'I'm still the president of Venezuela' - Nicolas Maduro and his wife plead not guilty to drug trafficking charges in New York court

"At the UN, the US insisted it is "not at war" with Venezuela nor staging a coup and tried to insist its capture of Maduro was a "law enforcement operation". UN Chief Antonio Guterres raised concerns about instability in Venezuela and the legality of Trump's strike, the most dramatic US intervention in Latin America since the 1989 Panama invasion. US Special Forces swooped into Caracas by helicopter on Saturday, shattered his security cordon and dragged him from the threshold of a safe room."

"This came after US President Donald Trump's stunning capture of him rattled world leaders and left officials in Caracas scrambling to respond. On Monday, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was being sworn in as the next leader of the South American country. At the UN, the US insisted it is "not at war" with Venezuela nor staging a coup and tried to insist its capture of Maduro was a "law enforcement operation"."

"Maduro is accused of overseeing a cocaine-trafficking network that partnered with violent groups including Mexico's Sinaloa and Zetas cartels, Colombian FARC rebels and Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang. Maduro (63) has long denied the allegations, saying they were a mask for imperialist designs on Venezuela's oil. While world leaders and US politicians grappled with the extraordinary seizure of a head of state, an emergency order in Venezuela, published in full on Monday, orders police to search and capture anyone who supported the US attack."

US Special Forces conducted a helicopter operation in Caracas that seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and removed him from a safe room. Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were transferred from a Brooklyn detention center to a helicopter bound for Manhattan federal court; Maduro's hands were zip‑tied. The US characterized the action as a law enforcement operation and stated it was not at war with Venezuela. Maduro faces accusations of overseeing a cocaine‑trafficking network allied with Mexico's Sinaloa and Zetas, Colombian FARC rebels and Venezuela's Tren de Aragua; he denies the allegations. Venezuela issued an emergency order to arrest anyone who supported the US raid. UN and global leaders raised legal and stability concerns, and Russia, China and allied governments condemned the raid.

Read at Irish Independent