US President Donald Trump said on January 3 that Washington would temporarily administer Venezuela following a predawn military operation that ousted President Nicolás Maduro from power, though the country's vice president rejected assuming office and demanded the leader's immediate release.

The dramatic action, which followed months of secret planning, resulted in Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores being detained at their residence on a military base and transported aboard the USS Iwo Jima to face narco-terrorism charges in New York, according to Trump.

Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump announced plans to exploit the leadership vacuum to repair Venezuela's ailing oil infrastructure and sell "large amounts" of the country's petroleum reserves to other nations.

"We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump told reporters, describing the operation as a warning to those threatening American sovereignty.

The US president named Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as Washington’s immediate handpicked successor for Maduro, saying that “She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again."

However, Rodríguez appeared on state television a few hours later to reject the US assertion that she had been sworn in as president, declaring Maduro remained Venezuela's sole legitimate leader.

"There is only one president in Venezuela, and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros," Rodríguez said, demanding his immediate release.

The conflicting statements highlighted uncertainty over Venezuela's governance following the operation, which Trump said was conducted under legal authority to stem dangerous drug flows, though lawmakers from both parties questioned the constitutional basis for military action without congressional approval.

Opposition leader sidelined

Trump's plans appeared to sideline opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last month for her campaign to restore democracy in Venezuela.

Asked at his news conference whether he had spoken with Machado, Trump replied "no" and said that, despite being a "nice woman," she lacked sufficient domestic backing to govern Venezuela.

"She doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country" necessary to lead, Trump said.

The comments came as a blow to Machado, who just hours earlier had declared on social media that "the hour of freedom has come," stating that she and Edmundo González were "ready to enforce our mandate and take power."

Machado had backed González as the opposition presidential candidate in the 2024 election after regime-aligned authorities barred her from running on trumped-up charges. Opposition-collected voting tallies indicated González defeated Maduro by a substantial margin, though electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared Maduro the winner.

Numerous countries, including the UK, the EU and the United States, recognised González as the legitimate president-elect. However, Maduro retained support from the military and electoral council and was sworn in for another six-year term.

Venezuela denounces 'illegal kidnapping'

Rodríguez, speaking at an emergency National Defence Council meeting alongside senior government officials, slammed the operation as an "unprecedented" military aggression resulting in the "illegal kidnapping" of Maduro and Flores.

The vice president said the true objective was "regime change in Venezuela" to enable the United States to "plunder our energy, mineral, and natural resources," calling on the international community to recognise this.

State broadcaster TeleSUR reported Rodríguez convened the emergency session whilst activating the Citizen Security Agency and national defence apparatus to protect what Venezuela described as its violated independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Rodríguez noted that Maduro had in a television interview just two days earlier reaffirmed Venezuela's willingness to maintain dialogue with Washington "to address a constructive agenda" through diplomatic and political channels based on mutual respect.

She said the US action "flagrantly violates Articles 1 and 2 of the Charter of the United Nations," despite Venezuela's extended hand to establish relations benefiting both peoples through friendship, cooperation and respect for international law.

The vice president quoted independence hero Simón Bolívar's Jamaica Letter, saying: "The veil has been torn, we have already seen the light and they want to return us to darkness. The chains have been broken, we have already been free and our enemies intend to enslave us again."

She added that Venezuela "will never again be a colony of any empire" and attributed what she called a "Zionist tint" to the operation, describing it as "really shameful."

Rodríguez pointed to international support from governments in China, Russia, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia, saying world leaders were shocked by the attack.

Pre-dawn assault

The assault, which occurred 36 years to the day after the 1990 US invasion of Panama that led to dictator Manuel Noriega's capture, unfolded before dawn as US forces disabled much of Caracas's electrical infrastructure. At least seven explosions rattled the capital over approximately 30 minutes, with blasts reported at military installations and civilian areas.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said American forces had rehearsed the manoeuvres for months, gathering detailed intelligence on Maduro's movements, routines and security arrangements.

Rodríguez reported Venezuelan civilian and military casualties without providing figures, whilst Trump acknowledged some US personnel were injured though none killed.

Trump posted a photograph on social media showing Maduro blindfolded and wearing a tracksuit aboard the warship.

The Justice Department released a fresh indictment on Saturday charging Maduro and Flores with participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy, describing the administration as a "corrupt, illegitimate government" sustained by cocaine trafficking into the United States. Maduro was initially indicted on similar charges in 2020.

The operation triggered polarised responses on Venezuela's streets, with pro-government supporters gathering in Caracas to protest Maduro's detention whilst others celebrated. Armed civilians and militia members patrolled neighbourhoods long considered ruling party strongholds.

Venezuelan state media reported citizens had mobilised following Maduro's earlier call for activation of the armed forces and Bolivarian militias.

Venezuelan communities abroad also responded, with celebrations reported in the Chilean capital Santiago, Spanish capital Madrid and Doral, Florida, home to the largest Venezuelan diaspora in the United States.

Decree of 'external commotion'

Rodríguez announced activation of a decree signed by Maduro declaring a state of "external commotion," which has been delivered to the Supreme Court president for constitutional endorsement. The decree was expected to receive judicial approval within hours for immediate implementation.

The military action capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign that included a major deployment of American forces off South America's coast and attacks on vessels accused of drug smuggling. Last week, the CIA conducted what was believed to be the first direct strike on Venezuelan territory, targeting a docking facility allegedly used by drug cartels.

Trump told the New York Post that no further troops would deploy to Venezuela "if the vice president of Maduro does what we want," adding that US forces stood ready to launch "a second wave of attacks much larger than the first."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed the operation as a blow to Cuban intelligence and security services, which he said had effectively colonised Venezuela's security apparatus.

"If I were in Havana, I would be worried even a little bit," Rubio said, following Trump's suggestion that Cuba represented "a very similar case" for potential US intervention.

Trump subsequently told the New York Post he had no plans for military action against Cuba, asserting the "failed" Communist-ruled island "is going to fall on its own."

Under Venezuelan law, Rodríguez would constitutionally succeed Maduro as president. The 56-year-old Caracas native, daughter of leftist guerrilla fighter Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, simultaneously holds the finance and oil ministry portfolios alongside her vice-presidential role, making her central to managing the country's struggling economy.

Maduro has described Rodríguez as "a tiger" for her staunch defence of his socialist administration. She works closely with her brother Jorge Rodríguez, who heads the national assembly.

State television continued broadcasting pro-Maduro programming despite earlier reports that Rodríguez was in Russia. Her exact whereabouts remained unclear, though state media reported she was in Venezuela.

Venezuela's socialist ruling party has governed since 1999, when former president Hugo Chávez assumed office promising to uplift the poor through what he termed a socialist revolution. Maduro, a former bus driver with little education and political experience, succeeded Chávez following his death in 2013 and presided over a decade of increasing authoritarian rule and economic crises which pushed nearly 8mn Venezuelans into exile.

International observers widely dismissed Maduro's 2018 re-election as fraudulent due to major opposition parties being barred from participation. In the 2024 contest, electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared him victor hours after polls closed, though the opposition presented evidence, validated by multiple international organisations, suggesting he lost by more than two-to-one.