AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Yesterday's events in Venezuela took the world by surprise. In just a few hours, the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He's now in the United States facing criminal charges in New York City. To bring us up to speed, we're joined by NPR's Eyder Peralta in Mexico City. Welcome to the program.
EYDER PERALTA, BYLINE: Hey, Ayesha.
RASCOE: So first, can you remind us, like, how did this U.S. military operation play out?
PERALTA: Yeah. As U.S. officials describe it, CIA officers were already in Venezuela for months before this operation. And this Saturday, the U.S. deployed more than 150 aircraft. They struck radar, air defenses and military bases in Venezuela, and then special ops teams swooped into Maduro's compound. The U.S. said it suffered no casualties. Venezuelan authorities say that some military and government officials were killed during the attacks.
RASCOE: So Maduro is in the U.S. now. Where exactly is he?
PERALTA: Yeah. He's at a federal detention center in Brooklyn, New York. He arrived in the U.S. by plane, and then he was put on a helicopter, which flew right in front of the Statue of Liberty before landing in Brooklyn. The Trump administration released a video of Maduro walking into what appears to be a DEA office. Maduro is wearing a black tracksuit and a beanie, and he says some words with his usual nonchalance.
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PRESIDENT NICOLÁS MADURO: Good night. Happy new year.
PERALTA: Good night. Happy new year, he says. Maduro is now facing federal charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and weapons charges.
RASCOE: And in Venezuela, do we know who's running the government there?
PERALTA: We do. It's Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. Last night, the country's top court decided that she is now the interim president of Venezuela. And right before that decree, Rodríguez chaired a meeting of Venezuela's defense council. Rodríguez is very much a Maduro loyalist. She's been with him for more than a decade, rising through the ranks from communications minister to running Venezuela's intelligence agency. But interestingly, President Trump complicated things yesterday because he said that Rodríguez had spoken at length with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and that she had agreed to do whatever the Americans wanted. But at this meeting with top Venezuelan government officials, which was broadcast on state television, she did not sound like someone on board with Trump's plans.
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DELCY RODRÍGUEZ: (Non-English language spoken).
PERALTA: There is only one president in Venezuela, she said, and his name is Nicolás Maduro. Delcy Rodríguez also called the U.S. attacks barbaric, and she said Venezuelans will never again be any country's colony.
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RODRÍGUEZ: (Non-English language spoken).
PERALTA: We are ready, she said, to defend Venezuela. We are ready to defend our natural resources. And of course, she is referring to oil. Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves, and President Trump made no secret that U.S. companies want a piece of that business. I think the big question now is whether Delcy Rodríguez actually came to some agreement with the U.S. and whether she will lead Venezuela toward a transition, as Trump said, or whether she will lead a fight against U.S. plans to run Venezuela.
RASCOE: Nicolás Maduro was not a very popular president in Venezuela. Many independent observers say that when Venezuelans went to the polls in 2024, he actually lost. So what has been the reaction of Venezuelans?
PERALTA: You know, for more than a decade, millions of Venezuelans have left the country, and we've seen celebrations from that diaspora in cities across the world, from Miami to here in Mexico City to Buenos Aires in Argentina. Inside Caracas, NPR sent a reporter out to talk to people, and we've heard a variety of opinions. There were lots of people who thought a change was long overdue, but they also expressed worry. That reporter found a shopkeeper at a long line at a pharmacy. He was awoken in the middle of the night by explosions, and he was out early buying food and medicine. He was preparing, he said, for what everyone expects will be tough days ahead.
RASCOE: That's NPR's Eyder Peralta. Eyder, thank you so much.
PERALTA: Thank you, Ayesha. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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