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UNITED NATIONS: A deepening political realignment across Latin America came into focus over the weekend at a summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and sharpened further Monday at the United Nations Security Council, where governments publicly split over the U.S. role in the capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.

At CELAC, several leftist governments attempted to push through a joint statement condemning Maduro’s detention. The effort failed after a bloc of countries consisting of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago blocked consensus, preventing the regional body from issuing a unified defense of the Venezuelan leader, Merco Press agency reported.

The breakdown exposed growing fractures within what has long been a left-leaning regional forum and underscored the erosion of automatic solidarity with Caracas.

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Melissa Ford Maldonado, director of the Western Hemisphere Initiative at the America First Policy Institute, said the fractures reflect a broader regional reckoning with the consequences of socialist and narco-authoritarian rule.

"We are witnessing a regional awakening across Latin America," Maldonado told Fox News Digital. "The failure of socialism, communism and narco-authoritarian rule has become impossible to ignore."

The shift is increasingly visible at the ballot box, where voters in several countries — last month alone in Chile and Honduras — have moved away from entrenched left-wing governments and toward right-of-center leaders campaigning on themes of security, sovereignty, border control and law and order — messages that echo aspects of President Donald Trump’s political approach in the United States.

"The developments at CELAC this weekend reflect that reality," Maldonado said. "The fact that several governments blocked a collective defense of Nicolás Maduro shows how divided the authoritarian left has become. Venezuela has become a cautionary tale."

That division carried over into the Security Council on Monday, when Latin American and Caribbean states took sharply different positions, with some openly backing Washington and others denouncing the U.S. action as a violation of international law.

Argentina emerged as the most forceful regional supporter of the United States, praising President Donald Trump and framing Maduro’s capture as a decisive blow against organized crime.

"The Government of the Argentine Republic values the decision and determination demonstrated by the President of the United States of America and his government, and the recent actions taken in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro, leader of the Cartel of the Suns," Argentina’s representative Francisco Fabián Tropepi told the council, adding the Maduro regime "has not only constituted a direct threat to the citizens systematic violation of human rights in the state appropriation of the country's resources and destruction of democratic institutions, but also to the entire region by leading and exploiting its networks of drug trafficking and organized crime."

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Paraguay echoed that framing, claiming Maduro’s continued presence "was a threat to the region," adding that "the removal of the leader of a terrorist organization should immediately lead to the restoration of democracy and the rule of law in Venezuela, making it possible for the will of the people, expressed at the ballot box, to become the foundation for the country’s reconstruction," its representative Marcelo Eliseo Scappini Ricciardi said.

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Other CELAC members took the opposite view, condemning the U.S. action and warning that it set a dangerous precedent.

Brazil "categorically and firmly" rejected what it called armed intervention on Venezuelan territory, describing the capture of Maduro as "a very serious affront to the sovereignty of Venezuela and an extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community." 

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Mexico denounced the operation as a violation of the U.N. Charter, arguing that external efforts to impose political change historically worsen conflicts and destabilize societies. Chile also condemned what it called unilateral military action and warned against foreign interference, while Cuba and Nicaragua delivered blistering denunciations of Washington, accusing the United States of imperial aggression and calling for Maduro’s immediate release.

The split at the U.N. mirrored the breakdown at CELAC, where governments increasingly appear unwilling to speak with one voice on Venezuela, even as they stop short of endorsing U.S. military force.

According to Maldonado, "Governments are increasingly forced to choose between defending failed autocracies, corruption and repression or responding to their own citizens," she said. "More governments are unwilling to carry that burden."

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Maldonado described Maduro’s capture as a break with decades of U.S. restraint in the region, "It shows that the United States is deadly serious about defending itself and the hemisphere, about stopping the flow of drugs, dismantling cartel-state alliances and about fighting back against the influence of China, Russia and Iran in our neighborhood."

She argued that the regional reaction, split though it is, reflects a broader ideological shift.

"There is a clear rightward shift underway in the region, and it is a healthy one," Maldonado said. "It reflects a growing alignment around the core principles of freedom, liberty, personal responsibility, national sovereignty and prosperity."

While critics at the U.N. warned that U.S. action risks undermining international law, supporters argue the status quo had already collapsed under the weight of Venezuela’s humanitarian and security crisis.

"Venezuela’s collapse has taught the region what happens when the state becomes your everything," Maldonado said. "When the state controls your job, your housing, your healthcare, your education, your courts and your information, freedom becomes conditional."

Iran’s government has said its citizens will be given a monthly payment equivalent to about $7 to ease economic pressures as protests spread across the country, according to reports.

The announcement was reported to have been made on Monday by the government spokesperson, Fatemeh Mohajerani, on Iranian State TV.

She said the measure was aimed at "preserving households" purchasing power, controlling inflation and ensuring food security," per The New York Times.

The outlet also said the plan represents a shift away from long-standing import subsidies toward direct assistance for citizens.

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Under the proposal, roughly $10 billion that had been spent each year to subsidize certain imports, will now be given directly to the public.

Eligible Iranians will get one million Iranian tomans, which is around $7, and in the form of credit that can be used to buy goods.

The labor minister said the payments would be handed out to about 80 million people, which is the majority of Iran’s population.

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Iran’s economy has been hit by sanctions and declining oil revenues which have led to protests.

The currency has lost more than half its value against the U.S. dollar.

The Statistical Center of Iran, a state-run body under Iran’s regime, reported in December that the average annual inflation rate also reached 42.2%, according to reports.

The payments were announced amid widespread protests that included merchants, traders and university students, according to the Times. Marketplaces have been shut down and rallies have been held on campuses.

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As previously reported by Fox News Digital, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI), the intensity of the protests has reached at least 78 cities and 222 locations.

Protesters have been demanding the end of the regime controlled by the 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The group said the regime has killed at least 20 people, including three children, and arrested 990 people. Khamenei’s security forces have detained more than 40 children, HRAI noted.

Fox News Digital's Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.

Nicolás Maduro’s interim replacement now leading Venezuela in the wake of his arrest represents a continuation of the same regime, and with a woman who "hates the West" at the helm, a former Venezuelan official has warned.

Delcy Rodríguez’s elevation, the source said, underscores how Venezuela’s leadership continues to rely on a tight circle of Maduro loyalists rather than new figures, leaving what the source described as "the axis of evil in a geopolitical struggle remains three hours from Miami."

Rodríguez, Venezuela’s former vice president and oil minister, was formally sworn in on Monday following Maduro’s removal from office and his appearance in a New York courtroom Monday on drug trafficking charges.

"The regime is still the same, and she hates the West," the official told Fox News Digital, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

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"Really, Delcy has evolved from a mediocre lawyer, and now she’s the president of one of the richest nations in Latin America," the source said.

"She has probably been in every post, because they rotate the same persons as they don’t have anybody else that they trust.

‘Delcy is a very close and trustworthy person for Maduro and was also the same for Chávez.’"

President Donald Trump said Saturday that Rodríguez, 56, stood "willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again."

Rodríguez, who has served as foreign minister, president of the Constituent Assembly, vice president, and oil minister, was sworn in by her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, the head of the National Assembly.

Born in Caracas, Rodríguez is the daughter of Marxist guerrilla leader Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, a co-founder of the Socialist League.

He was arrested in connection with the 1976 kidnapping of American businessman William F. Niehous and later died in police custody, according to the New York Times.

"That ordeal is the foundation and the origin of Delcy’s hatred of the West and of democracy," the source said, before claiming, "her whole background was Marxist."

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"The guerrilla Marxist element kidnapped an American executive in 1976, and he was held for three years until authorities located the group hiding in the Amazon jungle," the source claimed.

Rodríguez’s tenure as foreign minister was also marked by controversy, the source claimed, including allegations that Venezuelan passports, birth certificates, and nationalities were illegally sold abroad, according to reports.

At the 2016 United Nations General Assembly, Rodríguez said the allegations were untrue.

"There were some passports being sold in Iraq, and they were giving birth certificates to terrorists," the source claimed.

In 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Rodríguez, citing her role as a senior official in the Maduro government. Those sanctions remain in place.

She was also said to have been implicated in the so-called "Delcygate" scandal in 2020 after allegedly making a secret stop in Spain despite sanctions on her, reported by Spanish media. 

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Reports alleged she was transporting gold into Europe, a claim Rodríguez has denied.

"She had 40 bags full of gold in a private jet as vice president," the source alleged. "They put the bags through the X-ray, and they found the gold," the source claimed.

"Venezuela has become an occupied territory by Iran, China, Russia, and Cuba," the source added, citing armed groups including FARC and ELN controlling large parts of the country.

"Delcy is the interim, but all of these groups are part of the cohort from Chávez that came from communist mindsets against the West that she came from."

"We now see the axis of evil in a geopolitical struggle three hours from Miami," the source added.

"There are atrocity crimes committed by all of this group, plus there’s kleptocracy and grand corruption, which is all still in place," the source said.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Monday he would "take up arms" against the U.S. if it attacks his country, following U.S. military action in Venezuela and the capture and arrest of President Nicolás Maduro.

Petro, a former member of the leftist M-19 guerrilla movement that demobilized in the early 1990s, made the remarks in a post on X after President Trump suggested Colombia could be the next target in his administration’s war on drugs.

"Although I have not been a military man, I know about war and clandestinity," Petro wrote in a post translated to English from Spanish. "I swore not to touch a weapon again since the 1989 Peace Pact, but for the Homeland I will take up arms again that I do not want."

Petro also rejected Trump’s accusations that he is linked to drug trafficking.

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"I am not illegitimate, nor am I a narco," he wrote. "I only have as assets my family home that I still pay for with my salary. My bank statements have been published. No one could say that I have spent more than my salary. I am not greedy."

Petro's comments came after Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

He warned that Colombia is "very sick too" and is "run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he’s not going to be doing it very long."

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Trump also claimed Petro has "cocaine mills and cocaine factories."

When asked directly whether the U.S. would carry out an operation in Colombia, Trump replied, "It sounds good to me," before pivoting to once again express interest in annexing Greenland.

Trump’s threats echoed remarks he made in December, as previously reported by Fox News Digital, when he warned Petro that he had "better wise up" or risk being targeted next.

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Trump has labeled Petro an "illegal drug dealer" in the past and later doubled down, calling the Colombian president a "lunatic."

Petro has been one of Trump’s fiercest critics in the region, condemning U.S. strikes on what he described as suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean. Petro previously claimed many of those killed in the strikes were "poor fishermen" forced into the drug trade out of necessity.

In November, he called Trump a "barbarian" and briefly halted intelligence sharing with Washington.

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Colombia’s narcotics trade is largely controlled by illegal armed groups, including the Gulf Clan, the ELN and dissident FARC factions.

Petro warned that U.S. bombing would radicalize rural communities, saying campesinos would become "thousands of guerrillas in the mountains."

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, the Trump administration revoked the Colombian president’s visa over alleged "reckless and incendiary actions."

"Earlier today, Colombian president @petrogustavo stood on a NYC street and urged U.S. soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence," read a post on the U.S. State Department's X account at the time. "We will revoke Petro’s visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

Venezuelan authorities have been ordered to find and arrest anyone involved in supporting the military operation that led to the arrest of Nicolas Maduro.

A state of emergency decree issued Saturday, but published Monday, orders police to "immediately begin the national search and capture of everyone involved in the promotion or support for the armed attack by the United States," according to the text of the decree, Reuters reported. 

It was not clear what charges could be levied against those taken into custody. 

Maduro made his first court appearance Monday in New York, days after he and his wife were arrested by U.S. forces over the weekend. 

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Both have been charged by the Justice Department with narco-terrorism and other offenses. 

"I am innocent. I am not guilty of anything that is written here," Maduro said in court as the charges against him were read. 

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In Maduro's absence, Delcy Rodríguez, his former number two, has been sworn in as the interim president of Venezuela. Rodriguez, 56, has long been a confidant and backer of Maduro. 

She was the country's vice president from 2018 through Sunday. 

Despite denouncing the U.S. military operation, Rodriguez said in a Sunday social media post that the country aspires towards balanced and respectful international relations between Caracas and Washington. 

"We invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence," she wrote. 

President Donald Trump vowed Sunday evening that the Islamic Republic of Iran will "get hit very hard," if Tehran repeats the killing of protesters, as it has during previous citizen-led revolts against the regime.

When asked about his initial comments on protecting Iranian demonstrators during a press gaggle on board Air Force One, Trump said that "We're watching it very closely. If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they're going to get hit very hard by the United States."

Anti-regime protests have engulfed Iran for the last nine days amid Trump’s second threat to intervene on the side of the demonstrators in Iran.

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According to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI), the intensity of the protests has reached at least 78 cities and 222 locations, with protesters demanding the end of the regime controlled by the 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The group said the regime has killed at least 20 people, including three children, and arrested 990 people. Khamenei’s security forces have detained more than 40 children, HRAI noted.

Iran expert Shukriya Bradost, who is CEO of Four Sides Security Solutions, told Fox News Digital that "Trump’s warning to the Iranian regime emboldened protesters because it came from a president who had already demonstrated a willingness to confront Tehran directly, most notably by ordering the killing of Qassem Soleimani. For Iranians who felt abandoned during the 2009 Green Movement under the Obama administration, and later disappointed by the Biden administration’s softer approach toward the regime, Trump’s words were seen as credible and empowering."

A U.S. military drone strike killed the former Iranian general, Soleimani, in Iraq on Jan. 3, 2020. 

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Bradost added, "Today, many Iranians want Trump to maintain that same clarity: to side openly with the Iranian people, not the regime, and to make clear that repression will not be ignored or normalized.

"The Islamic Republic is no longer a functional system. The central question now is whether U.S. policy reinforces the Iranian people’s demand for genuine change, or unintentionally helps parts of a collapsing regime survive."

Iranian protesters asked during the 2009 protests, "Obama: Are you with us or against us?" Then-President Barack Obama sided with the Islamic Republic at the time. He said in 2022 that he regretted his alliance with Khamenei’s regime during the Green Movement.

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Trump’s pro-protest language has breathed additional fire and life into demonstrations, according to close followers of the upheaval blanketing Iran.

Mardo Soghom, a veteran Iran expert who has written extensively about the nation, told Fox News Digital that "There is little doubt that President Trump's warning to Iran's Islamic rulers will embolden Iranians, but the fact is that they began their recent protests before Trump made those comments. Most of the Iranians opposed to the regime, especially those inside the country protesting in the streets, are asking for Israeli or U.S. assistance in sort of disarming the regime and neutralizing its forces of repression."

He added, "The current round of protests in Iran is different from previous rounds. People are not asking for reforms, but unanimously and categorically they are aiming for regime change. The protests are also more forceful. This time around, the people are less afraid of the notorious security forces and appear more determined."

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Tehran's options have been limited by Trump's threats and a long-running economic crisis that deepened after Israel, joined by the U.S., launched strikes on the Islamic Republic in June in a 12-day war that pummelled several of Iran's nuclear sites.

"These twin pressures have narrowed Tehran's room for maneuver, leaving leaders caught between public anger on the streets and hardening demands and threats from Washington, with few viable options and high risks on every path," one Iranian official told Reuters.

The Iranian American campaigner to topple the Islamic Republic, Masih Alinejad, told Fox News that Trump’s "strong message gave hope to the people of Iran." She said after Trump’s first message of protection to the protesters, large numbers of Iranians poured into the streets. She stressed this is the first time in history that a U.S. President "is standing strongly with the people of Iran and not sending appeasement message to the killers."

Alinejad urged Trump to evict Iran’s representative at the U.N. and wants the White House to convince Elon Musk to provide Starlink service for internet communications. She called on President Trump to launch U.S. targeted military actions against those who ordered massacres in Iran and killed innocent people.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday condemned what she described as U.S. intervention in Venezuela and rejected the idea of American troops entering Mexico, reaffirming her government’s commitment to national sovereignty.

"We categorically reject intervention in the internal affairs of other countries," Sheinbaum said at a press conference in Mexico City, according to an official transcript of the speech released by her office.

"The history of Latin America is clear and forceful, the intervention has never brought democracy, it has never generated well-being or lasting stability. Only people can build their own future, decide their path, exercise sovereignty over their natural resources and freely define their form of government," she said.

The U.S. military on Saturday carried out an operation in Caracas, extracting former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their compound.

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Maduro and Flores were boarded onto USS Iwo Jima and flown to New York to face federal charges, with their arraignment taking place on Monday in Manhattan.

Maduro is charged with four counts: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine-guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine-guns and destructive devices.

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His wife is charged with three counts: cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine-guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine-guns and destructive devices.

Sheinbaum said that following the capture of Venezuela’s leader and his wife, and amid warnings from President Donald Trump that Mexico must "get their act together," Mexican sovereignty and self-determination remain non-negotiable.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he thinks Sheinbaum is a "terrific person," but the cartels are "running Mexico."

"We’re going to have to do something. We’d love Mexico to do it, they’re capable of doing it, but unfortunately the cartels are very strong in Mexico," Trump said.

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Sheinbaum said her country is cooperating with the United States to help fight against drug trafficking, organized crime and the flow of fentanyl.

"I don’t believe in an invasion. I don’t even think it’s something they’re taking very seriously," Sheinbaum told reporters in Spanish when asked about a potential U.S. intervention, according to Reuters’ translation of her remarks.

She said Trump has repeatedly insisted during their phone conversations that the U.S. Army be allowed to enter Mexico.

"We have said no very firmly — first because we defend our sovereignty, and second because it is not necessary," Sheinbaum told reporters.

Cuba acknowledged that 32 of its citizens — described by the government as members of the island’s armed forces and intelligence services — were killed during the U.S. operation that seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, declaring two days of national mourning in their honor.

Havana did not specify where the personnel were stationed during the raid. But their deaths have renewed scrutiny of years of reporting and international investigations documenting Cuba’s deep and covert involvement inside Venezuela’s military and intelligence structures.

Jorge Jraissati, a Venezuelan political analyst, said Cuba’s intelligence role was critical to the consolidation of power first under Hugo Chávez and later under Maduro. "Experts usually link Cuba as the most important intelligence provider of Venezuela. This includes issues like running elections, building diplomatic leverage with other countries and keeping the security forces in check, among others," he told Fox News Digital.

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Jraissati said any transition in Venezuela "would require the American government, in partnership with the Venezuelan people, to work together on minimizing the Cubans’ influence over Venezuela’s state apparatus and society at large."

A Reuters investigation published in August 2019 found that two confidential agreements signed in 2008 granted Cuba sweeping access to Venezuela’s armed forces and intelligence services. Under those agreements, Cuban officials were authorized to train Venezuelan troops, restructure intelligence agencies and help build an internal surveillance system focused on monitoring Venezuela’s own military, according to the report.

Those arrangements played a central role in transforming Venezuela’s military counterintelligence agency — the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) — into a force designed to detect dissent, instill fear within the ranks and ensure loyalty to the government, the investigation found.

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The findings were later echoed by the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, which said it reviewed a 2008 memorandum of understanding between Cuba and Venezuela. The U.N. mission reported that the agreement provided for Cuban advisory oversight in the restructuring of Venezuelan military intelligence, including the creation of new agencies, training of counterintelligence officers and assistance with surveillance and infiltration techniques.

Former Venezuelan officials cited by Havana Times and El Toque have described Cuban advisers embedded across some of the country’s most sensitive institutions, including the civilian intelligence service SEBIN, DGCIM, the defense ministry, ports and airports, and Venezuela’s national identification system.

Human rights organizations and international investigators say those structures were central to the government’s response to mass protests in 2014 and 2017, when Venezuelan security forces carried out widespread arrests and deadly crackdowns on demonstrators.

The U.N. fact-finding mission documented patterns of extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detention and torture, and reported that Cuban advisers helped train Venezuelan personnel in methods used to track, interrogate and repress political opponents.

Experts say Cuba’s admission that its military and intelligence personnel were killed during a U.S. operation inside Venezuela has sharpened focus on the alliance’s true depth, turning years of documentation into an immediate geopolitical issue.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw test-flights of hypersonic missiles and called for a stronger nuclear war deterrent, state media said Monday, as Pyongyang ramps up weapons displays ahead of a major political conference.

North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said Sunday’s drill involving a hypersonic weapon system was designed to test combat readiness, sharpen missile troops’ operational skills and assess the country’s overall war deterrent.

"Through today’s launching drill, we can confirm that a very important technology task for national defense has been carried out," Kim said, according to KCNA. "We must continuously upgrade the military means, especially offensive weapon systems."

The announcement came a day after South Korea and Japan said they detected multiple North Korean missile launches, which they condemned as provocations. The tests also took place just hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung departed for China to meet with President Xi Jinping.

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If fully operational, a hypersonic missile would give North Korea the ability to evade U.S. and South Korean missile defense systems. While Pyongyang has conducted a series of hypersonic tests in recent years, many foreign experts remain skeptical that the weapons have achieved the necessary speed and maneuverability.

The latest tests follow recent launches of what North Korea described as long-range strategic cruise missiles and new anti-air systems, along with state-released images showing progress on what it claims is its first nuclear-powered submarine.

Experts say the regime is showcasing its weapons advancements ahead of the ruling Workers’ Party congress, its first in five years. The meeting is expected to review military achievements and could signal whether Kim plans to shift his approach toward the U.S. or revive long-stalled nuclear talks.

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North Korea’s nuclear program is also expected to be discussed during the summit between Lee and Xi. Lee’s office said the South Korean president plans to urge China — Pyongyang’s main ally and economic lifeline — to play "a constructive role" in easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Defending his push for nuclear expansion, Kim cited growing global instability. 

"Why it is necessary is exemplified by the recent geopolitical crisis and complicated international events," he said.

The missile launches followed Saturday’s dramatic U.S. military operation that removed Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro from power and brought him to the U.S. to face narco-terrorism conspiracy charges. North Korea condemned the operation, calling it further proof of what it described as "the rogue and brutal nature of the U.S."

Analysts say the move is likely to reinforce Kim’s push to expand North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, which he views as essential to regime survival and national sovereignty in the face of what Pyongyang sees as U.S.-led hostility.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tensions between Israel and Turkey are rising amid competing visions for Gaza’s reconstruction and widening strategic friction in Syria, even as both countries remain embedded in a U.S.-led diplomatic framework following the ceasefire with Hamas.

Israel has made clear it will not allow Turkish armed forces to operate inside Gaza, viewing Ankara as a destabilizing actor despite its public efforts to present itself as a reconstruction partner. Turkish sources told Fox News Digital that Ankara does not seek to deploy troops in Gaza, instead focusing on humanitarian aid, infrastructure projects and political influence. 

Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, said Israel views Turkey as a strategic threat rather than a neutral actor. 

"From Israel’s point of view, Turkey is the arsonist behaving like the firefighter in Gaza," Diker told Fox News Digital. "If Turkey is allowed to enter Gaza with several thousand armed men, you can guarantee that this Muslim Brotherhood country will destabilize Gaza and dismantle the very 20-point plan that President Trump has bet the farm on."

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Diker said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ambitions extend beyond Gaza, pointing to Turkey’s military presence in northwestern Syria and what he described as Ankara’s long-standing role enabling radical Islamist groups inside the country.

In Trump’s remarks at Mar-a-Lago on Monday at his press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he repeatedly praised Erdogan and downplayed concerns about a possible Israel-Turkey confrontation.

"I know President Erdogan very well… he’s a very good friend of mine," Trump said. "Bibi respects him… They’re not going to have a problem. Nothing’s going to happen." Netanyahu smiled and didn’t comment.

At the same time, Trump aligned himself publicly with Netanyahu on Gaza’s future, issuing his strongest statement yet that Hamas must disarm.

"They made an agreement that they were going to disarm," Trump said. "If they’re not going to disarm, those same countries will go and wipe out Hamas."

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According to Diker, the president is deliberately managing tensions with Ankara by keeping Erdogan inside the diplomatic framework rather than confronting him publicly.

"President Trump is very, very good at keeping adversaries close, together with allies," Diker said. "That’s why he keeps saying that he likes Erdogan. He wants to keep Erdogan in the party. He wants to keep him close."

Diker said Trump understands his own leverage in the region and believes he can coalesce Arab and Muslim states when it serves U.S. and Israeli interests, citing coordination during the first phase of the hostage deal.

Diker said Netanyahu is now walking a narrow line, trying not to undermine the framework Trump has built while ensuring Israel’s security red lines are maintained.

"Israel will not allow Turkish Armed Forces in Gaza. It’s not going to happen," Diker said, adding that Israel may still be forced into limited compromises to preserve Trump’s broader support, particularly on Iran.

Beyond Gaza, Israel sees Turkey’s role in Syria as a growing point of friction. Ankara maintains influence across large swaths of northern Syria, while Israel has continued air operations aimed at Iranian targets.

Sinan Ciddi, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, warned in an analysis that Turkey views Israel-aligned regional cooperation as a direct challenge to its ambitions.

TRUMP FACES MIDDLE EAST TEST AS NETANYAHU BALKS AT ERDOGAN’S GAZA TROOP HOPES

Ciddi cited a trilateral summit between Israel, Greece and Cyprus in Jerusalem as a flashpoint, arguing it signaled resistance to Turkey’s "Blue Homeland" doctrine and broader maritime claims in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Following the summit, pro-Erdogan media outlets described Israel as a major threat, while Turkey increased military activity that alarmed U.S. allies, including airspace violations near Greece and reported efforts to expand radar coverage in Syria that could hinder Israeli operations against Iran.

Diker said Israel’s recognition of Somaliland adds another layer to the rivalry, particularly in the Red Sea region. "The Turks are working in Somalia. They are also working to control and influence what happens in the Red Sea region," Diker said. "Which is why Somaliland's development is very, very important."

He argued that the move gives Israel a strategic foothold along a vital maritime corridor.

"Israel then has a strategic base, a forward base in Somaliland on the Red Sea," Diker said. "Very, very important, because it checkmates Turkey."

Diker said the move was viewed in Ankara as a direct challenge to Turkish ambitions in the Horn of Africa, adding that the Trump administration had "expressed its understanding" of Israel’s decision.

Despite Erdogan’s harsh rhetoric toward Israel and vocal support for the Palestinian cause, Turkish diplomatic sources say Ankara is acting pragmatically. While Turkey sees financial and political opportunity in Gaza’s reconstruction, those sources say Erdogan is aware there is little domestic appetite for sending Turkish troops into the enclave.

That gap between rhetoric and policy, analysts say, is likely to persist. As Diker put it, Trump is trying to keep the diplomatic structure intact while Israel works to contain what it sees as Turkey’s expanding regional footprint. "Trump does not want to topple the apple cart," Diker said. "He wants to try to keep everyone together so that they can move to stage two of the 20-point plan in Gaza."

President Donald Trump late Sunday predicted Cuba was "ready to fall" after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, warning that Havana can no longer rely on Caracas for security and oil.  

Trump said Cuba’s fate is now directly tied to Maduro’s ouster and the collapse of Venezuela’s ability to bankroll allies in the region.  

Asked if he was considering U.S. action in Cuba, Trump replied: "I think it’s just going to fall. I don’t think we need any action. Looks like it’s going down. It’s going down for the count." 

The president’s comments during a press gaggle with reporters aboard Air Force One come after Saturday’s capture of Maduro and his wife on charges tied to a narco-terrorism conspiracy. The audacious operation has sent shockwaves through allied governments in the region, with Cuban officials calling for rallies in support of Venezuela and accusing the U.S. of violating sovereignty.

MADURO AND 'LADY MACBETH’ CILIA FLORES MARRIAGE SPELLS 'WORST CASE' CUSTODY SCENARIO 

U.S. officials say Cuban security forces played a central role in keeping Maduro in power. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuban operatives effectively ran Venezuela’s internal intelligence and security operations – including personally guarding Maduro and monitoring loyalty inside his government. 

"It was Cubans that guarded Maduro," Rubio said. "He was not guarded by Venezuelan bodyguards. He had Cuban bodyguards." 

Cuba’s government acknowledged Sunday that 32 Cuban military and police officers were killed during the American operation in Venezuela, marking the first official death toll released by Havana. Cuban state media said the officers had been deployed at the request of Caracas and announced two days of national mourning.

US CAPTURE OF MADURO THROWS SPOTLIGHT ON VENEZUELA’S MASSIVE OIL RESERVES 

Trump confirmed Cuban casualties while traveling back to Washington. 

"A lot of Cubans were killed yesterday," he said. "There was a lot of death on the other side. No death on our side." 

Trump also took aim at neighboring Colombia, accusing its leadership of fueling drug trafficking into the U.S.

UN AMBASSADOR WALTZ DEFENDS US CAPTURE OF MADURO AHEAD OF SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING 

"Colombia is very sick, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States," Trump said, adding that the country, "is not going to be doing it for a very long time." 

He suggested the U.S. was prepared to act against narco-trafficking networks operating by land and sea, citing recent interdictions.  

Trump also revived his long-standing focus on Greenland, arguing the Arctic territory is critical to U.S. security amid growing Russian and Chinese activity.

"We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security," Trump said. "Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place." 

Trump has framed Saturday’s operation as part of a broader effort to reassert U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere, invoking the Monroe Doctrine and warning that hostile regimes can no longer rely on one another for survival. 

Maduro is set to be arraigned in federal court in New York on Monday. 

British and French warplanes struck an underground facility believed to have been used by Islamic State militants to store weapons and explosives, the U.K. Ministry of Defence confirmed Sunday.

The strike took place Saturday evening in a mountainous region north of Palmyra, in Syria’s Homs province.

In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4 fighter jets, supported by a Voyager refueling tanker, operated with French aircraft to strike access tunnels leading to the underground site.

Paveway IV precision-guided bombs were also used in the operation. 

HERE’S WHERE TRUMP LAUNCHED AIRSTRIKES AROUND THE WORLD IN 2025: 'PROTECT THE HOMELAND'

An assessment was ongoing, but initial indications suggested that the target was successfully hit, the ministry said.

Britain and France are partners in the U.S.-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, which was formed to combat the extremist group after it had previously seized large areas of Iraq and Syria. 

U.K. Secretary of State for Defence Sir John Healey said the strike showed Britain’s determination to prevent any resurgence of Islamic State and to stand "shoulder to shoulder with our allies" against extremist violence in the Middle East.

WAR SEC. HEGSETH ISSUES STATEMENT AFTER TWO U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED IN SYRIA ARE IDENTIFIED

The operation came amid continued U.S. military activity in Syria, where American forces have conducted counterterrorism missions in the country.

In December, the Trump administration also ordered large-scale U.S. strikes across central Syria.

This was in retaliation for an ambush near Palmyra that killed two U.S. troops and an American civilian interpreter.

HERE’S WHERE TRUMP LAUNCHED AIRSTRIKES AROUND THE WORLD IN 2025: 'PROTECT THE HOMELAND'

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, according to U.S. Central Command, ISIS remains an active and persistent threat despite sustained pressure from coalition forces.

CENTCOM said recent U.S. operations in the region have also targeted infrastructure and weapons sites across central Syria.

"We will not relent," Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, said in a statement on Dec. 30.

"We are steadfast in commitment to working with regional partners to root out the ISIS threat posed to U.S. and regional security."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.K. Ministry of Defence for comment.

Dozens of people were killed and several others kidnapped when armed attackers raided a rural market in central Nigeria, police said Sunday.

"Over 30 victims lost their lives during the attack, and some persons were also kidnapped. Efforts are ongoing to rescue the kidnapped victims," police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun said, according to Reuters.

Abiodun said the gunmen stormed the Daji market in Demo village in Nigeria’s Niger state at around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, torching stalls and seizing food supplies.

Witnesses reported seeing the gunmen ride into the area on motorcycles before opening fire.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION EXPANDS EFFORTS TO STOP CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA WITH AID THREAT

Locals said the assault followed earlier raids in neighboring villages, including Agwarra and Borgu, that began Friday.

Dauda Shakulle, who was wounded while fleeing, told Reuters that not even women or children were spared.

"There has been no presence of security forces since the attacks began. We are currently recovering corpses," said Shakulle.

LAWMAKERS SOUND ALARM ON ‘DEADLIEST PLACE ON EARTH TO BE A CHRISTIAN’ AS NIGERIA VIOLENCE ESCALATES

The Nigerian Police Force did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment about the incident.

The attack comes amid a wave of mass kidnappings across Nigeria in recent months, including the abduction of 25 girls from a boarding school in Kebbi State in November and the seizure of more than 300 children and 12 teachers from St. Mary’s Private Catholic School in Niger state.

The Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles (OLA), a Catholic religious congregation, later confirmed that all those abducted from the school have since been safely released. 

"From the first hours of the abduction, the OLA family—together with the local Church in the Diocese of Kontagora, the families of Papiri, and communities across Nigeria—was upheld by a remarkable global solidarity of prayer and advocacy. We extend our deepest and most heartfelt gratitude to all who stood with us during this painful time," said Sister Mary Barron, the congregation leader of the OLA Sisters.

Growing insecurity and insurgent violence in northern Nigeria are driving hunger to record levels, with nearly 35 million people projected to face severe food insecurity during the 2026 lean season, according to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

The WFP warned in November that unchecked hunger during the lean season, the pre-harvest period when food supplies are often at their lowest, could further destabilize the region by allowing insurgent groups to exploit desperation and expand their influence.

The day after elite U.S. forces captured wanted narco-terrorist and former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist movement Hezbollah will no longer have operations in the South American state.

The Iranian regime-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization is responsible for both the bombing of the U.S. embassy, which killed 63 people, and the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut in 1983, when 241 U.S. military personnel were killed.

Speaking on CBS' "Face the Nation," Rubio said, "It's very simple, OK? In the 21st century, under the Trump administration, we are not going to have a country like Venezuela in our own hemisphere, in the sphere of control and the crossroads for Hezbollah, for Iran and for every other malign influence in the world. That's just not gonna exist." He also told NBC's "Meet the Press" that, in regard to Venezuela, that meant, "No more Iran/Hezbollah presence there."

GOP SENATOR PREDICTS TRUMP'S NEXT MOVE IN VENEZUELA AMID HEZBOLLAH’S INFLUENCE: 'LONG PAST DUE'

Walid Phares, who has advised U.S. presidential candidates and is a leading expert on Hezbollah, told Fox News Digital, "Hezbollah has a long history in Venezuela and has emerged as a significant security concern in Latin America, particularly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The origins of Hezbollah’s presence in Venezuela date back to the mid-1980s, when the organization began recruiting members from segments of the local Lebanese diaspora."

He noted that Hezbollah gained greater traction following the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s consolidation of power in 2002. "During this period, Hezbollah’s presence became more visible, with reports indicating that some of its members gained access to Venezuelan state institutions, including security agencies, often through the acquisition of Venezuelan passports and legal documentation. These developments facilitated the expansion of Hezbollah-linked networks throughout Latin America, extending into Brazil, Argentina and Chile, and reportedly reaching as far as the U.S.–Mexico border."

Phares said, "Hezbollah is believed to maintain a substantial presence across Venezuela, including command-and-control elements in Caracas. Margarita Island has been frequently cited in open-source reporting as a logistical hub used for activities ranging from financial operations to intelligence gathering and alleged narcotics trafficking. Additional public reporting has suggested Venezuelan cooperation with Iranian and Hezbollah-linked operations targeting Iranian dissidents abroad, including attempted kidnappings and intimidation campaigns in the Western Hemisphere."

ON MADURO’S ‘TERROR ISLAND,’ HEZBOLLAH OPERATIVES MOVE IN AS TOURISTS DRIFT OUT

The U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hezbollah lashed out at the U.S. after it captured Maduro. Hezbollah said it "condemns the terrorist aggression and American thuggery against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela" and "further affirms its full solidarity with Venezuela — its people, presidency and government — in confronting this American aggression and arrogance."

The thorny challenge of how to purge the Venezuelan state and society of embedded Hezbollah operatives was addressed by Phares. He said, "One option would be to rely on a post-Maduro transitional authority that has pledged to dismantle terrorist networks. In practice, however, it is likely that U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism agencies would play a leading role in identifying and disrupting pro-Iranian networks operating within Venezuelan territory."

Matthew Levitt, a scholar on Hezbollah from the Washington Institute, told Fox News Digital, "It will all come down to what kind of regime comes next. Trump’s statements leave that wide open. There is, however, an opportunity to address the long-standing Hezbollah presence in Venezuela, and the strategic relationship between Venezuela and Iran more broadly."

Carrie Filipetti, executive director of the Vandenberg Coalition and a deputy assistant secretary of state during Trump’s first administration, told Fox News Digital, "Among the many ways in which the Iranian regime and Maduro regime coordinated until Maduro's arrest was providing a safe haven for Hezbollah fighters. Hezbollah took advantage of the lack of rule of law in Venezuela and parts of Latin America more generally to engage in money laundering connected to the drug trade. They are also believed to have used connections within the Maduro regime to secure Venezuelan passports for members of Hezbollah."

"It isn't a surprise that the plot to kidnap Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad involved taking her by speedboat to Caracas," she noted. "Hezbollah and Iran knew, under Maduro, they could operate with impunity there, spread anti-American propaganda and plan anti-American attacks. Whether there are any implications for the Maduro-Hezbollah relationship now that Maduro is gone will depend on whether regime insiders are allowed to remain in power or not."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy weighed in Saturday on the U.S. capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, telling reporters that Washington "knows what to do next."

Zelenskyy was speaking to reporters in Kyiv after meeting with national security advisors from member states of the Coalition of the Willing when he was asked about the stunning U.S. military operation that unfolded in the early morning hours in Caracas.

"Regarding Venezuela? How should we respond to this?" Zelenskyy asked in Ukrainian. "Well, what can I say is, if you can do that with dictators, then the United States knows what to do next," he said with a smile.

U.S. forces took Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their compound, where they were boarded onto the USS Iwo Jima and flown to New York to face federal charges.

TRUMP CASTS MADURO’S OUSTER AS ‘SMART’ MOVE AS RUSSIA, CHINA ENTER THE FRAY

Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the capture of Maduro and his wife, urging the Trump administration to release the "legitimately elected president of a sovereign country and his spouse."

In a superseding indictment released Saturday by Attorney General Pam Bondi, Maduro is charged with leading a narco-terrorism conspiracy tied to large-scale cocaine trafficking into the United States, along with related drug importation and weapons offenses.

Flores is also charged in the same indictment with participating in a decades-long cocaine trafficking conspiracy and related firearms offenses.

The charges build on prior indictments from 2020.

NYC MAYOR STRONGLY CONDEMNS TRUMP'S CAPTURE OF VENEZUELAN LEADER MADURO AS 'ACT OF WAR'

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine said the mission, dubbed "Operation Absolute Resolve," involved more than 150 aircraft and a coordinated effort by the U.S. military, intelligence agencies and law enforcement to apprehend the duo.

"This operation is a testament to the dedication and unwavering commitment to justice and our resolve to hold accountable those who threaten peace and stability," he said at a Mar-a-Lago press conference alongside President Donald Trump and Cabinet officials.

MADURO’S FALL SPARKS SUSPICION OF BETRAYAL INSIDE VENEZUELA’S RULING ELITE

Trump told reporters he never spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about Maduro. 

"I'm not thrilled with Putin. He's killing too many people," the president said when asked whether he was upset at the Russian leader.

Moscow has continued pounding Kyiv with large-scale drone and missile attacks as the Trump administration works to secure a potential peace agreement to end the nearly four-year war.

"Russia has not shown a genuine willingness to pursue peace. Instead, it continues its aggressive war, violence and destabilization, using negotiations as a tactic to buy time," Zelenskyy said during the Coalition of the Willing meeting, according to a statement from his office. "It employs provocations and manipulations to derail progress in the peace process,"

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

With Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro extracted from Caracas on Jan. 3, Venezuelans and the world are anxious to learn about the future that awaits.

In a press conference following the Maduro operation on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. is "going to run the country" until a transition can be safely made.

Isaias Medina, an international lawyer and former senior Venezuelan diplomat, said a peaceful transition is vital for the nine to 10 million Venezuelans who are forcibly displaced and living in exile. Medina, who resigned his diplomatic post in protest against Maduro's rule in 2017, told Fox News Digital that exiled Venezuelans "have been preparing ourselves to go back to rebuild our nation."

MARÍA CORINA MACHADO EMERGES AS TOP POTENTIAL SUCCESSOR AFTER MÁDURO’S FALL

With support from international organizations like the Organization of American States, Medina said that the most important next step for Venezuela is to establish a transitional government that can restore the rule of law and rebuild institutions that have been decimated under the Maduro regime. Setting in place free and fair elections is particularly important, Medina said, noting that it’s "a legal obligation owed to [Venezuela’s] people, because on their occupied territory, it was never equitable or really free."

Under Maduro, Medina said that "there was no separation of powers, there was no rule of law, there was not even sovereignty." Instead, Medina said Venezuela had an occupied territory extensively influenced by terrorist and trafficking organizations Hamas, Hezbollah, the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). He said that these groups were exploiting Venezuelan resources.

David Daoud, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that so long as Venezuela poses no threat to U.S. national security, the "ideal situation" for Venezuela "would be American guidance for determined local action." 

FROM BUS DRIVER TO DICTATOR: NICOLÁS MADURO’S RISE AND FALL IN VENEZUELA

"The best we can shepherd Venezuela to be is a productive member of the family of nations, and that’s something that we can help with a softer touch, without boots on the ground," Daoud said. "I don’t think we need to be in the business of trying to create Jeffersonian democracies anywhere."

Following Maduro’s ouster, Daoud said that the level of chaos allowed to exist inside Venezuela will determine whether terror groups like Hezbollah and Hamas will be able to continue operating there. "It would really depend — does the day after in Venezuela create a stable state that is able to properly exercise control over all its territory, is interested in implementing the rule of law, is not corrupt. That would make things very, very complicated, if not impossible, for Hezbollah to operate, at least in the way it has been operating for a decade-plus, ever since the linkage between it and the original Chávez regime came about."

MADURO’S FALL SPARKS SUSPICION OF BETRAYAL INSIDE VENEZUELA’S RULING ELITE

Going forward, Medina suggested that the country will also have to manage guerrilla forces like the colectivos, violent groups of Venezuelans who were armed and trained with old U.S. and Russian military weapons. Medina said that having these guerrillas "return the weapons for freedom" could help to "unite the nation under one banner of development and evolution… so that we can have a country that really meets the expectations, not only of the riches that it has, but of the people and the development of their education and training and jobs, because it has been completely destroyed by design."

Though the road ahead is uncertain, Medina is filled with hope. "What we have ahead of us is a great journey to be able to build upon the ruins of what this regime left us. But I think we’re going to become stronger, and this is the moment. The time has come," Medina explained.

The U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife on Saturday is reviving memories of the dramatic 1989 takedown of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, which coincidentally took place 36 years ago to the day of Maduro's Jan. 3 capture.

Under former President George H.W. Bush, U.S. forces launched a surprise invasion of Panama in the early hours of Dec. 20, 1989, accusing Noriega of conspiring with drug traffickers to funnel cocaine into America. 

He had also faced allegations of manipulating the country's 1989 presidential election.

"The goal was to restore the democratically elected government of Guillermo Endara and arrest Noriega on drug trafficking charges," as noted on the U.S. Army's website. "At the time, Operation Just Cause was the largest and most complex combat operation since the Vietnam War."

Similarly to Saturday's operation involving Maduro, the Panama invasion proceeded without explicit authorization from Congress, according to Axios. 

MADURO MET CHINESE ENVOY HOURS BEFORE US CAPTURE FROM CARACAS AS BEIJING SLAMS OPERATION

Noriega’s capture, however, unfolded over several weeks as he evaded arrest by taking refuge inside the Vatican’s embassy in Panama City.

U.S. troops used psychological warfare to force Noriega out of hiding.

In a tactic known as "Operation Nifty Package," military vehicles with loudspeakers blasted non-stop rock music, with a playlist that included songs by The Clash, Van Halen and U2, BBC News reported.

Noriega ultimately surrendered to U.S. forces on Jan. 3, 1990, 36 years to the day before the U.S. capture of Maduro, and was flown to America to stand trial, Axios reported.

MADURO-BACKED TDA GANG’S EXPANSION INTO US CITIES EMERGES AS KEY FOCUS OF SWEEPING DOJ INDICTMENT

The operation resulted in the deaths of 23 U.S. service members and left 320 others wounded. The Pentagon estimated that roughly 200 Panamanian civilians and 314 Panamanian military personnel were killed, according to the Associated Press.

In 1992, Noriega was convicted on drug trafficking charges in a Miami federal court and received a 40-year prison sentence.

He was granted prisoner-of-war status, housed in a separate bungalow away from other inmates, and was allowed to wear his Panamanian military uniform and insignia in court, the AP reported.

WASHINGTON POST PRAISES TRUMP'S VENEZUELA OPERATION AS 'UNQUESTIONABLE TACTICAL SUCCESS'

After serving 17 years in a U.S. prison, he was extradited to France and later Panama. He died in 2017, according to the AP.

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that Maduro and his wife had been captured and flown out of the country as part of "Operation Absolute Resolve."

In recent months, the U.S. military has carried out a series of strikes on suspected drug vessels allegedly tied to the Venezuelan regime in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific. 

Until a permanent leader can be found, the U.S. government will "run" Venezuela, Trump said, "until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition."

The ruling Ayatollah of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei, on Saturday issued an angry response to the unfolding nationwide demonstrations against his regime’s political and economic corruption.

The 86-year-old Khamenei declared in his first public speech since the strikes and social unrest rocked his fragile regime seven days ago that, "A number of agitated people, enemy mercenaries, had positioned themselves behind bazaar merchants and chanted slogans against Islam, against Iran and against the Islamic Republic."

He added, "Protest is legitimate, but protest is different from rioting," but warned that "officials should speak with protesters. Speaking with a rioter is pointless. Rioters must be put in their place."

IRAN PROTESTS TURN DEADLY AS ANTI-REGIME DEMONSTRATIONS ENTER FIFTH DAY

Khamenei’s branding of the pro-democracy activists as "rioters" follows President Trump’s unprecedented message of solidarity to the demonstrators on Friday. "If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go," wrote Trump on the Truth Social media platform.

According to information supplied to Fox News Digital from the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an organization that seeks to topple Khamenei’s regime, Khamenei’s security forces again opened fire on protesters.

In Malekshahi, Ilam province, young people demonstrated. The regime’s forces shot peaceful activists, resulting in deaths and injuries.

As of Saturday, the regime has killed at least ten people. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said demonstrations unfolded in more than 100 locations in 22 of Iran’s 31 provinces. The NCRI said 30 protesters in Malekshahi were shot and were in critical condition.

The dissident group also said that on Saturday the people of Kazerun demonstrated in the city's Shohada Square, where security fired live ammunition at the protesters. Young anti-regime demonstrators in the Golshan district of Shiraz blocked the road by setting tires on fire.

IRANIAN PRESIDENT SAYS HIS COUNTRY IS AT 'TOTAL WAR' WITH THE US, ISRAEL AND EUROPE: REPORTS

Students at Shahrood University of Technology chanted, "Students will die but not accept humiliation,'" and students at Allameh University's Hemmat dormitory in Tehran, declared "Death to the dictator."

NCRI leader Maryam Rajav’s response to Khamenei on Saturday noted that "Khamenei is right; 80 million Iranians are his enemy. They have only one message for him: pack up his rule and remove his scourge from the Iranian people. Better still if he comes to his senses and leaves of his own accord." She added "Khamenei must know that threats, bluster, and repression cannot stop the uprising. A nation who has taken to the streets will not stand down until democracy and popular sovereignty are achieved."

Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last Shah, wrote on X that "Ali Khamenei, fearing the growing waves of this national uprising, has emerged from his hiding place to threaten the people of Iran. Khamenei: We, the people of Iran, will pull you down from your teetering perch like Zahhak the despot and will free our beloved Iran from you and your regime."

He added, "To the military and law enforcement forces: do not tie your fate to the sinking ship of the Islamic Republic. Join the people and separate yourselves from this corrupt system. Your weapons are for defending the nation, not suppressing it. Those who fire bullets at the people should be certain that they will be identified and punished. Fellow countrymen: do not abandon the streets; increase your presence. The world sees your resistance and bravery and supports you."

Venezuelans across the globe took to the streets after the capture of Nicolás Maduro, whose rule was marked by economic collapse and mass migration out of the oil-rich nation.

Venezuelans in Miami, Fla., Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and Madrid, Spain, donned Venezuela’s national colors and waved flags hours after President Donald Trump announced that Maduro and his wife had been flown out of the country following an overnight U.S. military operation.

In Miami, Venezuelans danced and cheered, with celebrations also taking place outside Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Fla. In Doral, Fla., revelers chanted "liberty" and draped Venezuelan flags over their shoulders.

HOUSE DEMOCRAT CALLS TRUMP'S MADURO CAPTURE 'WELCOME NEWS' AS LEFT ACCUSES HIM OF 'ILLEGAL ACTIONS'

Outside the El Arepazo restaurant, a hub of the Venezuelan culture of Doral, one man held a piece of cardboard with "Libertad" scrawled with a black marker. It was a sentiment expressed by other native Venezuelans hoping for a new beginning for their home country as they chanted "Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!"

"We’re like everybody — it’s a combination of feelings, of course," Alejandra Arrieta, who came to the U.S. in 1997, told The Associated Press.

"There’s fears. There’s excitement," he said. "There’s so many years that we’ve been waiting for this. Something had to happen in Venezuela. We all need the freedom."

Ecstatic crowds also gathered in Santiago, Chile, where one child held a sign reading "Somos Libres," meaning, "We Are Free."

The demonstrations reflected the scale of Venezuela’s diaspora, which has grown dramatically during Maduro’s years in power, as millions fled what critics describe as a period of economic collapse marked by hyperinflation and widespread food shortages.

Since 2017, roughly 8 million people have fled Venezuela, making it one of the world’s largest displacement crises, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency.

More than 6.9 million Venezuelans are currently hosted in Latin American and Caribbean countries, while hundreds of thousands more live in the United States and Europe, where diaspora communities have remained politically active and closely engaged with events back home.

JONATHAN TURLEY: WHY CAPTURE OF MADURO DIDN'T REQUIRE APPROVAL FROM CONGRESS

Maduro has been in power since 2013, when he succeeded longtime Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez following Chávez’s death, presiding over a period marked by economic decline, political unrest and mass migration.

Not all reactions to the U.S. action were celebratory.

Protests both in favor of and against the strikes have been scheduled in Buenos Aires and other cities across the region, underscoring deep divisions over Venezuela’s future and Washington’s role in the crisis.

In Greece, members of the Greek Communist Party demonstrated against Maduro’s capture.

The Trump administration’s military operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is a devastating setback to the South American nation’s long-term ally, the Islamic Republic of Iran, experts contend.

As Iran experiences yet another day of anti-regime protests across the country, Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), who has written about Maduro’s nefarious activities, told Fox News Digital that, "Maduro’s capture will be a blow to Iran’s interests in the Western Hemisphere as he was a longtime ally of Tehran under the banner of anti-imperialism and Americanism in the region."

He said, "How much of a blow it will be will depend on who comes to power after Maduro. Iran and Hezbollah have used Venezuela as an operational hub for terrorism, drug trafficking, and power projection in Latin and South America."

CARTEL CONNECTION: HEZBOLLAH AND IRAN EXPLOIT MADURO’S VENEZUELA FOR COCAINE CASH

He continued, "Iran had a military partnership with Caracas as well, especially with drones. So Tehran is likely eyeing these developments very warily. Its interests in the region were already weakened after Bolivia’s presidential election, which brought to power a center-right leader who reestablished relations with Israel."

In November, Fox News Digital reported that the Islamic Republic was backing Maduro just as the Trump administration stepped up military pressure in the Caribbean and expanded its crackdown on criminal networks tied to the regime in Caracas.

Brodsky said, "This will be a strike heard around the world. Iran’s regime will be watching it very closely as President Trump threatened the supreme leader during the 12-Day War. This historic strike adds to the perception of President Trump being unpredictable and risk-ready, which inspires fear in U.S. adversaries and bolsters the credibility of the threat of American military force. This strengthens U.S. deterrence."

ON MADURO’S ‘TERROR ISLAND,’ HEZBOLLAH OPERATIVES MOVE IN AS TOURISTS DRIFT OUT

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it "strongly condemns the American military attack on Venezuela and the flagrant violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country."

Potkin Azarmehr, a British-Iranian expert on Iran, told Fox News Digital that "Every fall of a dictator who is allied with the Ayatollahs is both a boost to the morale of the people in Iran and a setback for the ruling mullahs."

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He added that, "The Islamic Republic saw its ‘axis of resistance’ fall apart in the region. Now it’s witnessing its partner in crime further away toppled. This will seriously damage the regime’s revenues and resources. Many of the ruling officials must now be tempted to defect before it's too late."

Iran’s axis of resistance was the troika alliance consisting of the now-defunct Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria and the weakened Hezbollah terrorist movement in Lebanon.

Fox News' Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.