Trump speaks to ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ hours after US strikes on Venezuela, capture of Maduro
President Donald Trump spoke with “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Saturday morning just hours after the U.S. hit Venezuela and captured its leader Nicolás Maduro.
The president said that he watched the operation from Mar-a-Lago.
“It’s just it was an amazing thing, the amazing job that these people did. There’s nobody else could have done anything like it,” Trump said of the historic operation.
When asked about critics who have emerged in the hours since the strikes, Trump brushed it off, saying that they were “weak, stupid people.”
Maduro could make NY federal court appearance as soon as Monday, Fox News learns
Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro could make an initial appearance in federal court in Manhattan as soon as this coming Monday, Fox News is told.
The timing could change at this stage, but his appearance will happen “likely Monday,” Fox News learned.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. carried out a strike on Venezuela early Saturday and captured Maduro and his wife, who have been flown out of the country. Attorney General Pam Bondi reiterated that Maduro and his wife had already been indicted in the Southern District of New York.
Vice President JD Vance stood by President Donald Trump’s decision to carry out strikes in Venezuela and to capture dictator Nicolás Maduro.
“The president offered multiple off ramps, but was very clear throughout this process: the drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States. Maduro is the newest person to find out that President Trump means what he says,” Vance wrote on X.
“Kudos to our brave special operators who pulled off a truly impressive operation,” he added.
The strikes on Venezuela and capture of Maduro have been praised and condemned across the globe. While some countries expressed concern that the move would lead to chaos in the region, others cheered on the U.S.
World leaders were sharply divided Saturday after the United States launched a large-scale strike on Venezuela and President Donald Trump announced that the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, had been captured and flown out of the country.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez condemned what he called a “criminal attack,” writing on X that, “Our zone of peace is being brutally assaulted.” Communist Cuba is a supporter of the Maduro government and has been a longtime adversary of the United States.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said his government viewed the reports coming out of Venezuela “with deep concern,” and he warned against further escalation, claiming the U.S. strikes risked destabilizing the region.
“The Colombian Government rejects any unilateral military action that could aggravate the situation or put the civilian population at risk,” Petro wrote on X.
Meanwhile, President Javier Milei of Argentina, a close ally of Trump, praised the news by sharing a previous video of him denouncing Maduro’s “narco-terrorist” regime as a regional threat and urging Latin American leaders to back U.S. pressure to end it.
“Long live freedom, dammit!” Milei wrote, using his signature pro-freedom chant.
Days before he was captured by U.S. forces, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said that his government was open to negotiating an agreement with the U.S. aimed at fighting drug trafficking.
The pre-taped interview was staged with Maduro seated behind the wheel of a car and driving with Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet in the passenger seat while they discussed a potential deal. In the clip that aired on state TV, Maduro said Venezuela is “ready” to discuss a drug-trafficking deal with the U.S. He called on the countries to “start talking seriously, with data in hand.”
“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,” he said. “If they want oil, Venezuela is ready for U.S. investment, like with Chevron, whenever they want it, wherever they want it and however they want it.”
Chevron Corp. is the only major U.S. oil company currently exporting Venezuelan crude to the United States.
Cuban-born US congressman champions Maduro’s capture as ‘equivalent to the Fall of the Berlin Wall’
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., who was born in Cuba and serves on the House Armed Services Committee, praised the Trump administration for striking Venezuela and capturing Nicolás Maduro.
“President Trump has changed the course of history in our hemisphere. Our country and the world are safer for it,” Gimenez wrote on X. “Today’s decisive action is this hemisphere’s equivalent to the Fall of the Berlin Wall.”
“It’s a big day in Florida, where the majority of Venezuelan, Cuban and Nicaraguan exiles reside. This is the community I represent & we are overwhelmed with emotion and hope,” Gimenez added.
Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed Saturday that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores will face the “full wrath of American justice” following their capture by U.S. forces in Venezuela and extraction from the country.
In an X post, Bondi reiterated that Maduro and his wife had been indicted in the Southern District of New York.
“Nicholas Maduro has been charged with 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,” Bondi wrote.
“On behalf of the entire U.S. DOJ, I would like to thank President Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American People, and a huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers,” she added.
According to the State Department’s website, Maduro was charged in the Southern District of New York in 2020 for narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., also reiterated on X that Maduro “was indicted in U.S. court nearly six years ago for drug trafficking and narco-terrorism.”
“Nicolas Maduro wasn’t just an illegitimate dictator; he also ran a vast drug-trafficking operation,” Cotton wrote.
The senator added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that Maduro would “face justice for his crimes against our citizens.”
Maduro made a statement on state TV after US strikes started: report
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro reportedly made a statement on television and radio condemning the U.S.’s “grave military aggression” against his country.
Maduro reportedly said the U.S. strikes were carried out in violation of the United Nations Charter and that Washington put peace and stability at risk across Latin America and the Caribbean, according to The Miami Herald.
“This is an attack against the sovereignty of Venezuela,” Maduro reportedly said.
Marco Rubio gives reminder that he has long assessed Maduro ‘is NOT the President of Venezuela’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio reposted a reminder that he long asserted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was not the legitimate president of the country.
“Maduro is the head of the Cartel de Los Soles, a narco-terror organization which has taken possession of a country. And he is under indictment for pushing drugs into the United States,” Rubio wrote in a post on X in July that he reposted following Maduro’s capture.
President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the U.S. carried out overnight strikes in Venezuela and that Maduro had been “captured and flown out of the country.”
Venezuela demands proof of life for Maduro after US arrest
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez demanded in audio played on state TV that the U.S. provide “proof of life” for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
“We demand that President Donald Trump’s government provide immediate proof of life for President Maduro and the First Lady,” Rodriguez said, according to Reuters.
In August, the U.S. announced a $50 million bounty for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Maduro.
President Donald Trump announced on Jan. 3 that the U.S. carried out overnight strikes in Venezuela and “captured” Maduro and his wife.
Maduro headed for criminal trial in US, Republican senator says
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said on Saturday that he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the U.S. carried out A major strike inside Venezuela.
Lee said Rubio told him the actions carried out in Venezuela were to protect U.S. personnel executing an arrest warrant for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The senator added that Rubio said Maduro is expected to stand trial in the U.S. on criminal charges.
“He anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody,” Lee added in a subsequent post on X.
The Republican lawmaker announced his conversation with Rubio after questioning the legality of the strikes in a previous post. However, after speaking with Rubio, Lee said he believed that “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.”
US strikes Venezuela, captures Maduro and wife, Trump confirms
The U.S. military carried out a “large-scale strike” in Venezuela early Saturday morning and took Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife into custody, President Donald Trump confirmed.
The president wrote on Truth Social that the operation was successful and Maduro and his wife were “captured and flown out of the country.” Trump said the operation was conducted with U.S. law enforcement and added that a news conference will take place at Mar-a-Lago at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
At least seven explosions could be heard in Venezuela’s capital city of Caracas early Saturday morning, according to The Associated Press, and low-flying aircraft were seen flying over Caracas at about 2 a.m. local time.
The Venezuelan government said in a statement that “the civilian and military localities of the city of Caracas, capital of the Republic, and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira” were impacted by the attack.
