{"id":34656,"date":"2026-01-05T15:04:45","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T15:04:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=34656"},"modified":"2026-01-05T15:04:45","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T15:04:45","slug":"maduro-appears-in-new-york-court-un-debates-legality-of-us-raid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=34656","title":{"rendered":"Maduro appears in New York court, UN debates legality of US raid"},"content":{"rendered":"
Venezuela\u2019s deposed leader Nicolas Maduro arrived at a New York court on Monday to face drug trafficking charges, as the United Nations prepared to debate the legality of US President Donald Trump\u2019s extraordinary operation to capture him.<\/p>\n

Venezuela\u2019s deposed leader Nicolas Maduro arrived at a New York court on Monday to face drug trafficking charges, as the United Nations prepared to debate the legality of US President Donald Trump\u2019s extraordinary operation to capture him.<\/p>\n

In the biggest US intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama, US Special Forces swooped into Caracas over the weekend, smashing through Maduro\u2019s security cordon and detaining him at a safe house.<\/p>\n

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken shortly after 7 a.m. (1200 GMT) on Monday from a Brooklyn detention center by armed guards and flown by helicopter to Manhattan federal court for a midday hearing.<\/p>\n

Maduro, 63, is accused of overseeing a cocaine-trafficking network that partnered with Mexico\u2019s Sinaloa and Zetas cartels, Colombia\u2019s FARC rebels and Venezuela\u2019s Tren de Aragua gang. He has long denied the allegations, calling them a pretext for US imperial ambitions targeting Venezuela\u2019s oil.<\/p>\n

Oil aspirations<\/p>\n

Senior officials from Maduro\u2019s 13-year-old government remain in charge of the oil-producing nation of 30 million people, initially condemning the U.S. operation before signaling possible cooperation with Washington.<\/p>\n

Although Trump has denounced Maduro as a dictator and drug kingpin who flooded the United States with cocaine, he has openly expressed interest in Venezuela\u2019s oil wealth. The country holds the world\u2019s largest proven reserves\u2014about 303 billion barrels, mostly heavy crude in the Orinoco Belt.<\/p>\n

However, years of mismanagement, underinvestment and U.S. sanctions have left production averaging about 1.1 million barrels per day last year, roughly one-third of output levels seen in the 1970s.<\/p>\n

After first condemning Maduro\u2019s capture as a colonial \u201ckidnapping,\u201d Venezuela\u2019s acting president Delcy Rodriguez softened her tone on Sunday, saying respectful relations with the United States were a priority.<\/p>\n

Also Read:\u00a0China condemns US capture of Maduro, says countries cannot act as ‘world judge’<\/p>\n

\u201cWe invite the US government to work together on an agenda of cooperation,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cPresident Donald Trump, our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodriguez, 56, a prominent member of the ruling Chavista movement, is regarded as both a fierce loyalist and a pragmatic figure with strong private-sector ties and an inclination toward economic orthodoxy.<\/p>\n

Trump has warned of further strikes if Venezuela does not cooperate in opening its oil industry and curbing drug trafficking. He also issued threats toward Colombia and Mexico and said Cuba\u2019s communist government \u201clooks like it\u2019s ready to fall.\u201d<\/p>\n

International reaction<\/p>\n

Global reaction has been sharply divided. Russia, China and leftist allies of Venezuela condemned the US raid, while Cuba\u2014long rumored to oversee Maduro\u2019s security\u2014said 32 of its military and intelligence personnel were killed during the operation.<\/p>\n

Washington\u2019s allies, many of whom do not recognize Maduro due to allegations of election fraud, responded more cautiously, calling for dialogue and adherence to international law.<\/p>\n

\u201cJudging by the reactions from European leaders to date, I suspect that US allies will equivocate exquisitely in the Security Council,\u201d said Richard Gowan, an analyst at the International Crisis Group.<\/p>\n

Switzerland announced it had frozen assets held by Maduro and his associates.<\/p>\n

Maduro held in notorious jail<\/p>\n

Maduro, a former bus driver, union leader and foreign minister handpicked by Hugo Chavez to succeed him in 2013, is expected to be held at New York\u2019s Metropolitan Detention Center. Inmates there are typically confined to their cells for 23 hours a day.<\/p>\n

The facility has previously housed Ghislaine Maxwell, associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as well as hip-hop mogul Sean \u201cDiddy\u201d Combs. Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, convicted on drug charges before receiving a presidential pardon, was also detained there.<\/p>\n

Trump has justified Maduro\u2019s capture as a response to a surge in Venezuelan migration and to decades-old nationalization of US oil assets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re taking back what they stole,\u201d Trump said on Sunday. \u201cU.S. oil companies will return to Venezuela. We\u2019re in charge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Venezuelans uneasy about future<\/p>\n

Inside Venezuela, opposition supporters have tempered celebrations as Maduro\u2019s allies remain in power and there are no signs the military is breaking ranks. Many Venezuelans have begun stockpiling food and medicine amid fears of instability.<\/p>\n

Financial markets reacted sharply. Venezuela\u2019s defaulted government bonds surged, oil prices edged higher and global equities rose, with defense stocks gaining as geopolitical concerns intensified.<\/p>\n

Trump has dismissed the idea of opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado assuming power, saying she lacks sufficient support. Machado, barred from the 2024 election, has said her ally Edmundo Gonzalez won decisively and holds a mandate to rule.<\/p>\n

The raid has also sparked political backlash in the United States, with opposition Democrats saying they were misled. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was scheduled to brief lawmakers later on Monday.<\/p>\n

While some conservative figures criticized the operation as contradicting Trump\u2019s \u201cAmerica First\u201d pledge, most supporters praised it as a swift and decisive victory.<\/p>\n

Venezuela moves to cut oil output due to US export embargo<\/p>\n

Venezuela\u2019s state-run oil company PDVSA has begun cutting crude production as it runs out of storage capacity due to an ongoing US oil blockade that has reduced exports to zero, piling pressure on an interim government struggling to remain in power amid US threats of further military action.<\/p>\n

Caracas is in political crisis under an interim government after President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured by US forces on Saturday. Oil exports, Venezuela\u2019s main source of revenue, have come to a standstill following a US blockade on tankers under sanctions and the seizure of two oil cargoes last month.<\/p>\n

Cargoes operated by Chevron and bound for the United States had been an exception because the company holds a license from Washington. However, shipping data showed on Sunday that even those movements stopped on Thursday.<\/p>\n

As part of his announcement of Maduro\u2019s detention and a US-overseen government transition, US\u00a0President Donald Trump said on Saturday that an \u201coil embargo\u201d on Venezuela was fully in force.<\/p>\n

Read More: Trump: second strike in Venezuela possible if government does not cooperate<\/p>\n

PDVSA\u2019s response includes shutting down oilfields and well clusters as onshore stocks mount and the company runs short of diluents needed to blend Venezuela\u2019s heavy crude for export. According to sources, PDVSA has requested output cuts at joint ventures including China National Petroleum Corporation\u2019s (CNPC) Petrolera Sinovensa, Chevron\u2019s Petropiar and Petroboscan, and Petromonagas. Petromangas, previously operated with Russia\u2019s Roszarubezhneft, is now run solely by PDVSA.<\/p>\n

PDVSA and CNPC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Chevron said on Sunday it continues to operate \u201cin full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations,\u201d without providing details.<\/p>\n

At Sinovensa, workers were preparing on Sunday to disconnect up to 10 well clusters at PDVSA\u2019s request after an accumulation of extra-heavy crude and a shortage of diluents. The wells could be reconnected quickly if conditions improve, a source said. Part of Sinovensa\u2019s output is typically shipped to China as debt repayment, but two China-flagged supertankers that had been heading to Venezuela halted their approach at the end of December, according to LSEG shipping data.<\/p>\n

At Petromonagas, workers began reducing output late last week until diluent supplies resume through pipelines, another source said.<\/p>\n

Chevron has not yet cut output, as it still has some storage capacity\u2014particularly at Petropiar\u2014and tankers continue to load. However, Chevron vessels have not left Venezuelan waters since Thursday, and limited storage at Petroboscan could eventually force production cuts, a source added.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Venezuela\u2019s deposed leader Nicolas Maduro arrived at a New York court on Monday to face drug trafficking charges, as the United Nations prepared to debate the legality of US President Donald Trump\u2019s extraordinary operation to capture him. Venezuela\u2019s deposed leader Nicolas Maduro arrived at a New York court on Monday to face drug trafficking charges, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34656\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}