- Mamdani says operation violated federal and international law.
- Warns move may have direct consequences for Venezuelans in US.
- Mayor says he’s monitoring situation and may issue guidance if needed.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he personally called President Donald Trump to object to what he described as a “pursuit of regime change” in Venezuela, following the overnight capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
President Trump announced on Saturday that he was putting Venezuela under temporary American control after the United States captured President Nicolas Maduro in an audacious raid and whisked him to New York to face drug-trafficking charges.
“We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “We can’t take a chance that someone else takes over Venezuela who doesn’t have the interests of Venezuelans in mind.”
Trump also said as part of the takeover, major US oil companies would move into Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserves, and refurbish badly degraded oil infrastructure, a process experts said could take years.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Mamdani said he had contacted Trump “directly” to make his position clear.
“I called the president and spoke with him directly to register my opposition to this act,” he said.
Mamdani said his objection was based on opposition to a “pursuit of regime change” and actions he believes go against federal and international law, which he said should be applied consistently.
Earlier, the mayor described the US military operation that led to Maduro’s capture as “an act of war” and a “blatant pursuit of regime change.”
In a post on X, Mamdani said he had been briefed on the operation and on plans to detain Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in federal custody in New York City.
“Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law,” he said, warning that the move marked a dangerous escalation in US foreign policy.
Mamdani said the fallout from the operation would not be limited to Venezuela and could directly affect tens of thousands of Venezuelans living in New York.
“My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker,” he said, adding that his administration would keep monitoring the situation and issue guidance if needed.
His comments came after President Trump announced that US forces had carried out a “large-scale strike” in Venezuela, resulting in the capture of Maduro and his wife. Trump later said the pair were being flown to New York to face federal charges.
Dramatic overnight action
As part of the dramatic overnight operation that knocked out electricity in parts of Caracas and included strikes on military installations, US Special Forces captured Maduro in or near one of his safe houses, Trump said.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were transported to a US Navy ship offshore before being flown to the US on Saturday evening.
Video showed a plane arriving at Stewart International Airport about 60 miles (97 km) northwest of New York City, with several US personnel boarding the aircraft after it landed. A Justice Department official confirmed Maduro had landed in New York, and video later showed a large convoy arriving at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn under a heavy police presence.
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.
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. Trump did not say who would lead Venezuela when the US cedes control.
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.” A Venezuelan court later ordered Rodriguez to assume the position of interim president.
In the US some legal experts questioned the legality of an operation to seize the head of state of a foreign power, and Democrats who said they were misled during recent briefings demanded a plan on what would now follow.
