Associated Press:
US plans to ‘run’ Venezuela and tap its oil reserves, Trump says, after operation to oust Maduro
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Donald Trump says the United States will run Venezuela at least temporarily and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations in the aftermath of an audacious military operation that plucked leader NicolౠMaduro from power and removed him from the country. The stunning action marked the culmination of a public Trump administration pressure campaign on the South American country that also featured months of private planning and intelligence gathering, including about what Maduro ate and where he traveled, as the U.S prepared to engineer one of the more brazen regime changes in recent history.
How the US captured Venezuelan leader NicolౠMaduro
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and U.S. officials have laid out some of the details of the U.S. military strike against Venezuela that led to the capture of leader NicolౠMaduro. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine says U.S. forces had practiced maneuvers for months and got the go-ahead from Trump late Friday. Trump says Maduro was being “highly guarded” in a presidential palace, but wasn’t able to close the door to a safe room. Trump says American forces were armed with “massive blowtorches” that could have been used to cut through steel walls if Maduro had locked himself in.
Capture of Maduro and US claim it will run Venezuela raise new legal questions
WASHINGTON (AP) — Legal questions are being raised about the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuela’s president and U.S. plans to “run” the South American country. NicolౠMaduro was seized in the middle of the night and U.S. officials say he’ll face narcoterrorism conspiracy charges in New York. Experts say the U.S. military’s capture of Maduro may violate international law. A former Navy attorney says he sees no legal basis for the U.S. to go into another country and take a leader without an extradition treaty. Congress hasn’t authorized military action in the region but also hasn’t passed measures blocking the Trump administration from acting.
Ouster of Maduro government sparks celebrations among Venezuelans in South Florida
DORAL, Fla. (AP) — Revelers chanted “liberty” and draped Venezuelan flags over their shoulders in South Florida on Saturday to celebrate the American military attack that toppled NicolౠMaduro’s government. It was a stunning outcome they had longed for but left them wondering what comes next in their homeland. People gathered for a rally in Doral, Florida, as word spread that Venezuela’s president was captured and flown out of the country. Doral is the Miami suburb where President Donald Trump has a golf resort and roughly half the population is of Venezuela descent. Outside a restaurant, one man held a piece of cardboard with “Libertad” scrawled with a marker. It’s a sentiment expressed by other native Venezuelans hoping for a new beginning for their home country.