The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on Monday (Jan 5) to address the US capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro. China, Colombia and Russia were among several countries that criticised Donald Trump’s decision, with Venezuela accusing the US of targeting its natural resources. The US ambassador to the UN defended the move, saying Washington could not allow the world’s largest energy reserves to remain under the control of its adversaries. | CNA

Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has been taken to a New York courtroom on Jan 5, where he is set to make his first appearance on the narco-terrorism charges that the Trump administration used to justify capturing him. Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were taken by helicopter and prison van from a Brooklyn jail to a Manhattan courthouse where they are expected to appear before a judge for a brief, but required legal proceeding that will likely kick off a prolonged legal fight over whethe

US President Donald Trump said the United States will “run” Venezuela until a “safe, proper and judicious transition” after US forces captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a “large-scale strike” on Saturday (Jan 3). Speaking at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida later that day, Trump confirmed that the Venezuelan president and his wife will face drug and narco-terrorism charges in New York. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth touted the raid in V