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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.

TRUMP VOWS US WILL 'RUN' VENEZUELA UNTIL 'SAFE' TRANSITION OF POWER

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.

VENEZUELAN LEADER MADURO LANDS IN NEW YORK AFTER BEING CAPTURED BY US FORCES ON DRUG CONSPIRACY CHARGES

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.

HEGSETH APPLAUDS SOUTH KOREA'S PLAN TO TAKE LARGER ROLE IN DEFENSE AGAINST NORTH KOREAN AGGRESSION

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.

NORTH KOREA FIRES BALLISTIC MISSILE DAYS AFTER HEGSETH WRAPS SOUTH KOREA VISIT

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."

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU PUSHES BACK ON 'FAKE SPINS' SUGGESTING TENSION BETWEEN HIM AND TRUMP

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."

TRUMP SIGNALS NEW TRUST IN ERDOGAN, RAISING CONCERNS OVER TURKEY’S AMBITIONS IN GAZA AND BEYOND

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."

PROTESTS SPREAD ACROSS IRAN AS REGIME THREATENS US FORCES AS 'LEGITIMATE TARGETS' AFTER TRUMP WARNING

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.

President Donald Trump confirmed that Delta Force — the U.S. Army’s most elite counterterrorism and direct-action unit — carried out the daring overnight operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

Delta Force, officially known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta, specializes in high-risk missions involving the capture or killing of high-value targets, as well as other sensitive operations that require speed, secrecy and precision.

The unit operates under U.S. Special Operations Command and is typically deployed when missions carry significant political or strategic stakes.

According to Military.com, Delta Force is based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the hub of U.S. Army special operations training. The unit has previously been involved in some of the most consequential U.S. military operations, including the 2003 capture of Saddam Hussein. The secretive unit also conducted numerous counterterrorism missions in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Middle East, targeting senior al-Qaeda figures.

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

Delta Force is commanded by a senior Army officer, but the identity of the unit’s leader is also kept classified, as is the exact size of the unit. 

It is unclear how many members took part in the Venezuela operation.

During the raid, U.S. Army helicopters from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the "Night Stalkers," flew the special operations forces into Venezuela, officials said.

At least seven explosions were heard in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, and low-flying aircraft were seen over the city at about 2 a.m. local time, according to reports.

The CIA provided intelligence to the Department of War that helped guide Delta Force to Maduro and his wife, whom President Donald Trump said were apprehended during the U.S. military operation.

Officials emphasized that while the CIA played a critical role in tracking and locating Maduro, U.S. military special operations forces carried out the physical capture.

MARIA CORINA MACHADO EMERGES AS TOP POTENTIAL SUCCESSOR AFTER MADURO’S FALL

Trump told "FOX & Friends Weekend" early Saturday that U.S. military personnel involved in the operation "did an incredible job."

"They rehearsed and practiced like nobody’s ever seen," Trump said. "And I was told by real military people that there’s no other country on earth that could do such a maneuver."

Trump said he watched the operation unfold in real time.

"The whole maneuver of the landings, the number of aircraft — which were massive — the number of helicopters, different types of helicopters, different types of fighter jets," Trump said. "We had a fighter jet for every possible situation."

"They just broke in and they broke into places that were not really able to be broken into," he added. "I’ve never seen anything like it."

Trump said Maduro was inside a fortified residence but was captured before he could reach a secure area.

Trump also said there were injuries during the operation but no U.S. fatalities and no aircraft losses.

Maduro and his wife were taken aboard the USS Iwo Jima and are expected to be transported to the United States, where they could appear in federal court in New York City as soon as Monday, Fox News has learned.

Fox News’ Rachel Wolf, David Spunt, Jennifer Griffin and Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.

As Americans awoke to the news of U.S. military strikes on Venezuela, and the capture and extraction of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, questions are being asked if Maduro was betrayed by someone from his secretive inner circle. 

That inner circle includes Diosdado Cabello, who currently holds the role of minister of interior, justice, and peace, is widely believed to be as powerful as Maduro.

Another member of that inner circle is Vladimir Padrino, the longstanding head of the nation's Armed Forces, who wields enormous power. Both Cabello and Padrino quickly condemned U.S. actions, but their responses so far have rung hollow.

MADURO GAVE STATE TV ADDRESS AS US STRIKES IN VENEZUELA BEGAN: REPORT

Cabello now stands as the undisputed heir to the Chavista movement, with Padrino and the nation's military muscle seemingly in lockstep, yet the Venezuelan Armed Forces seemingly put up no resistance of any kind to the operation.

In an early morning video shared on X, Padrino lambasted the "criminal military aggression by the government of the United States…coming to strike with their missiles and rockets fired from combat helicopters in Fuerte Tuna, Caracas, and the states of Mirana, Aragua, and La Guaira."

He repeated decades-old Hugo Chavez talking points, stating, "Venezuela rejects with all its strength the presence of these foreign troops which have only brought death, pain and destruction. This invasion represents the greatest tragedy that the country has suffered, which is motivated by an insatiable greed for our strategic resources."

With a $50 million bounty on Maduro's head, considerable domestic unpopularity, and the disputed 2024 election which the international community widely discredited as stolen, the writing appeared on the wall for Nicolas Maduro for years.

Now, Maduro and Flores are reportedly guests of the United States government on the warship Iwo Jima, bound for New York to face what is likely to be the trial of the decade. Maduro is facing weapons and drug charges.

US CAPTURE OF MADURO CHAMPIONED, CONDEMNED ACROSS WORLD STAGE AFTER SURGICAL VENEZUELA STRIKES

The Venezuelan head of the Economic Inclusion Group, Jorge Jraissati, lauded the operation:

"If everything goes well, this could open a new era of peace in Venezuela. For too long, Maduro has been a cancer for Venezuela and the region. It has turned Venezuela into an authoritarian state…This would not have happened if Maduro had accepted his defeat in 2024. He should have left power peacefully."

Yet, experts are wondering how the operation was undertaken so smoothly, without some level of complicity on the part of the Venezuelan regime.

Jraissati argued, "Trump’s ability to take Maduro quickly is an indicator that the U.S. had great intelligence on the ground. It shows that Venezuelans were actively cooperating with the Americans. It’s a huge win for the U.S."

"Trump’s operation is not against the Venezuelan people; it is against those who oppress us. Against Maduro and his crooks, who turn our country into a humanitarian crisis."

Delcy Rodriguez, the nation's current vice president and presumptive successor to Maduro, demanded a "proof of life" of Maduro on X, and is now the subject of intense speculation as to her whereabouts. Reports say she is currently in Russia, but Moscow has denied this. 

Taking out Maduro without taking out the rest of the Chavista power structure could prove problematic. Diosdado Cabello and Vladimir Padrino would be unlikely to preside over democratic elections that they would likely lose. In such a scenario, they could put themselves and their fortunes at considerable risk.

Analysts will now be assessing who potentially was involved in the operation to capture Maduro, as well as whether Cabello or Padrino, or members of the Venezuelan military were involved, with reports of an entrenched CIA asset reporting on the whereabouts of Maduro.

As the future of Venezuela remains very much in doubt, every day Venezuelans scrambled to stock up on food and fuel. 

With Delcy Rodriguez as the de jure head of state, there is going to be an inevitable power struggle with Maria Corina Machado, recent winner of the Nobel Prize. It is widely believed that in any kind of free and fair election, she would win in a landslide. However, her current whereabouts are unknown, since leaving Norway in mid-December after receiving her award.

Venezuela experts know one thing: the Chavista movement will not go gently into the Caracas night.

Cabello, Padrino and other regime loyalists may stay to fight to the end, or they may seek to negotiate an exit to Havana and Moscow, the most logical choices.

The presumed successor to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is currently in Russia, a report said Saturday. 

Four sources familiar with the movements of Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez confirmed her location to Reuters, although the news agency cited Russia’s foreign ministry as claiming the report was "fake." 

Earlier in the day, Rodriguez demanded in audio played on Venezuelan state TV that the U.S. provide "proof of life" for Maduro and his wife after President Donald Trump said the pair were captured in a U.S. military operation. 

"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. 

LIVE UPDATES: VENEZUELA'S MADURO IS CAPTURED BY THE US 

Trump later shared to Truth Social a photo of Maduro seen detained, blindfolded and clutching a water bottle while wearing gray sweatpants and a sweatshirt aboard the U.S.S. Iwo Jima. Trump said he would later be brought to New York. 

Maduro previously served as Venezuela’s vice president before he took power in 2013 following the death of then-leader Hugo Chávez. 

Jorge Rodriguez, who is Delcy’s brother and is the head of Venezuela’s national assembly, remains in Caracas, three sources told Reuters. 

When asked about what the future of Venezuela holds with Maduro no longer in the country, Trump said in an interview on "Fox & Friends Weekend" that, "we're making that decision now."

REPUBLICANS LINE UP BEHIND TRUMP AFTER US STRIKES VENEZUELA, MADURO ARRESTED: 'CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY'

"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. "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 later confirmed at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., that the U.S. would run Venezuela on a temporary basis.

The successors to Maduro are likely to be the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner and opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González, an expert said Saturday. 

Jorge Jraissati, a Venezuelan who is the president of the Economic Inclusion Group, told Fox News Digital that "Machado and Gonzalez would assume a transitional government in Venezuela. 

Fox News’ Rachel Wolf, Benjamin Weinthal and Efrat Lachter contributed to this report. 

Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro participated in a car interview just days before he was captured by U.S. forces. 

During the interview, Maduro said that his government is open to negotiating an agreement targeting drug trafficking networks tied to his government.

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."

REPUBLICANS LINE UP BEHIND TRUMP AFTER US STRIKES VENEZUELA, MADURO ARRESTED: 'CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY'

"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."

President Donald Trump confirmed early Saturday morning that the U.S. had carried out strikes in Caracas and captured both Maduro and his wife.

"The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country," the president wrote on Truth Social.

US LAUNCHES ‘LARGE-SCALE STRIKE’ IN VENEZUELA, FLIES LEADER AND WIFE OUT OF COUNTRY

Trump later joined "Fox & Friends Weekend" to discuss the operation, which he said he watched from Mar-a-Lago. The president also confirmed that Maduro and his wife were transported to the U.S.S. Iwo Jima via helicopter.

Fox News host Griff Jenkins asked Trump, "Before we let you go, though, can you tell us where Maduro and his wife are right this second?"

"Well, they'll be heading to New York," Trump said. Griffin interjected, "Were they taken to a ship first?"

"Yes, the Iwo Jima," Trump said. "They'll be heading into New York. The helicopters took them out, and they went by helicopter on a nice flight. I'm sure they loved it, but they've killed a lot of people."

"Even people in their own country. They killed a lot of people to maintain power. He's a very vicious person."

Fox News learned on Saturday that Maduro could appear in federal court in New York as soon as Monday.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado issued an open call for a transfer of power Saturday, urging the military to abandon Nicolás Maduro’s government and recognize opposition-backed candidate Edmundo González as president after the U.S. said Maduro had been captured.

Machado’s statement came hours after President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces had captured Maduro following what he described as "large-scale" military strikes targeting the Venezuelan government. Trump said Maduro and his wife were flown out of the country, a move that would mark the most direct U.S. military action against a Latin American head of state in decades.

"The hour of freedom has arrived," wrote in a post on X. "This is the hour of the citizens. Those of us who risked everything for democracy on July 28th. Those of us who elected Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate President of Venezuela, who must immediately assume his constitutional mandate and be recognized as Commander-in-Chief of the National Armed Forces by all the officers and soldiers who comprise it."

It remained unclear Saturday whether senior commanders have shifted allegiance or whether the opposition has secured control of state institutions.

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

Machado also called on Venezuelans inside the country to remain "vigilant, active and organized," signaling that further instructions would be communicated through official opposition channels. To Venezuelans abroad, she urged immediate mobilization to pressure foreign governments to recognize a new leadership in Caracas.

The U.S. conducted strikes on Caracas early Saturday morning and took Maduro and his wife into custody and flew them to New York to face drug trafficking charges.

Machado and González have repeatedly argued that the July 28 presidential election was stolen, pointing to an opposition-run parallel vote count that they say shows González won by a wide margin.

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

Venezuela’s electoral authorities, which are controlled by Maduro allies, declared him the winner with just under 52% of the vote, compared with roughly 43% for González. The government has rejected allegations of fraud.

The opposition, however, says it collected and published tally sheets from polling stations nationwide showing González received about two-thirds of the vote, compared with roughly 30% for Maduro — a claim cited by several foreign governments that declined to recognize the official results.

Maduro’s government has refused to release detailed precinct-level data to independently verify the outcome, further fueling accusations that the election did not reflect the will of voters.

While González is the opposition-backed presidential candidate, Machado has remained the dominant figure in Venezuela’s opposition movement. Machado won the opposition’s primary by a landslide before being barred from running by Maduro’s government, forcing the coalition to rally behind González as a substitute candidate.

Throughout the campaign, González publicly acknowledged Machado as the movement’s leader, with Machado continuing to direct strategy, messaging and voter mobilization efforts. Machado has remained the public face of the opposition, while González has largely played a formal, constitutional role tied to the presidency.

Just hours before his capture by the U.S., Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro met with a Chinese envoy, highlighting the great power competition between Washington and Beijing in the Western Hemisphere.

Maduro received Qiu Xiaoqi, the Chinese government’s special representative for Latin American affairs, at the Miraflores Presidential Palace on Friday — reaffirming Caracas’ strategic ties with Beijing and pledging to build what he called a "multipolar world of development and peace.

Coincidentally, Trump met with US Ambassador to China David Perdue on Friday evening.

Hours later, President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces had struck targets across Venezuela and taken Maduro and his wife into custody, flying them out of the country as part of a dramatic escalation of pressure on the embattled leader.

The U.S. operation appears to mark the most direct U.S. military action against a sitting head of state in Latin America since Panama in 1989, with Trump’s administration framing the capture as the culmination of months of allegations that Maduro trafficked drugs into the United States and ruled illegitimately.

MADURO SAYS VENEZUELA IS 'READY' TO MAKE DEAL WITH US ON DRUGS AND OIL AFTER MILITARY STRIKES

China, meanwhile, said it was "deeply shocked" by the U.S. action. 

"China is deeply shocked and strongly condemns the U.S.'s blatant use of force against a sovereign state and its action against its president," Beijing's foreign ministry said in a statement.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TARGETS MADURO’S INNER CIRCLE, FAMILY IN MAJOR NARCO-STATE CRACKDOWN

"Such hegemonic behavior by the U.S. seriously violates international law, infringes upon Venezuela's sovereignty, and threatens peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean. China firmly opposes it," it added.

China has provided billions of dollars in financing and energy investment to expand its influence throughout Latin America through its Belt and Road Initiative and is Caracas’ largest crude oil importer.

The Trump administration has openly rejected that trajectory. Senior officials have said the U.S. intends to reassert the Monroe Doctrine, a long-standing policy opposing foreign powers establishing strategic footholds in the Americas, particularly authoritarian rivals such as China.

Venezuela has been a focal point of that competition. U.S. officials have accused Beijing, along with Russia and Iran, of propping up Maduro’s government as it faced international isolation, economic collapse and widespread allegations of corruption and narcotrafficking.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro reportedly made a statement on television and radio early Saturday as the U.S. strikes against his country unfolded, describing them as an "attack against the sovereignty of Venezuela." 

The remarks came before President Donald Trump announced that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were "captured and flown out of the country" following a "large scale strike" carried out by the U.S. military. Attorney General Pam Bondi later said Maduro and Flores were indicted on charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy. 

In comments aired on state television and radio, Maduro alleged that U.S. forces attacked civilian and military sites in Venezuela’s capital of Caracas, as well as the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, according to The Miami Herald.

"This is an attack against the sovereignty of Venezuela," Maduro reportedly said as he stood alongside military and government officials. "It is an attempt to impose a colonial war and force political change by violence."

LIVE UPDATES: TRUMP CONFIRMS OVERNIGHT STRIKES IN VENEZUELA, SAYS US HAS ‘CAPTURED’ MADURO

Maduro also described the U.S. actions as a "grave military aggression" and violation of the United Nations charter, adding that it threatened peace across Latin America and the Caribbean, The Miami Herald reported. 

The U.S. has been carrying out a military campaign against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific in recent months. 

MARIA CORINA MACHADO EMERGES AS TOP POTENTIAL SUCCESSOR AFTER MADURO'S FALL

Maduro’s government cast the U.S. strikes on Saturday as part of a larger American effort to seize Venezuela’s oil and mineral reserves, according to The Miami Herald. 

The newspaper reported that state TV broadcasted images of Venezuelan soldiers deploying to strategic infrastructure and officials holding emergency meetings. 

As part of Maduro’s response, he also signed a decree that declared a nationwide state of "external disturbance," which gives his government sweeping powers during emergencies, including mobilizing security forces and limiting certain civil liberties, The Miami Herald added.