcome!”

{Matzav.com}

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Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have brought a wide-ranging indictment accusing Nicolás Maduro, his wife, his son, senior government officials, and the leader of Tren de Aragua of orchestrating an international narco-terrorism enterprise, with all defendants slated to face trial in New York.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were flown to New York and arrived at approximately 4:45 p.m. today after being removed from Caracas aboard the USS Iwo Jima shortly after 2:01 a.m. local time today, following a U.S. military operation that stormed his compound.

According to the indictment filed in the Southern District of New York, Maduro presided over a “corrupt, illegitimate government” that “leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking.”

“In sum, Maduro Moros and his co-conspirators have, for decades, partnered with some of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world, and relied on corrupt officials throughout the region, to distribute tons of cocaine to the United States,” the charging document states.

Prosecutors allege that the drug-trafficking operations were coordinated with major criminal and terrorist organizations, including Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), the Sinaloa Cartel, the Zetas, and Tren de Aragua.

The indictment also names Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, known as Nino Guerrero, identified as the leader of Tren de Aragua, as a co-defendant alongside the Venezuelan leader.

Maduro, Flores, and Guerrero Flores are charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machineguns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices against the United States.

“They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X.

While many of the allegations mirror charges first filed in the Southern District of New York in 2020, the new case expands the scope to include Maduro’s wife and son.

Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra, the president’s son—commonly referred to as “The Prince”—is accused alongside his parents of participating in the trafficking of thousands of tons of cocaine.

Court documents show that Maduro Guerra is charged with conspiracy to import cocaine and conspiracy to possess machineguns.

After Maduro took power in 2013, his son was appointed to a custom-created role titled “Head of the Corps of Special Inspectors of the Presidency,” a position prosecutors say he used to help organize large-scale drug-trafficking operations.

The Department of Justice alleges that Maduro Guerra worked with narcotics traffickers and narco-terrorist organizations to send cocaine shipments into the United States, contributing to an estimated 300,000 deaths annually, according to President Trump.

Prosecutors further claim that between 2014 and 2015, Maduro Guerra traveled twice a month to Margarita Island, using a state-owned aircraft allegedly loaded with drugs that were transported back to mainland Venezuela.

In 2017, the indictment alleges, Maduro Guerra arranged for hundreds of pounds of cocaine to be shipped from Venezuela to Miami, Florida, concealed in shipping containers.

While in Florida, he allegedly discussed plans with trafficking partners to send lower-quality cocaine to New York, according to the charging document.

The indictment also claims that in 2020, Maduro Guerra traveled to Medellin, Colombia, to plan drug-trafficking routes and operations projected to span the next six years, moving narcotics through Central America and into the United States.

Two former Venezuelan ministers of interior, justice, and peace—Diosdado Cabello Rondon and Ramon Rodriguez Chachin—were also charged and accused of personally profiting from the alleged drug-trafficking network.

Prosecutors say corrupt officials within the Maduro government enabled coordination with narco-terrorist groups, facilitating the shipment of cargo containers filled with cocaine—sometimes containing as much as 20 tons each—through Mexican ports and onward to the United States.

Rondon and Chachin face charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machineguns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices.

{Matzav.com}

Republican lawmakers lined up today in strong support of President Donald Trump after U.S. forces struck Venezuela and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro, praising the administration’s actions as decisive and overdue.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida, whose district includes a large Venezuelan expatriate community and who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, said he spoke directly with Secretary of State Marco Rubio following the operation.

“President Trump has changed the course of history in our hemisphere. Our country & the world are safer for it. Today’s decisive action is this hemisphere’s equivalent to the Fall of the Berlin Wall,” Gimenez wrote on X.

Rubio also briefed other members of Congress after the mission, according to multiple Republican lawmakers.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said he discussed the matter with Rubio and expects additional briefings once lawmakers return to Washington from a two-week recess that ends Monday.

“President Trump’s decisive action to disrupt the unacceptable status quo and apprehend Maduro, through the execution of a valid Department of Justice warrant, is an important first step to bring him to justice for the drug crimes for which he has been indicted in the United States. I am grateful for the brave men and women of our armed forces who carried out this necessary action,” Thune said.

“I spoke to Secretary Rubio early this morning, and I look forward to receiving further briefings from the administration on this operation as part of its comprehensive counternarcotics strategy when the Senate returns to Washington next week.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said the administration is arranging classified briefings for lawmakers once Congress reconvenes.

“Today’s military action in Venezuela was a decisive and justified operation that will protect American lives,” Johnson said. “President Trump is putting American lives first, succeeding where others have failed, and under his leadership the United States will no longer allow criminal regimes to profit from wreaking havoc and destruction on our country.”

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Rubio confirmed to him that Maduro is now in custody and will be prosecuted.

“The interim government in Venezuela must now decide whether to continue the drug trafficking and colluding with adversaries like Iran and Cuba or whether to act like a normal nation and return to the civilized world. I urge them to choose wisely,” Cotton said.

Some Republicans who initially raised questions about the legality of the action later indicated they were reassured after additional details were shared.

Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said earlier that he wanted to understand “what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force.”

After speaking with Rubio, Lee said the secretary explained that Maduro had been taken into custody to face criminal charges in the United States and that force was used to safeguard those executing the arrest.

“He informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant,” Lee wrote.

“This action likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack.”

Most Republican statements today expressed unequivocal backing of the administration. That included comments from House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast of Florida and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford of Arkansas.

“The operation carried out last night capturing Nicolás Maduro is another win by President Trump to protect our homeland and clean up the backyard of the United States,” Mast told Fox News Digital.

Crawford said, “This is a historic day in the Western Hemisphere, 36 years after the capture of Manuel Noriega, when the U.S showed we will not allow cartels to take over countries in our shared neighborhood. The arrest of Cartel De Los Soles leader Nicolás Maduro shows this clearly.”

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the third-ranking Republican in the House, also praised the action.

“Maduro worked with our greatest adversaries, supported dangerous cartels, and infiltrated our country with drugs, killing Americans. President Trump took on this threat head-on today and Maduro was indicted in a U.S. court for his actions leading to the death of innocent Americans. God bless our troops and law enforcement who conducted this mission.”

House GOP Leadership Chairwoman Elise Stefanik of New York credited the military and intelligence community for the operation.

“l am grateful for our brave troops, intelligence officers, and law enforcement who ensured a successful military operation in Venezuela leading to the arrest and indictment of the illegitimate narco terrorist Nicolás Maduro.”

The unified Republican response contrasted sharply with Democratic criticism, which largely accused Trump of bypassing Congress and entering an unlawful conflict with Venezuela.

The reaction followed Trump’s announcement on Truth Social that the United States had “successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela” and detained the country’s leader.

Trump said Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of Venezuela. Attorney General Pam Bondi later confirmed that both were indicted in the Southern District of New York, one of the nation’s largest federal prosecutorial jurisdictions.

{Matzav.com}

Democratic lawmakers reacted sharply today after President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces had seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, removed them from Venezuela, and carried out what the White House described as a “large scale” strike inside the country.

Several Democrats argued that the operation violated U.S. law because it was undertaken without authorization from Congress, warning that the move could drag the United States into another foreign conflict.

Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey accused senior administration officials of misleading lawmakers during earlier briefings, directing his criticism at Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

“Secretaries Rubio and Hegseth looked every Senator in the eye a few weeks ago and said this wasn’t about regime change. I didn’t trust them then and we see now that they blatantly lied to Congress,” Kim wrote on X. “Trump rejected our Constitutionally required approval process for armed conflict because the Administration knows the American people overwhelmingly reject risks pulling our nation into another war.

“This strike doesn’t represent strength. It’s not sound foreign policy,” he continued. “It puts Americans at risk in Venezuela and the region, and it sends a horrible and disturbing signal to other powerful leaders across the globe that targeting a head of state is an acceptable policy for the U.S. government.”

Kim later warned that the fallout would further weaken U.S. alliances.

“This will further damage our reputation – already hurt by Trump’s policies around the world — and only isolate us in a time when we need our friends and allies more than ever.”

Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego joined the criticism, calling the operation the “second unjustified war in my life time.”

“This war is illegal, it’s embarrassing that we went from the world cop to the world bully in less than one year,” he wrote online. “There is no reason for us to be at war with Venezuela.”

In a follow-up post, Gallego pointed to his own military service.

“I fought in some of the hardest battles of the Iraq War. Saw my brothers die, saw civilians being caught in the crossfire all for an unjustified war,” the Arizona Democrat continued. “No matter the outcome we are in the wrong for starting this war in Venezuela.”

House Democrats also voiced opposition. Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts tied the strike to domestic policy battles, noting that Affordable Care Act subsidies expired earlier this week amid a record-long government shutdown.

“Without authorization from Congress, and with the vast majority of Americans opposed to military action, Trump just launched an unjustified, illegal strike on Venezuela,” McGovern wrote on X. “He says we don’t have enough money for healthcare for Americans — but somehow we have unlimited funds for war??”

Rep. Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts, who previously commanded Marines in Latin America, said U.S. troops deserve lawful and strategic leadership.

“The president has no authority to strike Venezuela, no strategy for a democratic transition, and no credibility that he won’t just pardon the criminal Maduro like he did the Honduran president,” Auchincloss wrote in a statement. “After voting No in December, Republicans in Congress must now join Democrats to grab hold the steering wheel of Venezuela policy to prevent this capture from spiraling into a blood for oil war.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York argued that the administration’s justification did not hold up, saying the action was driven by oil and regime change rather than narcotics enforcement.

“It’s not about drugs,” she wrote online. “If it was, Trump wouldn’t have pardoned one of the largest narco traffickers in the world last month. It’s about oil and regime change.”

“And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn’t. Especially to distract from Epstein + skyrocketing healthcare costs,” she added.

Sen. Adam Schiff of California issued a blistering statement, acknowledging Maduro’s record while condemning the U.S. response.

“Nicolás Maduro was a thug and an illegitimate leader of Venezuela, terrorizing and oppressing its people for far too long and forcing many to leave the country,” Schiff wrote. “But starting a war to remove Maduro doesn’t just continue Donald Trump’s trampling of the Constitution, it further erodes America’s standing on the world stage and risks our adversaries mirroring this brazen illegal escalation.”

He later added, “Acting without Congressional approval or the buy-in of the public, Trump risks plunging a hemisphere into chaos and has broken his promise to end wars instead of starting them.”

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, described the mission as “unauthorized” and urged lawmakers to reclaim Congress’s role in decisions of war and peace.

Democrats have spent months scrutinizing the administration’s actions in the Caribbean, including stepped-up pressure on Venezuela and strikes against vessels accused of drug trafficking. That scrutiny intensified in December after the White House announced the seizure of an oil tanker.

Trump defended the operation in an interview with The New York Times today, calling it “brilliant” and praising “a lot of good planning” by “a lot of great, great troops and people.”

Vice President Vance dismissed Democratic criticism and argued that Maduro’s legal exposure justified the action.

“PSA for everyone saying this was ‘illegal’: Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism,” he wrote on X. “You don’t get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas.”

Republicans largely backed the president. Sen. Tim Cotton of Arkansas, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said Maduro should be held accountable.

“Maduro wasn’t just an illegitimate dictator; he also ran a vast drug-trafficking operation. That’s why he was indicted in U.S. court nearly six years ago for drug trafficking and narco-terrorism,” Cotton wrote online.

“I commend President Trump and our brave troops and law-enforcement officers for this incredible operation,” he added. “The interim government in Venezuela must now decide whether to continue the drug trafficking and colluding with adversaries like Iran and Cuba or whether to act like a normal nation and return to the civilized world. I urge them to choose wisely.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi detailed the charges against Maduro in a post a few hours after the strike, listing “Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States.”

“They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” she wrote.

Maduro was first indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism charges tied to allegations that he sought to weaponize cocaine by “flooding” U.S. communities with drugs. In August, the Department of Justice increased its reward for information leading to his arrest to $50 million, doubling the amount offered by the Biden administration.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump said today that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife are now en route to New York to face federal charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, after being seized during a U.S. military operation that ended with their transfer by helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima.

Asked about what comes next for Venezuela now that Maduro is no longer in the country, Trump said decisions about the nation’s future leadership are still being made.

“We’re making that decision now.”

“We can’t take a chance of letting somebody else run and just take over where he left off. So we’re making that decision now,” Trump told Fox News today. “We’ll be involved in it very much, and we want to do liberty for the people. We want to, you know, have a great relationship. I think the people of Venezuela are very, very happy because they love the United States. You know, they were run by essentially a dictatorship or worse.”

Trump made the remarks during an exclusive interview with “Fox & Friends Weekend,” where he described the dramatic capture of Maduro inside what he called a heavily fortified residence. According to the president, the Venezuelan leader was overwhelmed by American special forces before he could reach a reinforced safe area.

“He was in a house that was more like a fortress than a house. It had steel doors. It had what they call a safety space, where it’s, you know, solid steel all around. He didn’t get that space closed. He was trying to get into it, but he got bum rushed so fast that he didn’t get into that,” Trump said.

Trump explained that U.S. planners had prepared for the possibility of breaching steel barriers but ultimately did not need to do so.

“We were prepared. We had, you know, massive blowtorches and everything else that you need to get through that steel. But we didn’t need it. He didn’t make it to that area of the house.”

According to Trump, the operation had been delayed several times earlier in the week due to unfavorable weather conditions, despite being ready to launch.

“We waited four days. We were going to do this four days ago, three days ago, two days ago. And then all of a sudden it opened up, and we said, ‘Go,’” the president said, adding that Maduro was inside a “very highly-guarded” location when U.S. forces moved in.

Trump said he monitored the mission in real time from Mar-a-Lago in Florida, where he met with senior military leaders as the operation unfolded.

A U.S. official briefed on the matter told Fox News today that the capture was carried out by the U.S. Army’s Delta Force, with intelligence support from the CIA provided to the Department of War to locate Maduro precisely.

Trump highlighted the level of preparation involved, saying the military rehearsed the raid extensively.

“Everything was pinpoint … everything they practiced. They actually built a house which was identical to the one they went into with all the safes, all the steel all over the place,” Trump told “Fox & Friends Weekend.”

The president said he believes no American service members were killed during the mission, though some sustained injuries.

“A couple of guys were hit, but they came back, and they’re supposed to be in pretty good shape.”

Trump also defended the broader U.S. campaign against the Maduro regime, arguing that the military action is aimed at curbing narcotics trafficking.

Trump said the operations are “saving lives because the drug trafficking is so bad. It’s gotten so out of control.”

{Matzav.com}

Scientists are warning that a dangerous, drug-resistant fungus already entrenched in U.S. hospitals is becoming more formidable across the globe, even as new research points to possible breakthroughs in treatment.

Candida auris, commonly referred to as C. auris, has expanded rapidly worldwide and is increasingly able to evade both antifungal drugs and the human immune system, according to a comprehensive scientific review released in early December by researchers at the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation.

The review echoes earlier alerts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has classified C. auris as an “urgent antimicrobial threat.” It is the first fungal pathogen to receive that designation, a reflection of the sharp rise in U.S. cases, particularly within hospitals and long-term care facilities.

CDC data indicate that roughly 7,000 cases were detected across dozens of states in 2025, and the pathogen has now been identified in at least 60 countries worldwide.

The analysis, published in the journal Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, outlines why the fungus has proven so difficult to control, citing outdated diagnostic tools and a limited arsenal of effective treatments. The review was authored by Dr. Neeraj Chauhan of Hackensack Meridian CDI in New Jersey, Dr. Anuradha Chowdhary of the University of Delhi’s Medical Mycology Unit, and Dr. Michail Lionakis, head of the clinical mycology program at the National Institutes of Health.

The researchers emphasized the urgency of expanding therapeutic options and improving detection.

Their work highlights the need to create “novel antifungal agents with broad-spectrum activity against human fungal pathogens, to improve diagnostic tests, and to develop immune- and vaccine-based adjunct modalities for the treatment of high-risk patients,” they said in a statement.

“In addition, future efforts should focus on raising awareness about fungal disease through developing better surveillance mechanisms, especially in resource-poor countries,” they added. “All these developments should help improve the outcomes and prognosis of patients afflicted by opportunistic fungal infections.”

First discovered in 2009 after being isolated from an ear sample in Japan, C. auris has since spread to numerous regions, including the United States. In some cases, outbreaks have been severe enough to force the closure of hospital intensive care units, the researchers noted.

The fungus is particularly dangerous for patients who are already critically ill, including those on ventilators or with compromised immune systems. Some estimates suggest that about half of infected patients may die.

Unlike many fungal organisms, C. auris can persist on human skin and survive for long periods on hospital surfaces and medical equipment, making it especially difficult to eliminate in healthcare environments.

“It is resistant to multiple antifungal drugs, and it tends to spread in hospital settings, including on equipment being used on immunocompromised and semi-immunocompromised patients, such as ventilators and catheters,” Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst and a clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone, previously told Fox News Digital.

Misidentification is another major challenge, as C. auris is often confused with other infections, slowing treatment and containment efforts.

“Unfortunately, symptoms such as fever, chills and aches may be ubiquitous, and it can be mistaken for other infections,” Siegel said.

In September, Siegel noted that intensive research efforts were underway to find new ways to combat the fungus.

Currently, only four main classes of antifungal medications exist, and C. auris has already demonstrated resistance to many of them. Although three new antifungal drugs have either been approved or are nearing approval, experts caution that drug development has not kept pace with the pathogen’s rapid evolution.

Despite the grim outlook, recent findings suggest a potential path forward.

In a separate study published in December, researchers at the University of Exeter in England identified what may be a critical vulnerability in C. auris while studying the organism in a living-host model.

The scientists found that during infection, the fungus switches on specific genes that allow it to scavenge iron, a nutrient essential for its survival. Their findings were published in the Nature portfolio journal Communications Biology.

Because iron is vital to the pathogen, researchers believe that targeting this process could halt infections or allow existing antifungal drugs to be repurposed.

“We think our research may have revealed an Achilles’ heel in this lethal pathogen during active infection,” said Dr. Hugh Gifford, a clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter and a co-author of the study.

As scientists continue working to better understand and counter the fungus, public health officials stress that strict infection-control practices, rapid diagnosis, and sustained investment in new therapies remain essential.

Experts also emphasize that Candida auris does not pose a danger to healthy individuals.

{Matzav.com}

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticized the detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, saying today that he had been briefed on plans to hold them in New York City and denouncing the operation as unlawful and dangerously provocative.

At a news conference today, Mamdani said he personally raised objections with President Donald Trump in a direct phone call, arguing that the action crossed legal lines and risked destabilizing consequences.

“I called the president and spoke with him directly to register my opposition to this act, and to make clear that it was an opposition based on being opposed to a pursuit of regime change, to the violation of federal international law, and a desire to see that be consistent each and every day,” Mamdani said. “I registered my opposition, I made it clear, and we left it at that.”

Trump earlier today announced that U.S. forces had captured Maduro and his wife during what he described as a “large scale strike,” capping months of U.S. operations targeting vessels suspected of drug trafficking linked to the Venezuelan government in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific.

The Venezuelan government responded with a sharply worded statement, accusing the United States of launching the attack to gain control of Venezuela’s natural resources and framing the operation as an existential threat to the country’s political system.

The statement described the action as an effort to seize oil and minerals and labeled it an “attempt to impose a colonial war to destroy the republican form of government and force a ‘regime change,’ in alliance with the fascist oligarchy.”

Following his remarks to reporters, Mamdani addressed the situation on X, warning that the consequences of what he called an aggressive foreign policy move would be felt locally as well as abroad.

“My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance,” Mamdani wrote in the post.

Mamdani, a Democratic socialist who was inaugurated on New Year’s Day, has built his political identity around policies aimed at redistributing wealth by increasing taxes on high earners and corporations to expand public services. Maduro has pursued redistribution through state control of oil revenues and key industries.

The mayor has also advocated for city-run housing, childcare, mass transit, and municipally owned grocery stores, echoing elements of Venezuela’s system of state-managed food distribution, healthcare, and housing.

Critics note, however, that Venezuela’s version of socialism has been marked by widespread nationalization and centralized control, developments that preceded economic collapse and a turn toward authoritarian governance.

{Matzav.com}