Thank you for joining us on our live coverage of the Maduro capture today.
Our team of writers has been working to take you inside the major news event. Keep an eye on our website for Anthony Saegart‘s story on an Australian man trapped with his wife in Venezuela, our coverage of Australia’s Venezuelan community reacting to the news, David Crowe‘s analysis and our US correspondent Michael Koziol’s end-of-day wrap.
Here’s a recap of the day:
- About 24 hours ago, elite US forces captured Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, dragging them from their bedroom in the capital, Caracas. The operation also involved attacks in Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira.
- Venezuela’s state-run oil production and refining suffered no damage, reports say.
- After being taken to a US warship, Maduro and Flores, were transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, New York.
- Maduro has been indicted on allegations of drug trafficking and narco-terrorism, and is expected to face court next week.
- The dramatic scenes in Venezuela follow months of tensions between the US and Venezuela, with the US targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats off the coast. More than 100 people have died in US strikes on these boats since early September.
- In a Mar-a-Lago press conference this morning our time, President Donald Trump said the US would “run” Venezuela and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other countries.
Trump said as part of the takeover, major US oil companies would move back into Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserves, and refurbish badly degraded oil infrastructure, a process experts said could take years. He said he was open to sending US forces into Venezuela, claiming: “We’re not afraid of boots on the ground.”
Trump said there would be no further strikes if acting President Delcy Rodriguez followed the US plan. But in a televised address, Rodriguez called for Maduro’s immediate release, describing him as the only president of Venezuela.
- Rodriguez appeared on state television flanked by her brother, national assembly head Jorge Rodriguez; Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello; and Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez. The joint appearance indicated the group that shared power with Maduro was staying united – for now.
- Trump also said a US occupation of Venezuela would not cost American taxpayers, because the US would be reimbursed by the revenue from Venezuelan oil.
- The idea that a country’s oil reserves can pay for an American invasion recalls the 2003 Iraq war. In the run-up to the invasion, US officials repeatedly stated that the cost would largely be covered by Iraq’s assets, including its oil. Various estimates by academics say the actual cost to the United States of its years-long entanglement in Iraq ended up being at least $2 trillion.
- The UN’s 15-nation Security Council, a powerful bloc that can pass major resolutions, is set to meet on Tuesday AEST to discuss the US’s actions. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres said it set a dangerous precedent, and that he was “deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected.”
- Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has urged Australians in Venezuela to leave as soon as possible, or to be prepared to shelter in place. It is urgently making inquiries to see whether any Australians have been affected.
- Snap demonstrations against the US’s actions are set to begin in Australia’s largest cities from 5pm onwards.
With Reuters, AP
Thanks for following our live blog – that’s a wrap for today. We’ll be back tomorrow with continuing live coverage.