SINGAPORE: Singapore is "gravely concerned" about the United States' intervention in Venezuela on Saturday (Jan 3) and urged restraint by all parties.

The US carried out a lightning pre-dawn attack in which special forces grabbed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife – while air strikes pounded sites in and around the capital city Caracas – then whisked them out of the country.

"Singapore is deeply committed to international law and the principles of the UN Charter that safeguard the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, especially small states," Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement on Sunday.

"Singapore has consistently opposed actions contrary to international law by any parties, including foreign military intervention in any country."

It urged all parties to exercise restraint and hopes for a peaceful resolution to the situation in Venezuela in accordance with international law and the principles of the UN Charter.

MFA said there are no Singaporeans e-registered with the ministry in Venezuela and Singaporeans are advised to defer all travel to the country.

Maduro landed at a US military base shortly after nightfall and was then transported by helicopter to New York City.

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents surrounded Maduro as he descended from a US government plane and slowly escorted him along the tarmac at a National Guard facility in New York state.

The leftist leader was then flown by helicopter to Manhattan, where a large law enforcement contingent awaited.

The 63-year-old leader was to be taken first to the offices of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, then to the Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal facility in Brooklyn, according to US media.

Maduro and his wife are to be arraigned at an unspecified date before a judge in New York. They have been charged with "narco-terrorism", importing tons of cocaine into the United States, and possession of illegal weapons.

US President Donald Trump said in a press conference on Saturday that the US will "run" Venezuela and tap its huge oil reserves.

Trump said he was "designating people" from his Cabinet to be in charge in Venezuela but gave no further details.

He also indicated US troops could be deployed, saying Washington is "not afraid of boots on the ground".

WASHINGTON: Democratic members of the US Congress said on Saturday (Jan 3) that senior officials of President ⁠Donald Trump's administration had misled them during recent briefings about plans for Venezuela by insisting they were not planning regime change in Caracas.

The US attacked Venezuela and deposed its long-serving President Nicolas Maduro in an overnight operation, in Washington's most direct intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama.

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democrats' leader in the Senate, said he had been told in three classified briefings that the administration was not pursuing regime change or planning to take military action in Venezuela.

"They assured me that they were not pursuing those things," Schumer said on a call with reporters. "Clearly, they're not being straight with the American people." 

Schumer said he had not been briefed by Saturday afternoon and called for the administration to ‍fill in not just congressional and intelligence committee leaders, but also ⁠all lawmakers ‍by early next week.

"They've kept everyone in the total dark," he said.

Lawmakers said they wanted more guidance on Trump's plans for Venezuela, after he told reporters he would put the country under US control, for now.

"No serious plan has been presented for how such an extraordinary undertaking would work or what it will cost the American people," said Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"History ⁠offers no shortage of warnings about the costs – human, strategic, and moral – of assuming we can govern another nation by force."

The Senate is due ‍to vote next week on whether to block further military action against Venezuela without congressional approval.

Trump told reporters he was open to the idea of sending US ground troops into Venezuela, a prospect that has rattled some US lawmakers, including Republican Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa, who faces a potentially difficult re-election campaign in November.

Meeks called the US action in Venezuela "a national security issue", but said in a Fox News interview that "Iowans do not want troops on the ground in Venezuela".

In briefings in November and December by officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and War Secretary Pete Hegseth, lawmakers said they were told repeatedly that there were no plans for a land invasion inside Venezuela and that the administration was not focused on regime change.

"Instead, the administration consistently misled the American people and their elected representatives," Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a ‌statement.

The Pentagon, State Department and White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SOME LAWMAKERS SAY ADMINISTRATION LIED

Several lawmakers said they felt they had been lied to.

"The Administration lied to Congress and launched an illegal war for regime change and oil," Democratic Representative Don Beyer of Virginia said on X. Beyer's ‍district includes ‌the Pentagon, just across the river from Washington.

At a news conference on Saturday, Trump said Congress had not been kept fully informed because of concerns that word about his plans would get out.

"Congress does have a tendency to leak," Trump told reporters.

Members of Congress, including some of Trump's fellow Republicans as well as Democrats, had been clamouring for more information about his strategy toward the oil-rich South American nation since September, when he began a military build-up in the Caribbean and ordered strikes on boats he said were carrying drugs.

"When we had briefings on Venezuela, we asked, 'Are you going to invade the country?' We were told no. 'Do you plan to put troops on the ground?' We were told no. 'Do you intend regime change in Venezuela?' We were told no," Democratic Representative Seth Moulton ‌of Massachusetts said on CNN.

"So in a sense, we have been briefed, we've just been completely lied to."

Lawmakers said they were not briefed before the operation, although Rubio called some members of Congress after it took place.

Democratic and Republican congressional leaders said they hoped to arrange some briefings after lawmakers return to Washington on Jan 5 following their year-end recess.

Most Republicans praised Trump's action and have declined to discuss what has been said in classified briefings.

"President Trump's decisive action to disrupt the unacceptable status quo and apprehend Maduro, through the execution of a valid Department of Justice warrant, is an important first step to bring him to justice for the drug crimes for which he has been indicted in the United States," said Senate Republican Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota.

Republican Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, at a press conference in his home state of Florida, said that with Maduro removed from power in Venezuela, the "tyrannies" of Cuba and Nicaragua's leaders were also in jeopardy.

"The next two, their days are also counted," he said.

Other members of Congress have long accused presidents from both parties of seeking to sidestep the Constitution's requirement that Congress, ‌not the president, approve anything other than brief and limited military action ‌needed to defend the United States. 

WASHINGTON: The US captured Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro in a military operation early on Saturday morning (Jan 3), culminating a months-long pressure campaign by President Donald Trump's administration that drew condemnation from some international leaders.

Maduro was on a warship bound for New York to face criminal charges, according to US officials.

Here is a look at the legality of the US action. 

WHAT HAPPENED?

On Saturday, US forces attacked Venezuela and seized Maduro, who has been widely condemned as an illegitimate leader, and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Trump had been urging Maduro to cede power and has accused him of supporting drug cartels that Washington designated as terror groups, alleging they were responsible for thousands of US deaths tied to illegal drug use.

Since September, US forces have killed more than 100 people in at least 30 strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats from Venezuela in the Caribbean and Pacific, which legal experts said likely violated ‌US and international law.

HOW DID THE US JUSTIFY THE ACTION?

US authorities said the Justice Department sought military assistance to apprehend Maduro, who ‌had been indicted by a New York grand jury along with his wife, son, two political leaders and an alleged leader of an international gang. 

They were charged with crimes related to terrorism, drugs and weapons.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media that the defendants "will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts".

However, at a press conference, Trump blamed Venezuela for stealing US oil interests and said Washington would take them back and planned to run Venezuela for a period of time, without offering specifics.

Experts in international law said the Trump administration had muddled the legal issues by claiming the operation was both a targeted law enforcement mission and the potential prelude to long-term control of Venezuela by the US.

"You cannot say this was a law enforcement operation and then turn‍ around and say now we need to run the country," said Jeremy Paul, a professor at Northeastern University specialising in constitutional law. 

"It just doesn't make any sense."

WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?

The US Congress has the power to declare war, but the president is the commander-in-chief, and presidents of both parties have justified carrying out military action when it was limited in scope and in the national interest.

Trump's Chief ‌of Staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair magazine in an interview published late last year that if Trump were to authorise "some activity on land" in Venezuela he would need approval from Congress.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Congress was not notified before Saturday's operation.

International law prohibits the use of force in international ‌relations except for narrow exceptions such as authorisation by the UN Security Council or in self-defence.

Drug trafficking and gang violence are considered criminal activity and do not rise to the accepted international standard of an armed conflict that would justify a military response, according to legal experts.

"A criminal indictment alone doesn't provide authority to use military force to depose a foreign government, and the administration will probably hang this also on a theory of self-defence," said Matthew Waxman, a law professor at Columbia University specialising in national security law.

The US has not recognised Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela since 2019, following an election the US said was rigged.

IS THERE A PRECEDENT?

The US has captured criminal suspects in foreign countries, including Libya, but it has sought consent of local authorities. While the administration describes Maduro as an illegitimate leader, Washington ​has not recognised another Venezuelan leader who could have authorised the capture of Maduro.

In 1989, the US arrested General Manuel Noriega, then the leader of Panama, in similar circumstances. Noriega had been indicted on drug-related charges and Washington said it was acting to protect US citizens after Panamanian forces had killed a US soldier.

The United States‍ had also alleged Noriega was an illegitimate leader and had recognised as the country's leader the candidate whom Noriega had claimed to have defeated in a recent election.

The former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando ⁠Hernández, was extradited to the United States in 2022 and later convicted on drug-related charges and sentenced to 45 years in prison. Trump pardoned Hernandez in December.

Legal experts were sceptical that the United States would face any meaningful accountability for ​its actions in Venezuela, even if they were unlawful, given ‌the lack of enforcement mechanisms in international law.

"It's hard to see how any legal body could impose practical consequences on the administration," said Paul of Northeastern.

LONDON: Every year, many of us bravely announce our resolutions for the new year. A glass of champagne on New Year’s Eve might add to our confidence in our ability to do better in the coming year and save more, spend less, eat better, work out more or binge-watch less.

But most of our resolutions fail. Even within the first weeks after New Year’s Eve, the majority of people have given up on them. Yet, not all tales of failure are the same, because the way you talk about the failure matters for your own motivation and other people’s confidence in your ability to try again.

So what can we do after we’ve given up on our resolution? We’ve announced our good intentions to friends and family and now must admit failure. Research has shown the way you word your failed resolution can affect how people view it. And understanding the reasons most resolutions don’t work out can help us see it through in the future.

Indeed, you can talk about your resolutions in a way that will make your failure more understandable and will sustain your motivation to keep going.

FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL

A constructive way to discuss your failed resolution is to focus on the controllability of the failure. Research shows that most resolutions will require some investment of time and of money.

For example, getting in shape takes time for exercise and also normally requires money for a gym membership or for workout equipment. Because both of these resources are essential for pursuing our goals, many failed resolutions are due to the lack of either time or money, or both.

When talking about a failed resolution in the past, I’ve showed in my own research that we should focus on how lack of money contributed to this failure, rather than lack of time.

In my 2024 study, people read about fictional as well as real panel participants who failed either due to lack of money or lack of time. Most participants felt the person whose failure was caused by lack of money would have more self-control going forward and was going to be more reliable at pursuing their goals.

This effect occurred because lack of money is seen as something that cannot be controlled very easily, so if this caused the failure, there wasn’t very much the person who failed could have done about it.

In this research, most of the failed resolutions were related to weight loss, better eating, or working out in the gym. Participants felt the same whether the person who failed was a man or a woman, presumably because it’s plausible that everyone needs some time and some money to pursue various goals regardless of gender or the specific resolution.

The role of controllability takes a different form when it comes to thinking about how we can do better next time.

THE ROLE OF TIME

Research also shows the way we view time matters when it comes to failure. For the past, it’s better to think about things outside of our control that can help to take the negativity out of failure and bolster the belief that we can do better. This can mean, for example, to consider how our failure was due to lack of money or other resources outside of our control.

For the future, however, take an active perspective on time. Look at your schedule and make active decisions how to allocate time to your goal pursuit, by scheduling gym sessions or blocking time to prepare healthy meals. This can help to give us the motivation to try again because we’re not victims of our busy schedules.

A study published in October 2025 that focused on how a lack of time contributed to failures showed that people can get back a sense of control by talking about “making time”, instead of “having time”. People who discussed their failures as an issue of not having made the time felt like they could do things differently in the future, and were more motivated to do so.

This is because “making time” suggests active control over one’s time and schedule, instead of “having time” that leaves us passive. For example, if you say you didn’t make the time to work out, that means you can make the time in the future if you choose to do so. In contrast, if you say you didn’t have time to work out, it feels like this lack of time is outside of your control and could happen again, preventing you from pursuing your exercise goals.

FIND THE JOY

Another reason so many people struggle to keep to their New Year's resolution may be because they were too ambitious, or they neglected that joy and pleasure keep us going.

We need not only to have a goal in mind. Finding joy in the journey and belief in the ability to change is also important. For example, someone might want to get in better shape and work out more, but when they actually try to go to the gym, they lack the confidence to sign up for a class.

Without some fun, it’s hard to follow through on a resolution even if we really want to pursue the goal. So, try to think of ways you can make the goal more enjoyable to work on and remind yourself you are capable.

The trend for New Year's resolutions isn’t a bad thing in itself. Although it might seem a bit paradoxical to start virtuous habits right after a big night with alcohol and overeating, research shows that we can indeed benefit from the “fresh-start” effect in which a new beginning in the calendar can provide a clean slate to start better habits.

But we don’t have to wait for the calendar to give us a fresh start. We can choose to make our own resolution (maybe a Valentine’s or Easter resolution?) to boost the motivation to pursue our goals.

Janina Steinmetz is Professor in Marketing at Bayes Business School, City St George's, University of London. This commentary first appeared on The Conversation.

WASHINGTON: After the United States seized Venezuela's leader, who will run the country?

According to President Donald Trump, the answer is: his own administration, the South American country's vice president, and not Venezuela's democratic opposition.

Trump also made clear that US companies would profit from the oil of Venezuela, which has the world's largest proven reserves, after US forces attacked the capital, Caracas and seized the country's president, Nicolas Maduro, in the dead of night.

Trump, who for years condemned what he called failed US nation-building, said bluntly that the United States will manage Venezuela, a country of nearly 30 million people, at least temporarily.

"We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump told a news conference at his Florida estate.

How Trump would run the country - where the US embassy is shuttered, and no US troops are known to be on the ground - remains unclear.

Trump said that the United States was "designating various people", including an unnamed group.

But he added that for a period of time, Venezuela will be led by "the people that are standing right behind me" - Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US military leaders.

Rubio, a sworn foe of Latin America's leftists, for months has highlighted how not just the United States but most Western countries saw Maduro as illegitimate, following two elections that observers said were riddled with irregularities.

But hours after Maduro was grabbed, Trump brushed aside the prospects of Maria Corina Machado, the opposition leader who won last year's Nobel Peace Prize and had been hailed by Western leaders as representing Venezuelans, as a successor.

"I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader," Trump said.

"She doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country. She's a very nice woman, but she doesn't have the respect," Trump said.
 

WORKING WITH THE VP

Trump said that the United States had not been in touch with Machado, who had hailed the operation as the "hour of freedom".

Instead, Trump said Rubio spoke by telephone to the vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, a stalwart of the leftist movement of Maduro and his late predecessor, Hugo Chavez.

"She's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again. Very simple," Trump said.

Rodriguez, however, did not stick to Trump's script in an address to the nation, saying Maduro was the only president and demanding his return.

Most US allies, who had once lined up to oppose Maduro, quickly distanced themselves from Trump.

French President Emmanuel Macron, while hailing the end of "Maduro's dictatorship", said the will of Venezuelans was represented by Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the opposition figure and Machado ally seen by the international community as the legitimate winner of the 2024 elections.

Kevin Whitaker, a veteran former US diplomat dealing with Latin America, including Venezuela, said he was "extremely surprised" to hear Trump undercut Machado.

"This seems to be a case where the Trump administration, at least by appearance at this point, is making decisions about the democratic future of Venezuela without referring back to the democratic result" of the election, said Whitaker, now at the Atlantic Council think tank.

MORE OF THE SAME FOR VENEZUELANS?

Rodriguez constitutionally would need to call a new election. But analysts said it remains to be seen if Rodriguez, like Maduro, would actually be willing to hand over power.

Rodriguez's elevation may mean better ties with the United States, "but I'm not sure it will be a significant change for Venezuelans", said Iria Puyosa, a Venezuelan scholar also at the Atlantic Council.

Maduro and Chavez, for years, thumbed their nose at the United States, denouncing US imperialism as they pursued a socialist economy, which had fallen into shambles and prompted the flight of millions of people.

Trump's Democratic rivals voiced outrage at the open involvement of oil companies, seeing it as a throwback to imperialism at its most egregious.

"The United States should not be running other countries for any reason," said Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat.

"We should have learned by now not to get involved in endless wars and regime change missions that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."

CARACAS: Some of the nearly eight million Venezuelans who fled economic collapse and repression under Nicolas Maduro gathered in their thousands in cities worldwide Saturday (Jan 3) to celebrate the strongman's ouster by US forces.

Thousands massed in the Chilean capital, Santiago, joyfully waving the Venezuelan flag, many decked out in their national colours of yellow, blue and red. 

"At last we'll be able to go back home," street vendor Yurimar Rojas told AFP, straining to make himself heard over the ebullient crowd.

"At last we’re going to have a free country," he exclaimed.

Maduro, whose claims to reelection in 2018 and 2024 were widely dismissed as fraudulent, was snatched by US forces in an early-morning military strike and was to be flown to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.

"This is tremendous for us," celebrated Yasmery Gallardo, 61, who said she planned to return home soon from Chile, where she has lived for eight years.

"I’m already planning my trip...I can’t wait to be back in my country!" she exclaimed.

Venezuelans in Chile have been spooked by the campaign promises of far-right president-elect Jose Antonio Kast to deport nearly 340,000 undocumented migrants he blames for a perceived rise in crime.

"THANK YOU, TRUMP"

In Miami, thousands more gathered, singing and kissing the Venezuelan flag.

One shouted from the crowd: "Thank you, Trump!"

"Today, January 3rd, the dreams of Venezuelans abroad came true," Ana Gonzalez, one of the revellers, told AFP.

Another, Anabela Ramos, said she had been waiting "27 years for this moment and now it's finally happened, it's finally happened!"  

In Spain, home to about 400,000 Venezuelans, thousands massed in Madrid to celebrate.

"He is gone, he is gone!" and "He has fallen, he has fallen!" they shouted, many with the Venezuelan flag draped over their shoulders as they hugged.

"I came to celebrate: at last we’re emerging from this dictatorship!" said Pedro Marcano, 47, who has his heart set on going home after 11 years abroad.

But first, "we’ll need things to be a bit clearer," he said.

The country's future is uncertain, with President Donald Trump saying Saturday the United States will "run" Venezuela until a power transfer can happen.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has said she is ready to work with Washington, according to Trump, who said opposition leader Maria Corina Machado "doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country" to be president.

Rodriguez later insisted in a public address that Maduro was Venezuela's "only president" and the government was "ready to defend" the country.

At the Madrid rally, a message from Machado was played over a loudspeaker, and the crowd fell silent.

"Venezuela will be free!" said Machado, and Marcano wiped away a tear.

"DIVINE JUSTICE"

In the capital of Colombia, which hosts nearly three million Venezuelans - more than any other country - hairdresser Kevin Zambrano grinned widely as he told AFP he was "Happy, happy, happy, happy" to see the back of Maduro. 

"The first step is done, and everything else is a gain. (Thanks) to Donald Trump for helping Venezuela," he said at his workplace in Bogota, having left his home country ten years ago.

Yeiner Benitez, who works as a security guard in the Colombian capital, got tears in his eyes as he recalled the hardship and fear that drove him to leave Venezuela in 2022.

During his absence, his uncle died from what Benitez said was a common illness due to a lack of medication - a common occurrence in economic crisis-ravaged Venezuela.

"Venezuela has gone through a very difficult process; these have been very hard years - years of hunger, misery, torture, friends lost, friends who disappeared," Benitez told AFP.

"So, forgive the emotion, but what’s happening today is extraordinary; it’s divine justice."

Not everyone was happy with what they saw as foreign intervention in the affairs of a sovereign country. In Mexico City, dozens gathered at the US embassy to make their protest known, waving banners with slogans such as "No to war".

"Venezuelan brothers, resist...don’t hand over your land, your oil, your gold” to the United States, protest leader Mario Benitez told the crowd.

KYIV: Security advisers from Ukraine's top allies met in Kyiv on Saturday (Jan 3) for talks on a US-brokered plan to end the war with Russia, days after Kyiv announced a deal was "90 per cent" ready.

Officials from 15 countries, including Britain, France and Germany, as well as representatives from NATO and the European Union, joined the meeting, the first of several planned for the new year.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff also joined virtually, a Ukrainian official told AFP, though the United States' large-scale military attack on Venezuela earlier in the day overshadowed proceedings.

A follow-up summit of European leaders was expected to take place in France on Tuesday, according to Ukraine.

"National security advisers from European countries have arrived in Kyiv," Ukraine's chief negotiator Rustem Umerov said in a post on Telegram. He announced in a later post that the meeting had started.

"The first part of the meeting focused on framework documents, including security guarantees and approaches to the peace plan, as well as the sequence of further joint steps," he said.

Diplomatic efforts to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II have gained pace in recent weeks, though both Moscow and Kyiv remain at odds over the key issue of territory in a post-war settlement.

Russia, which occupies around 20 per cent of Ukraine, is pushing for full control of the country's eastern Donbas region as part of a deal.

But Kyiv has warned that ceding ground will embolden Moscow and said it will not sign a peace deal that fails to deter Russia from invading again.

DEADLY STRIKES

Saturday's meeting capped a week marked by deadly strikes, as well as a Russian claim - denied by Ukraine - that Kyiv had launched drones at a residence of President Vladimir Putin in an unsuccessful attack.

Russia accused Kyiv of firing drones at a hotel and cafe in the Moscow-held part of Ukraine's southern Kherson region early Thursday, killing what it said were 28 people celebrating the New Year. Ukraine says it was a military gathering.

A woman and a three-year-old child died in a Russian missile strike on Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv late Friday, according to the region's governor.

And early Saturday, Russian bombardment of a Kyiv-held part of the southern Kherson region left two people dead, according to the region's governor.

Russia made bigger advances on the battlefield last year than in any other year since it launched its invasion in 2022, according to an AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War.

As the year kicked off, Zelensky announced sweeping changes to his top circle, naming a new chief of staff and defence minister on Friday while announcing plans on Saturday to replace several regional leaders.

Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, describing it as a "special military operation" to prevent the expansion of NATO - a war aim that Kyiv has called a lie. 

Moscow has since fired on Ukrainian towns and cities in daily drone and missile attacks while waging battles that have reduced entire urban areas to rubble.

WASHINGTON: At 4.21am on Saturday morning (Jan 3), President Donald Trump sent a message on his Truth Social platform: the United States had carried out a daring mission to capture Venezuelan President  Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

The action came as a surprise, but according to sources familiar with the matter, planning for one of the most complex US operations in recent memory had been in the works for months and included detailed rehearsals.

Elite US troops, including the Army's Delta Force, created an exact replica of Maduro's safe house and practised how they would enter the strongly fortified residence.

The CIA had a small team on the ground starting in August who were able to provide insight into Maduro's pattern of life that made grabbing him seamless, according to one source familiar with the matter.

Two other sources told Reuters the intelligence agency also had an asset close to Maduro who would monitor his movements and was poised to pinpoint his exact location as the operation unfolded.

With the pieces in place, Trump approved the operation four days ago, but military and intelligence planners suggested he wait for better weather and less cloud cover. 

At 10.46pm EST on Friday, Trump gave the final go-ahead for what would be known as Operation Absolute Resolve, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine told reporters.

Trump, surrounded by his advisers at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, watched a live stream of the events.

How the hours-long operation unfolded is based on interviews with four sources familiar with the matter and details Trump himself has revealed.

"I've done some pretty good ones, but I've never seen anything like this," Trump said on Fox News just hours after the mission was completed.

"MASSIVE" OPERATION

The Pentagon has overseen a massive military buildup of forces in the Caribbean, sending an aircraft carrier, 11 warships and more than a dozen F-35 aircraft. In total, more than 15,000 troops have poured into the region for what US officials have long described as anti-drug operations.

According to one of the sources, Trump senior aide Stephen Miller, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe formed a core team working on the issue for months with regular - sometimes daily - meetings and phone calls. They often also met with the president.
 

Late on Friday night and into early Saturday, Trump and his advisers huddled as a number of US aircraft took off and carried out strikes against targets inside and close to Caracas, including air defence systems, according to a US military official.

Caine said the operation involved more than 150 aircraft launched from 20 bases around the Western Hemisphere, including F-35 and F-22 jets, and B-1 bombers.

"We had a fighter jet for every possible situation," Trump told Fox News Channel's Fox & Friends.

Sources have told Reuters the Pentagon had also quietly moved into the region, refuelling air tankers, drones and aircraft specialising in electronic jamming.

US officials said the airstrikes hit military targets. Images taken by Reuters at the La Carlota air base in Caracas showed charred military vehicles from a Venezuelan anti-aircraft unit.

With the strikes taking place, US Special Forces made their way into Caracas heavily armed, including with a blowtorch in case they had to cut through steel doors at Maduro's location.

Around 1am EST Saturday, Caine said, the troops arrived at Maduro's compound in downtown Caracas while being fired upon. One of the helicopters was hit, but was still able to fly.

Social media videos posted by residents showed a convoy of helicopters flying over the city at low altitude.

Once they reached Maduro's safe house the troops, along with FBI agents, made their way into the residence, which Trump described as a "very highly guarded...fortress".

"They just broke in, and they broke into places that were not really able to be broke into, you know, steel doors that were put there for just this reason," Trump said. "They got taken out in a matter of seconds."

MADURO IN CUSTODY

Once the troops were inside the safe house, Caine said, Maduro and his wife surrendered. Trump said the Venezuelan leader had tried to reach a safe room but was unable to close the door.

"He got bum rushed so fast that he didn't get into that," Trump said.

Some US forces were hit, Trump said, but none were killed.

As the operation unfolded, Rubio started to inform lawmakers that it was underway. The notifications only began after the operation started and not before, as is customary for key lawmakers who play an oversight role, officials told Reuters.

As the troops left Venezuelan territory, Caine said, they were involved in "multiple self-defence engagements". By 3.20am EST, the helicopters were over water, with Maduro and his wife on board.

Almost exactly seven hours after Trump announced the operation on Truth Social, he made another post.

This time it was a photograph of the captured Venezuelan leader blindfolded, handcuffed and wearing grey sweatpants.

"Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima," Trump wrote, referring to the amphibious assault ship.

GAZA STRIP: Banned from the Gaza Strip with 36 aid bodies, medical charity Doctors Without Borders said Saturday (Jan 3) it will have to end its operations there in March if Israel does not reverse its decision.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on Friday for Israel to end a ban on humanitarian agencies that provided aid in Gaza, saying he was "deeply concerned" at the development.

Israel confirmed on Thursday it is barring 37 major international humanitarian organisations from entering the Gaza Strip, accusing them of failing to provide the list of their employees’ names, which is now officially required for "security" reasons. 

Doctors Without Borders called this demand a "scandalous intrusion", but Israel says it is needed to stop jihadists from infiltrating into humanitarian structures.

"To work in Palestine, in the occupied Palestinian territories, we have to be registered...That registration expired on December 31, 2025,” said Isabelle Defourny, a physician and president of Doctors Without Borders France, on France Inter. 

"Since July 2025, we have been involved in a re-registration process and to date, we have not received a response. We still have 60 days during which we could work without being re-registered, and so we would have to end our activities in March," if Israel maintains its decision, she said. 

Doctors Without Borders has around 40 international staff in the Gaza Strip and works with 800 Palestinian staff across eight hospitals. 

"We are the second-largest distributor of water (in the Gaza Strip). Last year, in 2025, we treated just over 100,000 people who were wounded, burned, or victims of various traumas. We are second in terms of the number of deliveries performed," the president of Doctors Without Borders, France said.

According to her, the Israeli decision is explained by the fact that NGOs "bear witness to the violence committed by the Israeli army" in Gaza.

WASHINGTON: The United States attacked Venezuela and captured its long-serving President Nicolas Maduro and his wife on Saturday (Jan 3), with US President Donald Trump promising to put the country under American control for now, even as Venezuelan officials vowed defiance. 

As part of a dramatic overnight operation that knocked out electricity in parts ⁠of Caracas, US Special Forces captured Maduro in or near one of his safe houses, Trump said. 

With Maduro in US custody, Trump said: "We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition."

"We can't take a chance that someone else takes over Venezuela who doesn't have the interests of Venezuelans in mind," he said during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

A US government plane carrying Maduro landed at a military base shortly after nightfall, and he was transported by helicopter to New York City.

The White House posted a video on X of Maduro, handcuffed and in sandals, escorted by federal agents through a US Drug Enforcement Administration facility in New York.

"Good night, happy new year," the 63-year-old leftist is heard saying in English.

Maduro, who was indicted on various US charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, is expected to make an initial appearance in Manhattan federal court on Monday, according‍ to a Justice Department official.

His wife also faces charges, including cocaine importation conspiracy.

Maduro is expected to be ⁠held ‍at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn before his court appearance, the official told Reuters.

It is unclear how Trump plans to oversee Venezuela.

US forces have no control over the country itself, and Maduro's government appears not only to still be in charge but to have no appetite for cooperating with Washington.

Maduro's apparent successor, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, appeared on Venezuelan television Saturday afternoon with other top officials to decry what she called a kidnapping.

“We demand the immediate release of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores," Rodriguez said, calling Maduro "the only president of Venezuela".

Rodriguez spoke hours after Trump said his administration had been in touch with her and that she appeared cooperative, adding that "she really doesn't have a choice".

Venezuela's Supreme Court late Saturday ordered Rodriguez to become the country's interim leader.  

The high court ruled that Rodriguez "assume and exercise, in an acting capacity, all the attributes, duties and powers inherent to the office of president ... to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defence of the nation".

The judges stopped short of declaring Maduro permanently absent from office, a ruling that requires holding elections within 30 days.

Peace in Latin America ⁠was disrupted by the US attack on Venezuela, Venezuelan Foreign ‍Minister Yvan Gil ⁠told ‍Russia's RIA state news ⁠agency in remarks published ‍on Sunday.

POTENTIAL POWER VACUUM IN VENEZUELA

In Venezuela, the streets were mostly calm on ⁠Saturday. Soldiers patrolled some parts, and small pro-Maduro crowds gathered in Caracas.

Others expressed relief.

"I'm happy, I doubted for a moment that it was happening because it's like a movie," said merchant Carolina Pimentel, 37, in the city of Maracay.

"It's all calm now, but I feel like at any moment everyone will be out celebrating." 

At his press conference, where he was accompanied by Secretary of ‍State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Trump did not provide specific answers to repeated questions about how the United States would take over and run Venezuela.

"The people that are standing right behind me" – such as Rubio and Hegseth – would oversee the country, Trump said.

He said he was open to sending US forces into Venezuela. "We're not afraid of boots on the ground," he said.

The removal of Maduro, whom critics called a dictator as he led Venezuela with a heavy hand for more than 12 years, could open a power vacuum in the country, which is bordered by Colombia, Brazil, Guyana, and the Caribbean.

Who the US planned to cooperate with in Venezuela was not made clear; Trump publicly closed the door on working with opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, widely seen as Maduro's most credible opponent.

Trump said the United States has not been in contact with Machado. "She doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country," he said.

Trump's comment outraged some supporters of Machado, who has voiced support for US actions to fight alleged drug trafficking and who dedicated her Nobel Prize win to Trump and the Venezuelan people.

Machado "is the most respected politician in the country", said Pedro Burelli, a former board member at state oil company PDVSA, on X.

"Venezuela is broke and needy, but it is not about to surrender to absurd whims."

Reuters has previously reported that members of Machado’s team helped the Trump administration build the case for ‌an aggressive stance against the Venezuelan government, despite worries about blowback from Trump’s policies on Venezuelan immigrants living in the United States.

RECALLING PAST REGIME CHANGES

Trump's comments about an open-ended military presence in Venezuela echoed the rhetoric around past invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan, both of which ended in American withdrawals after years of costly occupation and thousands of US casualties.

He said on Saturday that as president, including his first term, he has overseen military actions that were "only victories". But none of those involved removing another country's leader.

Trump in ‍the past criticised ‌such interventions, calling the Iraq invasion "a big fat mistake" during a 2016 presidential debate, and saying in 2021 that he was "especially proud to be the first president in decades who has started no new wars".

Before Saturday, the US had not made such a direct intervention in the region since the invasion of Panama 37 years ago to depose military leader Manuel Noriega over allegations that he led a drug-running operation.

The United States has levelled similar charges against Maduro, accusing him of running a "narco-state" and rigging the 2024 election.

Maduro, a 63-year-old former bus driver handpicked by the dying Hugo Chavez to succeed him in 2013, has denied those claims and said Washington was intent on taking control of his nation's oil reserves, the largest in the world.

Trump's action recalls the Monroe Doctrine, laid out in 1823 by President James Monroe, laying US claim to calling the shots in the region, as well as the "gunboat diplomacy" seen under President Theodore Roosevelt in the early 1900s.

Trump nodded to the comparisons during his press conference, suggesting an updated version of it might be called the "Don-roe Doctrine".

While various Latin American governments oppose Maduro and say he stole the 2024 vote, ‌Trump's boasts about controlling Venezuela and exploiting its oil revive painful memories of past US interventions in Latin America that are generally opposed by governments and people in the region.

Argentina's President Javier Milei lauded Venezuela's new "freedom", while Mexico condemned the intervention and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said it crossed "an unacceptable line".

One former diplomat said leaders in Latin America and beyond would draw dark lessons from the unilateral US action, which he compared to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"For Latin America, it basically says no leader is safe if deemed illegitimate by the US," said Tyson Barker, a senior associate fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations.

"For the world, it flattens any moral credibility we have vis-à-vis China and Russia."

The United Nations Security Council planned to meet on Monday to discuss the intervention, which Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said could "constitute a dangerous precedent".

Russia and China, both major backers of Venezuela, criticised the US.

"China firmly opposes such hegemonic behaviour by the US, which seriously violates international law, violates Venezuela's sovereignty and threatens peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean," China's foreign ministry said, later calling on the US to release Maduro and his wife.

North Korea also denounced the US strikes on Venezuela, saying the act is "the most serious form of encroachment of sovereignty", state news agency KCNA said on Sunday.

"The incident is another example that clearly confirms once again the reogue and brutal nature of the United States," KCNA said, citing a spokesperson for North Korea's Foreign Ministry.

Pope Leo said on Sunday that he was following ‍developments ⁠in ‍Venezuela with a "soul full ‌of concern".

Leo, the ‍first ‌US pope, called for Venezuela to remain ‌an independent country and for respect for human rights.

US TO BE REIMBURSED: TRUMP

A US occupation "won't cost us a penny" because the United States would be reimbursed from the "money coming out of the ground", Trump said, referring to Venezuela's oil reserves, a subject he returned to repeatedly during Saturday's press conference.

The idea that a country's oil reserves can pay for an American invasion also recalls the 2003 Iraq war.

In the run-up to the invasion, US officials repeatedly stated that the cost would largely be covered by Iraq's assets, including its oil. Various estimates by academics say the actual cost to the United States of its years-long entanglement in Iraq ended up being at least US$2 trillion.

Trump’s attention to foreign affairs provides fuel for Democrats to criticise him ahead of midterm congressional elections in November, when control of both houses of Congress is at stake. Republicans control both chambers by narrow margins.

Opinion polls show the top concern for voters is high prices at home, not foreign policy.

"How does going to war in South America help regular Americans who are struggling?" US Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, wrote on X.

Outside the White House, about 100 ‌protesters organised by the ANSWER Coalition, an anti-war group, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which has supported ‌Maduro in the past, called on the White House to return Maduro to Venezuela, calling it a "kidnapping".

BRUSSELS: The European Union (EU) called for "restraint" and respect for international law in Venezuela on Saturday (Jan 3) after President Donald Trump announced US forces had captured leader Nicolas Maduro in a large-scale assault.

"The EU has repeatedly stated that Mr Maduro lacks legitimacy and has defended a peaceful transition" in Venezuela, the bloc's top diplomat Kaja Kallas wrote on X after speaking with her US counterpart Marco Rubio.

"Under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected. We call for restraint," she wrote.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa echoed the message.

"We stand by the people of Venezuela and support a peaceful and democratic transition. Any solution must respect international law and the UN Charter," von der Leyen said on social media.

Costa said he was following developments in Venezuela "with great concern", adding that "the EU calls for de-escalation".

Kallas said the EU was closely monitoring the fast-moving situation and that she had spoken to the bloc's envoy to Venezuela, with the safety of EU citizens "our top priority".

The EU has not recognised the results of the disputed 2024 election that handed Maduro a third term in power, and has slapped sanctions on dozens of Venezuelan officials for undermining democracy in the country.

The 27-nation bloc has stopped short, however, of formally recognising opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as Venezuela's rightful leader, as the US has done. 

France separately said the operation undermined international law and no solution to Venezuela's crisis can be imposed from the outside, while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged patience in order to "establish the facts".

But in a rare expression of support for the US operation by a major European country, far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni - a Trump ally - argued the US military action in Venezuela was "legitimate" and "defensive".

Israel also hailed the operation, saying Washington acted as the "leader of the free world".

Ukraine - dependent on US support in its war against invading Russia - did not address the legality of a big country like America using military force against a much smaller one like Venezuela.

Trump said Maduro and his wife would be taken to New York to face federal charges after military strikes and an operation which he described as looking like a "television show".

Countries such as Russia and Iran, which had longstanding ties with Maduro's government, were quick to condemn the operation.

Russia demanded the US leadership "reconsider its position and release the legally elected president of the sovereign country and his wife".

China said it is "deeply shocked and strongly condemns the US's blatant use of force against a sovereign state and its action against its president".

Iran, which Trump bombed last year, said it "strongly condemns the US military attack on Venezuela and a flagrant violation of the country's national sovereignty and territorial integrity".

Foreign minister Andriy Sybiga instead focused on Maduro's lack of legitimacy and the Venezuelan government's repression, while backing "democracy, human rights, and the interests of Venezuelans".

Condemnation of the US intervention in Venezuela was also strong across Latin America. Mexico, which Trump has also threatened with military force over drug trafficking, strongly condemned the US military action in Venezuela, saying it "seriously jeopardises regional stability".

Colombian President Gustavo Petro - whose country neighbours Venezuela - called the US action an "assault on the sovereignty" of Latin America, which would lead to a humanitarian crisis.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva slammed the US attacks as a "serious affront" to Venezuela's sovereignty, while Cuba, a strong ally of Venezuela's, denounced "state terrorism against the brave Venezuelan people".

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres added that he was "deeply alarmed" by the US strikes, with his spokesman quoting him as saying it could "constitute a dangerous precedent".

CARACAS: Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, who has been seized by US special forces after more than a decade in power, ruled with an iron fist while seeking to portray himself as a humble man of the people.

During months in the crosshairs of US President Donald Trump, who accused him of being a drug trafficker, the 63-year-old former bus driver deflected pressure by dancing to techno music at near-daily rallies, always broadcast live, as he chanted the mantra "No war, yes peace!" - in English.

But for many Venezuelans, Maduro was no kindly pacifist.

Seven million compatriots emigrated on his watch amid allegations of arbitrary detentions, rigged trials, torture and censorship.

The South American country's economy collapsed, marked by four consecutive years of hyper-inflation and an 80 per cent drop in GDP in a decade.

As he tightened his grip on power, Maduro relied increasingly on backing from a handful of international allies - notably China, Cuba and Russia - as well as the military, security and paramilitary forces.

More than 2,400 people were arrested, 28 killed and about 200 injured in a crackdown on the protests that followed his disputed election victory claim in July 2024.

The violence echoed previous deadly crackdowns on the opposition that he oversaw in 2014, 2017 and 2019.

"FIRST COMBATANT"

Tall with a full moustache and slicked-back greying hair, Maduro first came to power in 2013 and claimed re-election twice - in 2018 and 2024 in elections widely denounced as fraudulent.

In January 2025, he was sworn in for a third term that would have taken him to 18 years in power - longer than his revolutionary hero Hugo Chavez, who spent 14 years in the presidential palace.

Maduro served as a lawmaker, foreign minister and vice president before being chosen by Chavez as his successor three months before the socialist firebrand died of cancer in 2013.

The choice of Maduro, who lacks Chavez's rhetorical skills and charisma, raised eyebrows in the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

He barely scraped through on his first election in 2013.

But he fended off crisis after crisis, including US sanctions and a steep drop in oil prices that robbed Venezuela of its economic mainstay.

In 2018, much of the international community recognised congress speaker Juan Guaido as interim president, but his parallel government soon imploded.

And then after elections in July 2024, the United States, European nations and several Latin American neighbours declared opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia the country's rightful leader.

Throughout, Maduro also counted on his wife Cilia Flores, a former prosecutor seven years his senior, whom he refers to as "First Combatant" and "Cilita".

Flores was also a lawmaker who, after years in Congress, rose to the presidency of the National Assembly (2006-2010) later to hold much power behind the scenes in Maduro's Venezuela.

Trump said Flores was seized by US special forces with her husband, and that they were being taken to New York to face federal charges after an early-morning assault on Caracas.

MARXIST AND CHRISTIAN

In the Venezuelan capital Caracas, Maduro's image is plastered across buildings everywhere.

He has worked hard at building an image of himself as an earthy man of the people - an avowed baseball fan and a lover of salsa, showing off his dance moves on state TV, always with his wife by his side.

Born in Caracas, Maduro is both a professed Marxist and Christian, and as a teenager played guitar in a rock band.

It has been claimed that he deliberately misspeaks in English so as not to be seen as high-brow.

As president, Maduro weathered many threats imagined and real - including a failed explosive-laden drone attack in 2018 that wounded several soldiers.

To deflect blame for Venezuela's political and economic woes, he kept up Chavez's anti-American conspiracy theories, repeatedly accusing the United States of plotting to unseat him.

While casting himself as the victim of an international plot, Maduro shuttered channels for political dissent, locking up dissidents and challengers with little regard for due process.

His government is under investigation for rights violations by the International Criminal Court.

Maduro has also shown himself to be adept at realpolitik, winning an easing of US sanctions and other concessions by agreeing with the opposition to hold democratic elections in 2024.

But he reneged on the conditions, and some of the sanctions were quickly snapped back.

Maduro has been a near omni-present feature in the lives of long-suffering Venezuelans, pumping his fist in regular television appearances while shouting anti-imperialist rhetoric.

He also appeared regularly on screen and in print as a cartoon character drawn in his image: a caped superhero named Super-Bigote (Super-Mustache) who is "at war with imperialism".

VENEZUELAN VP: MADURO IS "ONLY PRESIDENT"

Nicolas Maduro is Venezuela's "only president", his vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, said Saturday, demanding the United States release the strongman arrested in a military operation Saturday.

Speaking live on state television from Caracas, Rodriguez demanded "the immediate release of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. The only president of Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro."

Her comments contradicted US President Donald Trump, who had said at a press conference that Rodriguez would be running Venezuela in the immediate future and she was "willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again".

Maduro has called Rodriguez a “tiger” for her diehard defence of his socialist government.
She works closely with her brother, Jorge Rodriguez, who is the head of the national assembly legislature.

Caracas native Rodriguez, 56, was born on May 18, 1969 and is the daughter of left-wing guerrilla fighter Jorge Antonio Rodriguez, who founded the revolutionary Liga Socialista party in the 1970s.

Rodriguez's roles as finance and oil minister, held simultaneously with her vice-presidential post, have made her a key figure in the management of Venezuela's economy and gained her major influence with the country's withered private sector.

She has applied orthodox economic policies in a bid to fight exaggerated inflation.

She called on the US government to provide proof of life for Maduro and his wife in an audio message played on state television on Saturday, but her exact whereabouts are not known.

She is an attorney who graduated from Universidad Central de Venezuela and rose rapidly through the political ranks in the last decade, serving as Communication and Information Minister between 2013 and 2014.

Rodriguez, known as a lover of designer fashions, was the foreign minister from 2014 to 2017, during which time she attempted to crash a Mercosur trade bloc meeting in Buenos Aires, following Venezuela's suspension from the group.

She began serving as the head of a pro-government Constituent Assembly, which expanded Maduro's powers, in 2017.

Rodriguez was named vice president in June 2018, with Maduro announcing the appointment on X by describing her as "a young woman, brave, seasoned, daughter of a martyr, revolutionary and tested in a thousand battles."

In August 2024, Maduro added the oil ministry to Rodriguez’s portfolio, where she has been tasked with managing escalating US sanctions on the country's most important industry.

CARACAS: After months of mounting military and economic pressure, the United States on Saturday (Jan 3) carried out airstrikes on targets across Venezuela and claimed to have deposed authoritarian left-wing President Nicolas Maduro.

Here's what we know so far:

HOW DID IT START?

The first explosions, accompanied by the sound of aircraft flying overhead, were heard in the capital Caracas and surrounding areas shortly before 2am (6am GMT), AFP reporters said.

They continued until around 3.15am.

Images shared on social media showed helicopters silhouetted against the night sky and missiles slamming into targets, creating fireballs and huge plumes of smoke.

Trump said at 9.21am GMT on his Truth Social platform that the United States had "successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela" and that Maduro and his wife had been "captured and flown out of the Country".

Around five hours after the attacks began, US Senator Mike Lee cited US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as saying that the military action had ended "now that Maduro is in custody".

WHAT DID THE STRIKES TARGET?

Fort Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, situated in southern Caracas, was among the targets.

The vast base is home to the defence ministry, a military academy and housing units for troops and their families.

AFP reporters saw flames and huge plumes of smoke rising from the complex.

At one of the entrances, which was still guarded, AFP reporters saw an armoured vehicle and truck pocked with bullet marks.

Residents pulling suitcases and carrying bags fled the area.

One woman, who did not wish to be named, said she was leaving "because they nearly killed us".

There was no word yet on casualties.

La Carlota airbase east of Caracas was also targeted.

AFP reporters saw an armoured vehicle at the base in flames and a burnt-out bus.

Explosions were also reported in the port city of La Guaira north of Caracas, as well as in the north-central city of Maracay, Higuerote on the Caribbean coast, and on the border with Colombia, a cocaine smuggling route.

ARE THERE CASUALTIES?

Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez accused US forces of firing missiles and rockets at residential areas.

It was not possible to immediately confirm that.

Venezuela's government said civilians and military personnel died in Saturday's strikes but did not give figures.

Padrino added that the government was gathering information "on the dead and injured".

HAS MADURO BEEN DEPOSED?

Trump said Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured and flown out of the country.

It was not clear how they managed to capture Maduro, who was reported to regularly change residence to avoid being nabbed by US forces.

On Thursday, he was filmed by television driving in Caracas.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez on Saturday called on the United States to issue "proof of life" of the presidential couple.

Russia, one of Venezuela's top allies, also called for "immediate" clarity about his fate.

HOW HAS THE WORLD REACTED?

Russia, Iran and Cuba - longtime allies of Venezuela - all condemned the attack, as did Mexico and Brazil, both run by left-wing governments, and the left-wing president of Venezuela's neighbour Colombia.

Russia's foreign ministry said the "act of armed aggression against Venezuela" was "deeply concerning".

The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas, in a call with her US counterpart Marco Rubio, called on Washington to show "restraint" and respect for international law.

Argentina's right-wing President Javier Milei, an arch-Trump fan, was among the rare Latin American leaders to cheer the strikes.

TEHRAN: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday (Jan 3) acknowledged the economic demands of protesters in Iran, where demonstrations have spread to more than two dozen cities, even as he warned there would be no quarter for "rioters".

The protests began on Sunday as an expression of discontent over high prices and economic stagnation, but have since expanded to include political demands.

"The president and high-ranking officials are working to resolve" the economic difficulties in the sanctions-battered country, Khamenei said in a speech marking a Shiite holiday.

"The shopkeepers have protested against this situation and that is completely fair," he added.

But Khamenei nonetheless warned that while "authorities must have dialogue with protesters, it is useless to have dialogue with rioters. Those must be put in their place".

At least eight people have been killed in the protests so far, including members of the security services, according to official figures.

The first deaths were reported on Thursday as demonstrators clashed with authorities.

On Saturday, the Mehr news agency reported that a member of an Iranian paramilitary force was killed during a demonstration in the country's west.

"Ali Azizi, a member of the Basij, was martyred after being stabbed and shot in the city of Harsin during a gathering of armed rioters," Mehr said, citing a statement from the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the military that oversees the volunteer Basij force.

The Tasnim news agency, citing a local official, also reported a man killed on Friday in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, when a grenade he was trying to use exploded "in his hands".

The protests have mostly been concentrated in mid-sized cities in Iran's west and southwest, where clashes and vandalism have been reported.

At least 25 cities have seen protest gatherings of varying sizes, according to an AFP tally based on local media.

However, local media do not necessarily report on every incident, and state media have downplayed coverage of protests, while videos flooding social media are often impossible to verify.

POLITICAL DEMANDS

The Fars news agency reported gatherings on Friday in several working-class neighbourhoods of Tehran, which is home to around 10 million people.

But on Saturday, a public holiday, the atmosphere in the capital appeared quiet, with streets mostly empty as the skies spat rain and snow, according to AFP journalists.

In Darehshahr, in the country's west, around 300 people blocked streets, threw molotov cocktails and "brandished Kalashnikovs" on Friday, according to Fars.

The movement kicked off on Sunday when shopkeepers went on strike in Tehran to protest economic conditions, and spread after university students elsewhere in the country took up the cause.

In recent days, the protests have taken on a more overtly political bent.

In Karaj, on the outskirts of the capital, "a few people burned the Iranian flag, shouting 'Death to the dictator!' and 'This isn't the last battle, Pahlavi is coming back!'" Fars reported, adding that others in the crowd objected to the slogans.

The pro-Western Pahlavi dynasty ruled Iran from 1925 to 1979, when it was toppled by the Islamic revolution.

Since the protests began, authorities have adopted a conciliatory tone when it comes to economic demands, while warning that destabilisation and chaos will not be tolerated.

Though widespread, the demonstrations are smaller than the ones that broke out in 2022, triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code for women.

Her death sparked a nationwide wave of anger that left several hundred people dead, including dozens of members of the security forces.

Iran was also gripped by nationwide protests that began in late 2019 over a rise in fuel prices, eventually leading to calls to topple the country's clerical rulers.

BEIJING: Ireland Prime Minister Micheal Martin will visit China on the invitation of his counterpart Li Qiang from Sunday (Jan 4) to Thursday, Beijing's foreign ministry said.

Martin will go to Beijing and the economic powerhouse of Shanghai, meeting with Li as well as President Xi Jinping, China's foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday. 

Martin's visit to China would be the first by an Irish taoiseach since 2012.

"In recent years, the China-Ireland strategic partnership for mutually beneficial cooperation has enjoyed robust development," the statement said. 

"Our two sides have always treated each other with mutual respect and equality... Through the upcoming visit, China stands ready to work with Ireland to enhance political mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation."

The foreign ministry also said it hoped the upcoming visit would promote "sound and steady advancement of China-EU relations".

Martin's visit will overlap with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's trip to China. Lee will also be in the country from Sunday to meet his counterpart Xi. 

TOKYO: President Donald Trump invited Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to the United States during a phone call late on Friday (Jan 2) and they agreed to work towards a meeting early this year, officials said.

Trump has already said he will visit China in April, with Tokyo and Beijing in dispute over Takaichi's suggestion in November that Japan could intervene militarily in case of any attack on self-ruled Taiwan.

China claims the democratic island as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.

Takaichi's comments triggered a sharp diplomatic backlash from China, which has urged its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan and suspended Japanese seafood imports.

She and Trump spoke for 25 minutes, agreeing to further strengthen economic and security cooperation, the foreign ministry in Tokyo said in a statement.

Trump invited Takaichi to visit the United States and "the two leaders concurred to coordinate in detail to realise the visit to the United States this spring", it said.

The statement did not make clear whether they talked about China, but Trump and Takaichi also "exchanged views mainly on the Indo-Pacific region and confirmed the close cooperation between Japan and the United States", it said.

China launched missiles and deployed dozens of fighter jets, navy ships and coastguard vessels around Taiwan in live-fire drills last week.

The drills drew a chorus of international criticism, including from Japan, Australia and European countries.

Trump advised Takaichi not to provoke China over Taiwan in their previous phone call on Nov 25, the Wall Street Journal reported, but Tokyo denied the report.

CARACAS: The Trump administration said on Saturday (Jan 3) that Venezuela's captured leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife will face the "full wrath of American justice" under drug and terrorism charges.

"Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said on X. 

"Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States." 

Bondi thanked President Donald Trump for "having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American people" as well as the US military for its "incredible and highly successful mission" in nabbing Maduro and his wife.

Trump earlier said on Saturday that US forces had captured Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on the South American country. 

"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," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

Trump added he would give a news conference at 11am local time (12am Singapore time) at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

Trump told Fox News in an interview hours after the capture of Maduro and his wife that they were aboard the US warship Iwo Jima and headed to New York, where the couple will face prosecution.

He later took to Truth Social to post a photo of Maduro aboard the warship. Maduro was wearing what appeared to be noise-canceling ear muffs and grey Nike-branded sweatpants and a jacket.

Trump said that the US will decide on what is next for Venezuela. "We’ll be involved in it very much" as to who will govern the country, he said.

"We can’t take a chance in letting somebody else run and just take over what he left, or left off."

Maduro was first indicted in March 2020 on “narco-terrorism" conspiracy charges in the southern district of New York. He last appeared on state TV on Friday while meeting with a delegation of Chinese officials in Caracas.

Utah Senator Mike Lee posted on X that he had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who briefed him on the strike. Rubio "anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in US custody", Lee further wrote on X.

Maduro and his wife were at their home within the Fuerte Tiuna military installation when they were seized in the US operation, Venezuelan ruling party leader Nahum Fernandez told the Associated Press. Tiuna is Venezuela's largest military complex.

"That’s where they bombed," he said. "And, there, they carried out what we could call a kidnapping of the president and the first lady of the country."

In an ‌audio played on state TV, Vice ‍President Delcy Rodriguez earlier said that the Venezuelan ⁠government did not know the whereabouts of Maduro or his wife.

"We demand immediate proof of life ‌of President Nicolas Maduro and the first combatant Cilia Flores," ‌Rodriguez said.

Venezuela separately said in a statement it rejected the "military aggression" by the US.

Attacks ⁠took place in the capital of Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La ‌Guaira, the statement said, ‌prompting the country's government to declare a national emergency and call on ‌social and political forces to "activate mobilisation plans".

"The objective of this attack is none other than to seize Venezuela’s strategic resources, particularly its oil and minerals, attempting to break the nation’s political independence by force. They will not succeed," the statement added.

Venezuela's government said civilians and military personnel died in Saturday's strikes but did not give figures.

Caracas will resist the presence of foreign troops, Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino said in a video that condemned the intervention.

"Free, independent and sovereign Venezuela rejects with all the strength of its libertarian history the presence of these foreign troops, which have only left behind death, pain and destruction," Padrino added.

"Today we clench our fist in defense of what is ours. Let us unite, for in the unity of the people we will find the strength to resist and to triumph." 

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello also appeared on state TV on a street and wearing a helmet and flak jacket, urging people not to cooperate with the "terrorist enemy".

Ahead of the overnight strikes, the US had accused Maduro of running a "narco-state" and rigging the 2024 election, which the opposition said it won overwhelmingly. 

The 63-year-old former bus driver, who was handpicked by the dying Hugo Chavez to succeed him in 2013, has denied those claims and said Washington was intent on taking control of his nation's oil reserves, the largest in the world. 

The US has not made such a direct intervention in its backyard region since the invasion of Panama 37 years ago to depose military leader Manuel Noriega over similar allegations. In the Panama case, Noriega ended up in prison for 20 years.

ACTION IN VENEZUELA RECALLS PAST US INTERVENTIONS

While various Latin American governments oppose Maduro and say he stole the 2024 vote, direct US action revives painful memories of past interventions and is generally strongly opposed by governments and populations in the region.

Trump's action recalls the Monroe Doctrine, laid out in 1823 by President James Monroe, laying US claim to influence in the region, as well as the "gunboat diplomacy" seen under Theodore Roosevelt in the early 1900s. 

The Venezuelan opposition, headed by recent Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, said in a statement on X that it had no official comment on the events. It says Maduro has repeatedly cheated it of power in elections, as well as crushing street protests and jailing opposition figures.

Maduro has mocked Machado as being in Trump's pocket.

CAPITAL HIT BY BLASTS

At least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard around 2am local time (2pm, Singapore time) on Saturday in Caracas.

Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power.

People in various neighborhoods rushed to the streets. 

"The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes," said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, her voice trembling. She was walking briskly with two relatives, returning from a birthday party. "We felt like the air was hitting us."

Venezuelan state TV did not interrupt its programming and aired a report on Venezuelan music and art.

Venezuelan state-run energy company PDVSA's oil production and refining were normal and its most important facilities had suffered no damage according to an initial assessment, two sources with knowledge of the company's operations said.

The port of La Guaira near Caracas, one of the country's largest but one which is not used for oil operations, was reported to have suffered severe damage, one of them said.

The blasts come as the US military has been targeting, in recent days, alleged drug-smuggling boats. On Friday, Venezuela said it was open to negotiating an agreement with the United States to combat drug trafficking.

Maduro also said in a pre-taped interview aired on Thursday that the US wants to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through the month-long pressure campaign that began with a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.

The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels in what was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US began strikes on boats in September.

Trump, for months, had threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land. 

The US has also seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, and Trump ordered a blockade of others in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country’s economy.

The US military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since early September. 

As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes is 35 and the number of people killed is at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.

They followed a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America, including the arrival in November of the nation’s most advanced aircraft carrier, which added thousands more troops to what was already the largest military presence in the region in generations.

Trump has justified the boat strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the US and asserted that the US is engaged in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels.

It remains unclear under what legal authority the latest US strikes were carried out.

Trump’s move risks a backlash from the Congress, which has the constitutional right to declare war, and from his own political base, which favours an “America first” policy and largely opposes military intervention abroad.