Donald Trump has threatened three additional nations after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The dramatic operation unfolded on early Saturday morning, when Delta Force commandos stormed the former leader’s residence in Caracas and arrested both him and his wife, Cilia Flores.
The pair were quickly flown out of Venezuela and landed in New York later that night, where they were processed by the DEA and transferred to a federal lockup in Brooklyn.
Footage released by the White House shows a dazed Maduro in jail-issued flip-flops and a black sweat suit, muttering “Good Night, Happy New Year,” to agents as he was led through the DEA’s Manhattan office in handcuffs.
Trump declares U.S. ‘in charge’ of Venezuela
Speaking from Air Force One on Sunday, President Trump took a victory lap - but also made it clear he’s not done.
He told reporters that the US is "in charge" of Venezuela now, and ignored the Venezuelan Supreme Court’s decision to name Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as interim leader.
Trump also warned that U.S. forces could return if Venezuela “doesn’t behave.”
Colombia, Cuba, and Mexico could be next, Trump warns
After taking credit for Maduro’s capture, the 79-year-old turned his attention to other Latin American nations.
He labeled both Colombia and Venezuela as “very sick” and took a direct swipe at Colombian President Gustavo Petro, accusing him of running a government led by “a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States," per Al Jazeera.
“And he’s not going to be doing it very long. Let me tell you,” Trump said. When asked if he planned a similar mission in Colombia, he replied: “Sounds good to me.”
Petro fired back on X, calling on Trump to “stop slandering” him and warning that Latin America must unite or risk being “treated as a servant and slave.”
Trump also claimed Cuba was “ready to fall” now that Venezuelan oil had dried up. “Cuba now has no income. They got all of their income from Venezuela, from the Venezuelan oil. They’re not getting any of it. Cuba literally is ready to fall,” he said.
Though he dismissed the need for military force in Cuba, Trump saved one final warning for Mexico.
He said the country “has to get their act together” as drugs continue “pouring through” the border, and suggested the US might “have to do something.”
Still, he called Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum a “terrific person,” adding: “But unfortunately, the cartels are very strong in Mexico.”
Global leaders slam U.S. over unilateral action
Trump’s aggressive strategy in Latin America has ignited a firestorm of international criticism.
In a rare unified front, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, and Spain released a joint statement condemning the military raid in Venezuela.
“We express our profound concern and firmly reject the military actions undertaken unilaterally in Venezuelan territory,” the statement read.
“These actions contravene fundamental principles of international law, particularly the prohibition on the use or threat of force, and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States, as enshrined in the UN Charter.
“They constitute an extremely dangerous precedent for peace and regional security and endanger the civilian population," they added.
But Trump appeared unfazed by the backlash. Speaking from his Mar-A-Lago estate, he praised the mission as a “brilliant” success, hailing the elite troops and intelligence teams who carried it out.
“A lot of good planning and [a] lot of great, great troops and great people,” he said, claiming that Maduro had turned Venezuela into a “terrorist organization” that emptied prisons and mental institutions and sent criminals into the U.S.