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Venezuela's Maduro Held At Brooklyn Detention Center; Trump: U.S. Will "Run" Venezuela After Capturing Maduro; Venezuela's Maduro Arrives In New York After Capture By United States; Trump: U.S. Will "Run" Venezuela And Rebuild "Oil Infrastructure"; Paramilitaries Make Show Of Force After Maduro's Capture; Nicolas Maduro: A Politician's Rise And Fall. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired January 04, 2026 - 02:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:47]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hey, everybody. Welcome to "CNN Newsroom."

I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York where it is 2:00 A.M. And also, where ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were being held in detention.

U.S. drug enforcement agents, they transferred the couple to the U.S. after being captured in a large-scale U.S. military operation. He arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn Saturday night. He set to face drugs and weapons charges in New York in the coming days.

President Trump told reporters that troops could have killed Maduro during the operation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He was trying to get into a safe place. You know, the safe place is all steel. And he wasn't able to make it to the door because our guys were so fast. They went through the opposition so fast.

There was a lot of gunfire. You saw some of it today. But he was trying to get to a safe place, which wasn't safe because we would have had the door blown up in about 47, I think 47 seconds, they say, on average, regardless of how thick the seal was.

It was a very thick door. It was a very heavy door, but he was unable to get to that door. He made it to the door. He was unable to close it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: The White House also released these photos showing President Trump and members of his national security team watching the operation, as it played out early Saturday.

He says that the U.S. will, quote, run the country for now and take control of Venezuela's massive oil reserves. Well, more on that, a little later in the broadcast.

The president also said that he could put troops on the ground to help secure said oil. Venezuela Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the duties of acting president in Venezuela after Maduro was captured. She's calling on the U.S. to release Maduro and his wife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DELCY RODRIGUEZ, VENEZUELAN VICE PRESIDENT (through translator): We demand the immediate release of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, the only president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: President Trump said at a news conference that Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Rodriguez and added that she said, quote, we're going to do whatever you need.

CNN's Evan Perez filed this report from outside the detention center where Maduro is currently being held.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia, are now in the Metropolitan Detention Center here in Brooklyn, capping an extraordinary 20 hours or so after they were snatched from their bedroom in Caracas. They were transported to a U.S. military ship off the coast of Venezuela, the Iwo Jima, and then to Guantanamo Bay where they were put on a plane to New York.

Now, that began the process while they were under arrest to face four sets of charges from the Justice Department. Those include narco- terrorism and cocaine importation conspiracy. A number of other Venezuelan officials are also named in this indictment that was unsealed by the Justice Department earlier on Saturday.

Now, this begins an extraordinary process for the U.S. government. They have the former Venezuelan leader here now in Brooklyn. And it'll probably be a few months of -- of court battles over the legitimacy of these charges.

Now, earlier today, there were hundreds of people from the Venezuelan community who turned up outside at the Metropolitan Detention Center to cheer on the arrest of the former Venezuelan leader.

Even late into the evening, there were several dozen that remained outside the facility. Depending on where Maduro is being held, he might actually be able to hear some of those cheers.

Now, we expect that Maduro will next appear in public in federal court in Manhattan to face these charges as soon as Monday. Evan Perez, Brooklyn, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: As we mentioned, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has now been declared Venezuela's acting president.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that she was being sworn in. One Caracas resident told CNN Rodriguez is, quote, a terrifying figure of the government in charge of the most oppressive tactics used against Venezuela's citizens.

Here's what President Trump had to say about the U.S.'s role in Venezuela's transition to power.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:05:05]

TRUMP: We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.

So we don't want to be involved with having somebody else get in and we have the same situation that we had for the last long period of years. So we are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition. Then it has to be judicious because that's what we're all about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: CNN's Julia Benbrook has more from Washington now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are still a lot of questions here, but I want to take a step back and look at what we have heard from the White House directly.

Following reports of explosions in Venezuela, President Donald Trump took to social media, his Truth Social platform, to confirm the United States was behind this large-scale attack against Venezuela and its leader, Nicolas Maduro.

He also, at that time, made the stunning reveal that Maduro and his wife had been captured and removed from the country.

Trump can be seen in photos released by the White House watching this complex operation take place. He monitored this from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. That's where he's been spending the holiday. That's also where he spoke with reporters about this.

He praised the operation, saying that it was one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history.

Now, he also said that the United States would, quote, run the country until a judicious transition can happen. Trump has not ruled out boots on the ground, saying that he is not afraid of it if he believes that it's necessary.

During that press conference, he was pressed on if he had spoken with Venezuela's opposition leader and the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Maria Corina Machado. He was also pressed in a follow-up question about her potential ability to lead. I want you to listen to some of that back and forth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is the U.S. aware of the location of opposition leader Machado? And have you been in contact with her?

TRUMP: No, we haven't really. No, we haven't. Oh, I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader.

She doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country. She's a very nice woman, but she doesn't have the respect to be the leader.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: Now, Trump has said that the United States is working with Venezuela's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, but she has demanded Maduro's immediate release and has insisted he is the country's legitimate leader.

Julia Benbrook, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Let's go now to CNN senior national security analyst, Juliette Kayyem. Juliette, thank you so much for taking some time to join us after what's been just an incredible 24 hours. I know you've been following closely.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes, thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: Yes, of course, it's our pleasure.

So -- so the Trump administration seems to frame this detention of a head of state. On foreign soil, as a law enforcement operation targeting an indicted individual, in your opinion, do you think that that gave the -- the administration more room to operate? Or do you think that the operation may have been on shaky legal ground?

KAYYEM: So I -- I think that we need to at least now, 20 hours later, sort of separate the precision of the capture, which I think was precise, was successful with what we're now seeing, which is, I think the vagaries of the justification or any plans on day two. We've spent, as you're reporting, and the lead-up of our reporters to show, a lot of time trying to assess what was the purpose of this capture, because the president went from everything from leadership change to regime change to oil, to this law enforcement effort that you discuss.

On the legal front, of course, there is an indictment against Maduro. The indictment does not discuss the things that -- that President Trump seems to be focused on, which is, of course, fentanyl.

But most legal analysts in international law are -- are sort of -- are unanimous in saying that this is not justified under international law, that the mere disagreement with a foreign leader does not justify this kind of arrest and, of course, capture, of which the Venezuelans are calling, essentially an abduction or -- or -- or hostage taking.

SANDOVAL: And listening to President Trump on Saturday afternoon, Juliette, it didn't seem that there was a real plan in place. I thought that there was really some substance that was missing there.

So, considering that, what questions would you pose to the Trump administration about, just how it went about in detaining Maduro and -- and what it sees as Venezuela's future?

[02:10:05]

KAYYEM: Yes. And I think that's just an important distinction. We tend to get focused, at least in the news, on the sort of power and shock and awe of the military action. You can't applaud that and say that was a good capture and -- but then question, what now?

I think the president was exceptionally confusing. I'll just be honest with you. If you're a -- if you're a -- if you're a Venezuelan, let alone a foreign country, let alone Americans, it was completely unclear.

What was the imminent threat? And what is the plan on Sunday? Is it just leadership change? Which seems to be the case right now. You have the basic contours of the same leadership still in place. Is it about regime change?

Well, Trump hinted at that when he said that the United States would be in control of -- of Venezuela, something that didn't make a lot of sense, given that the Defense Department had said that they basically exited. Or is it about something different? Democracy, possibly. Oil, definitely the president said that.

That hodgepodge of explanations is confusing. It suggests there was no imminent reason for doing this. But -- but most importantly, it shows that the president never really made the case to the American public, let alone the international community.

I think that's probably why tonight, he's already distracted, if you follow his feed from the efforts in Venezuela and back to domestic politics and -- and antagonizing his political opponents, rather than a focus on what happens on -- on Sunday. SANDOVAL: Yes. It didn't make their case to, not just the public, but to Congress as well, as we continue to see that course --

KAYYEM: Yes, that's exactly --

SANDOVAL: -- of the critics especially among Democrats that -- that are calling on the administration to really explain, not just what led up to the operation, but to your earlier point, what its plan is long term.

So let's just finally just talk broader about what we can expect in the region. I mean, what kind of instability could we maybe see in Venezuela and beyond?

KAYYEM: I put it into four different buckets. I think there's the short term, which is going to be sort of the travel issues that you're seeing, travel restrictions for Americans and others. That's not -- that's not new. It's just something that -- that Americans should be aware of.

I think the -- the second is just sort of continuity of operations. The question of who is in charge also goes to who is in charge of ensuring that Venezuelans' lives are not disrupted by this or -- or continuity of operations continuing.

I think I worry less a little bit about geopolitical stability at this stage because we simply don't know what's going to happen. But if things go bad in Venezuela, you could get migration and other pressures on surrounding countries, which would then destabilize, not only South America, but of course, Central America and then Mexico and the United States.

I finally think that we need to really look at supply chain issues as regards oil and other commodities that are transported. I work a lot in the business community. They're certainly focused on that.

So as I'm looking at the sort of politics of what's happening in Venezuela or what promises or confusion is emanating out of the White House right now, you're also looking at a geopolitical structure that -- that is -- is as confused, is quite confused and looking at the risk variables that might -- that might impact them in the days and weeks to come.

SANDOVAL: Juliette Kayyem, as always, we are grateful for your perspective and especially grateful that you could stay up late for us tonight. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And we do have more on the U.S. capture of Venezuela's president after a break. Coming up, we examine the political reigns of Nicolas Maduro.

Also, U.S. President Donald Trump stating plainly, he thinks the U.S. should control Venezuela's oil. And he says that's exactly what will happen now. We'll explore that when we return. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:15:26]

SANDOVAL: And as a successor to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Nicolas Maduro, tightened his grip on the country for more than a decade, surviving international sanctions, political unrest and multiple challenges to his rule.

Well, that is until now. See some of this footage that was released by the White House of what the White House is describing or calling Maduro's perp walk at the DEA headquarters in New York. Maduro and his wife sit in U.S. custody following their capture and extradition on Saturday.

CNN's Rafael Romo takes a closer look at the Venezuelan president's political reign.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Two men have governed Venezuela in the last 25 years. Hugo Chavez, who described his style of governing as 21st century socialism and died in 2013, handpicked Nicolas Maduro as his successor, who narrowly won an election that year.

During the merely 13 years that Nicolas Maduro had been in power, Venezuela lost 72 percent of its economy. An estimated eight million Venezuelans have voted with their feet by migrating to other countries, including the United States.

Maduro's politics have been a mix of anti-imperialist and anti-U.S. narrative. As Venezuela's leader and the country's power broker, he's been the face of Chavez's more left wing populism held over from the Chavez era.

Other figures are part of this confederation of power, including Diosdado Cabello, the interior minister, and Vladimir Padrino, the Defense Minister.

Will they and others be able to keep alive the system, which enriched a lucky few at the expense of the populace?

There's almost no independent media left. And those in power, ignore the press or plainly refuse to answer any questions from journalists, as we found out in 2016 when we tried for months to interview Delcy Rodriguez who, as vice president now, is constitutionally entitled to be sworn in as President in Maduro's absence.

Rodriguez finally reappeared Saturday afternoon asserting that Nicolas Maduro is, quote, the only President of Venezuela, surrounded by her brother, Jorge Rodriguez, the President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, and Diosdado Cabello, the Interior Minister, and several military leaders.

The vice president said that Venezuela, quote, will never be a colony again. The last time Venezuela had a crisis of this magnitude was an uprising in 2019. We now know that the U.S. attack targeted at least two airports and a port, as well as Fort Tiuna, a major Venezuelan military installation.

[02:20:05]

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And joining me now to unpack Maduro's political standing is Will Freeman. He's fellow for Latin American Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Will, it's great to have you on the program.

WILL FREEMAN, FELLOW FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: FREEMAN: So what are Maduro loyalists in Venezuela's government doing right now to respond to their leader's capture?

I mean, do you see the detained Venezuela leader's influence still playing role in Caracas?

FREEMAN: You know, I think a number of Maduro regime insiders, they felt they need to pay lip service to defending him. You know, they've said this is unacceptable. They said that they'll resist U.S. aggression.

But what do we see them doing in practice? I mean, today, you had Delcy Rodriguez, his vice president, quickly sworn in as the new interim president. And you had a press conference where she was flanked by all the top members of the -- the Maduro regime hierarchy. You had the defense minister, how did the military visit her even before that?

So to me, what it looked like was basically all the remaining players banding together. And, you know, I think communicating without exactly explicitly saying it, we either survive together or we sink alone and pretty willing and able to move on without Maduro. I mean, that's how I'm reading things.

Obviously, a lot's still uncertain. But I see here an authoritarian regime, which is reconfiguring itself, which wants to survive, which probably wants to cut deals with the Trump administration and wants to avoid about everything being pushed by the Trump administration towards some kind of negotiated democratic transition.

SANDOVAL: Fascinating. How do you see those potential conversations playing out between the remaining members of the regime and the White House?

FREEMAN: Well, a lot is going to depend on dynamics within the White House itself. So I think you have Marco Rubio, secretary of state, national security advisor, obviously, deeply personally committed to a transition here. I think that's why he's been pursuing this for the better part of his career. He very much sees Venezuela linked to Cuba and believes that if there's a transition in Venezuela, you'll also see one in Cuba, a longtime goal of his. So, you know, I think that for him, he'll push hard for this.

What does President Trump want? That's more of a mystery. You know, today at the press conference he held, he said that there would be elections quickly, but he didn't specify an exact timeline.

And he also seemed pretty open to working with Delcy Rodriguez, that vice president who's just now become the interim president in Venezuela and who's part of the Maduro regime structure.

In fact, Trump put much more emphasis on oil on getting bigger stakes for U.S. companies in the country. Could he do that with a reconfigured Maduro regime minus Maduro? I think he -- he could. And Trump may realize that.

And, you know, whether or not he may try seriously to get a transition, he may not. If it gets difficult, if the process gets stuck, he may simply, you know, be pragmatic here, practice some real politics and work with the people in place.

I mean, I could -- unfortunately, I could really see that happening in which case, you know, you'd have to really do a tough benefit cost analysis here, where you've had, you know, hundreds over 100 people killed in the region.

You've had a U.S. personnel put at risk, you know, a lot of U.S. tax -- taxpayer money spent. And in the end, what do you end up with potentially just a slightly different looking authoritarian regime doing a few more business deals with the U.S.?

You know, you'd have to really ask yourself, was that worth it?

SANDOVAL: Yes. I'm glad you mentioned acting president Delcy Rodriguez. President Trump said that his secretary of state, that he spoke to her, that she reportedly told Marco Rubio, we're going to do whatever you need.

But then also, we heard from her and -- and her description saying that the detention of a president, the extraction of a president, that it was a violation of international law and even demanded it that he be returned immediately.

Can you just, you know, with your expertise, help us understand these -- these two different narratives?

FREEMAN: Well, you know, I think, let's -- let's look at how this operation occurred, right? You had dozens of -- of U.S. aircraft flying at low altitudes into Caracas, not receiving anti-aircraft fire really to speak of, you know, doing this tactical masterstroke.

To me, there's a chance that this was just, you know, you could chalk this up to the professionalism of the U.S. military. What I really think it points to is that there was someone on the inside, possibly many people on the inside, colluding or -- or, you know, cooperating with the U.S. government to hand over Maduro, right?

And so I think right now, everyone remaining in Venezuela doesn't want to be seen as that person, right, to the other regime insiders. They want to be seen as -- as the loyalist who would have gone down, you know, shooting, would have gone down with the ship.

And so, you know, I think everyone is going to be copying that language of Delcy Rodriguez and that's what we've seen so far. They're all going to be saying, no, I would have stood with Maduro to the end. But clearly, I think pretty clearly, someone sold him out.

So we're going to keep seeing that double speak. You know, I think even as likely that Delcy Rodriguez's government starts to do deals with the Trump administration, we're going to still see them, you know, making appeals to sovereignty to resisting the U.S.

But that's not going to be -- you know, what's more important is that we watch what they do in practice.

SANDOVAL: Yes. It's likely that there is a CIA presence within Venezuela as we learn when Trump allowed them, or at least gave them the green light to -- to launch any covert options.

[02:25:05]

I have a few seconds with you. What do you believe Maria Corina Machado, the opposition leader's next move may be? Again, just a few seconds with you.

FREEMAN: Unfortunately, she looks like the biggest loser today, right? So President Trump, more or less, just discarding her as a real possibility for leading the country.

Now, look, I think that there is some rationale behind that. Maria Corina Machado said 20 percent of the armed forces in Venezuela have to go. That's very ambitious for getting a transition. That rarely happens in countries moving towards a democracy.

So what could she do? I mean, I think she could try to keep the opposition united. She can contribute to this pressure for the Trump administration not to cut a dirty deal with a reconfigured dictatorship in Venezuela, but actually to push for democracy. And she can continue being a voice of moral clarity for that opposition and for the Venezuelan people.

So, you know, I think she likely will continue playing that role. The question is, will it be enough to sway President Trump?

SANDOVAL: Yes. That she lacks support, an inaccurate claim from the commander-in-chief during that press conference.

Will Freeman, I really appreciate your time and your expertise. Thank you. FREEMAN: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: Well, many Democratic lawmakers are expressing their frustration over not being notified before this operation to capture Nicolas Maduro. The secretary of state's response is coming your way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: The Trump administration has posted video of what it calls Nicolas Maduro's perp walk. You see him here. You see the ousted Venezuelan president being escorted. His hands in handcuffs inside the Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters in New York City.

Maduro was processed and fingerprinted there. He's now set to face drugs and weapon charges in Manhattan federal court. That possibly could happen next week.

[02:30:03]

U.S. extraction teams, they captured Maduro and his wife in a major military operation overnight Saturday. President Donald Trump says that the U.S. will now run Venezuela.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you envision the U.S. military having a presence in Venezuela as the U.S. runs that country?

TRUMP: Well, no, we're going to have a presence in Venezuela as it pertains to oil because we have to have -- we -- we're sending our expertise in. So you may need something, not very much.

But no, we're going to be taking out a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground and that wealth is going to the people of Venezuela and people from outside of Venezuela that used to be in Venezuela.

And it goes also to the United States of America in the form of reimbursement for the damages caused us by that country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And hours after the U.S. military deposed Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, Donald Trump was laying out his plan for that country's vast oil reserves.

The president says that his administration will partner with U.S. energy companies to take control of Venezuela's oil infrastructure. It's estimated that Venezuela is sitting on a fifth of the world's reserve of crude oil. And unlocking it, it could massively benefit U.S. industries. Donald Trump also claims the U.S. is owed some of its wealth.

For more on Venezuela's vast oil reserves, I'm joined now by energy expert Cornelia Meyer, the CEO of Meyer Resources. She's also chairman and chief economist at LBV Asset Management. It's good to see you.

CORNELIA MEYER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MEYER RESOURCES: Good morning, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Good morning to you in Switzerland.

So -- so the reserves are vast in Venezuela, but just how much of global oil production is Venezuela responsible for?

MEYER: Well, at this point, very little. It is about 934,000 barrels a day, which is less than one percent of global production.

Venezuela used to produce in the heyday more than three million barrels a day, so that production came off due to mismanagement under Chavez and Maduro by about 70 percent. So very little.

So whatever happens, it will not immediately have a big impact on oil prices. You saw they were actually falling. And mind you, it's great if U.S. companies are going in.

But this is not a light switch. You know, re -- restarting, reigniting the upstream production does take time. A few hundred thousand barrels may be over the first six months or so. So it's -- it's not as easy as it looks.

One more thing. Chevron is operating currently in Venezuela is exempt from sanctions because under a Production Sharing Agreement, they're not paying the regime dollars, they're paying them in barrels.

SANDOVAL: And so you mentioned the complicated nature that is more than just a flip of a switch. But what about companies like Chevron? I mean would they go in if there are -- if there are no guarantees for their assets? Security guarantees for their assets? I mean would they go in in a volatile area?

MEYER: Well, Chevron is in. So for Chevron, they -- they know how to handle it.

But it's a very good question because what you see with U.S. companies, they tend to be a little bit more jittery in going in U.S. and -- and European companies when -- when there is too much political instability, too much volatility.

We saw that for instance in Iraq. It was Chinese companies, Russian companies that initially went in. It was not U.S. companies and Western companies. They then followed as the situation got better.

And that brings me to the next point. This is not just about oil. It's also about rare earths and Chinese control of mining operations in -- in Venezuela, which then makes what happened compatible with the new U.S. security strategy.

SANDOVAL: Cornelia, there are drivers in the U.S. and around the world that are watching. I'll ask a question that's probably heavy on their minds.

I mean, how could this jolt to Venezuela's government impact oil markets and -- and specifically gas prices? MEYER: Well, I think not -- cannot -- it will -- it is -- at this point, as I said, not -- not impacting oil markets because it's -- it's localized. It's less than one percent of global production. So it doesn't really -- in an-- in an oil market, that is sort of over- supplied.

And by some people, OPEC says just well-supplied, other people like the IEA say, over-supplied to the tune of two million barrels a day. It -- it doesn't really make that much of a difference.

But what we have to look at is again the stability because, you know, this is Latin America. It's actually become very important for incremental new oil production.

When we look at the new oil production, non-OPEC oil production coming on stream comes from the U.S., it comes from Brazil, it comes from Guyana, and it comes from Argentina.

[02:35:11]

SANDOVAL: Finally, Cornelia, can you help me fact-check President Trump's claim that -- and you may have just heard it right now that the U.S. is owed some of Venezuelan's oil wealth. I mean, what is true about that?

MEYER: Well, you know, there was a -- there was a nationalization spree in the 1970s. And then again when Hugo Chavez came in, he sort of -- he sort of nationalized some more.

So if you look at that as -- as -- as appropriating what was owned by the U.S., you -- you can go there. But then you can also say, you know, what were the precise ownership agreements? Were they production sharing agreements? Were they concessions? What -- what was it? But certainly, there has been -- there has been nationalization twice in Venezuela.

SANDOVAL: Really -- now in terms of what you'll be watching closely, especially as we wait to see what the next chapter for Venezuela will be, I mean, what do you think may be a -- an -- an outcome, particularly for the people of Venezuela?

I mean, there was one Venezuelan migrant who fled that country and said that their oil was, in her words, it was stolen 25 years ago. So, what do you think may be the best outcome for the people who stayed behind?

MEYER: Well, the best outcome, the most important outcome is stability. You know, we've seen in -- in -- in other places when foreign countries sort of go and take over that if that chaos and instability ensue, then that's not good. So stability and security for the population is the most important thing.

Secondly, you know, if they're no longer on the sanctions that, you know, economic activity can resume because, you know, Venezuelans were suffering. The 30 million that stayed, eight million left. The 30 million that stayed, you know, they had hyperinflation. There was -- there's so many people sunk below the poverty line. It was really quite difficult. So the best thing for the people of Venezuela would be economic and political stability.

SANDOVAL: If Trump's tariffs from last year have taught us anything is that economic stability, those stability in the markets that translates to stability for the population and consumers.

Cornelia Meyer, as always, thank you so much for letting us tap into your expertise this morning.

MEYER: Thank you very much for having me.

SANDOVAL: It's our pleasure.

And the wake of Saturday's American military operation to capture Maduro, congressional leaders, they are calling for the briefing -- for a briefing on the operation.

A House Armed Services Committee aid tells CNN that a panel is set to potentially hold one of these briefings next week.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attempted to defend the administration's decision not to notify or seek approval from Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We call members of Congress immediately after this was not the kind of mission that you can do congressional notification on. It was a -- a trigger based mission in which conditions had to be met night after night. We watched and monitored that for a number of days.

So it's just simply not the kind of mission you can call people and say, hey, we may do this at some point in the next 15 days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And reaction, it was swift to come after the U.S. operation of Venezuela.

(CHANTING)

You had jubilation on the streets. At the same time, also some condemnation in some diplomatic headquarters. You'll hear how the world is reacting to that operation, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:40:42]

SANDOVAL: Months in the making and just a few hours that it took to execute. That's just how the U.S. military is describing the operation to capture Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. The top U.S. general discussed those details on Saturday. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. DAN CAINE, CHAIRMAN U.S. JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: This operation known as Operation Absolute Resolve was discreet, precise, and conducted during the darkest hours of January 2nd and was in the culmination of months of planning and rehearsal.

It required the utmost of precision and integration within our joint force. And the word integration does not explain the sheer complexity of such a mission. An extraction so precise, it involved more than 150 aircraft launching across the western hemisphere in close coordination, all coming together in time and place to layer effects for a single purpose, to get an interdiction force into downtown Caracas while maintaining the element of tactical surprise.

After months of work by our intelligence teammates to find Maduro and understand how he moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore, what were his pets, in early December, our force was set pending a series of aligned events.

Key was choosing the right day to minimize the potential for civilian harm and maximize the element of surprise and minimize a harm to the indicted personnel. So as the president said, they could be brought to justice.

Over the course of the night, aircraft began launching from 20 different bases on land and sea across the western hemisphere.

In total, more than 150 aircraft bombers, fighters, intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, rotary wing were in the air last night. Thousands and thousands of hours of experience were airborne.

Our youngest crew member was 20 and our oldest crew member was 49. And they're simply no match for American military might.

As the night began, the helicopters took off with the extraction force, which included law enforcement officers, and began their flight into Venezuela at 100 feet above the water.

As they approached Venezuelan shores, the United States began layering different effects provided by SPACECOM, CYBERCOM, and other members of the interagency to create a pathway.

As the force crossed the last point of high terrain, where they'd been hiding in the clutter, we assessed that we had maintained totally the element of surprise.

As the helicopter force ingress towards the objective at low level, we arrived at Maduro's compound at 1:01 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, or 2:01 A.M. Caracas local time. And the apprehension force descended into Maduro's compound and moved with speed, precision, and discipline towards their objective, and isolated the area to ensure the safety and security of the ground force while apprehending the indicted persons.

As the operation unfolded at the compound, our air and ground intelligence teams provided real time updates to the ground force, ensuring those forces could safely navigate the complex environment without unnecessary risk. The force remained protected by overhead tactical aviation.

[02:45:14]

Maduro and his wife both indicted gave up and were taken into custody by the Department of Justice, assisted by our incredible U.S. military with professionalism and precision, with --with no loss of U.S. life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Let's now get you some of the reaction from world leaders as they respond to President Trump's military action in Venezuela.

And while we're also hearing from Venezuela and sleuthing in other parts of the world that are celebrating the operation. Here's a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL (voice-over): World leaders are swiftly reacting to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer making it clear the U.K. had no part in it.

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I can be absolutely clear that we were not involved in that. And as you know, I always say and believe we should all uphold international law.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): But there is outrage among many Latin American leaders. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the U.S. attack, quote, "crossed an unacceptable line." And it was a "serious affront to Venezuela's sovereignty."

Condemnation also coming from the leaders of Colombia, Chile, Cuba, and Mexico. But Argentina's president, a Trump ally, appearing to welcome the capture of the Venezuelan leader, posting on social media that "freedom advances."

The developments are being closely tracked around the world.

DONALD TUSK, POLISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): In today's times, such massive events as today's attacks by American forces have an impact on the entire world. So we shall be responding and preparing ourselves for this new situation.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Russia, a close ally of Venezuela, called the U.S. strikes an act of armed aggression.

And China, whose envoy had met with Maduro just hours before his capture says the U.S. violated international law.

(CHANTING)

But apart from this sharp diplomatic fallout, reaction in many places where Venezuelans are living abroad has been jubilant.

(CHANTING) In Madrid, which is one of the largest populations of Venezuelan expats outside of Latin America and the U.S., many people waved Venezuelan flags and cheered Maduro's downfall.

And in Florida, some people expressing relief that Maduro was in U.S. custody, saying it may make it possible for them to return home one day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My reaction is that I'm so, so happy because now Venezuela is free, free.

(CHANTING)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: These are some of the passionate protests on the doorstep of the White House on Saturday. And all of this as some Americans voice their frustration with a prospect of war and bloodshed over oil.

In New York, where Maduro is now being held, more demonstrators carrying the message, no war on Venezuela -- on Venezuela. They were on the streets just hours after President Trump announced the capture of Maduro and his wife. Other protests, they have been reported in cities including Boston, Minneapolis, and in Atlanta.

And we have much more breaking news coverage still ahead of you on CNN.

Coming up, a closer look at what fueled Maduro's rise to power in Venezuela and the events that ultimately ended his role.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:50:50]

SANDOVAL: We continue to follow breaking news here on CNN.

The U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy says that flights over the Caribbean, that they have now resumed.

Earlier, he posted on social media that restrictions expired at midnight, Eastern Time. He tells stranded travelers to continue to work with their airlines. And all this comes after hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed due to the U.S. strike something as well in that operation.

JetBlue, it was perhaps the most affected according to the tracking site FlightAware. It canceled 209 flights and delayed another 263 by Saturday afternoon. The airline says that flights to the Dominican Republic in Jamaica, those are unaffected. United Airlines, it is telling passengers that they can rebook for free.

And now that Maduro is out of the country, some of his paramilitary groups, they are showing that they are very much still in the picture.

On Saturday, a CNN crew spotted civilians armed with assault rifles who belong to pro-government armed groups. They control certain parts of Caracas and played a major role in keeping Maduro in power before his capture.

And they also often function as law enforcement in some of the more impoverished areas in the country, but the opposition calls them organized crime. They exist even though Venezuela's law bans anyone outside of police and military from carrying weapons. Yet, there they are.

Captured Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, they are now here in New York where they're facing a number of serious criminal charges, according to their federal indictment.

CNN's Stefano Pozzebon who's covered this from the start looks back at Maduro's rise to power and the moments that led to his downfall Saturday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): In the end, it was clashes with the U.S. which set Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro's political rule in flames.

Sources telling CNN, he was dragged from his bedroom by U.S. forces after a barrage of strikes on Saturday. His vice president quickly sounding the alarm regarding his safety.

RODRIGUEZ (through translator): We do not know the whereabouts of President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores. We demand immediate proof of life from the government of President Donald Trump, proof of life for President Maduro and the first lady.

POZZEBON (voice-over): While the scale of the strikes may have come as a surprise, tensions between Venezuela's leader and the United States had been ratcheting up for months.

Less than four weeks ago, the U.S. treasury slapping sanctions or three members of Maduro's family, two of whom were dubbed the narco nephews from previous drug trafficking convictions.

Maduro and his lawyer wife, Cilia Flores, both cut their teeth during the rule of Hugo Chavez, a socialist revolutionary who served as Venezuela's president from 1999 to 2013.

While Flores served as the country's attorney general, it was in Chavez's government that Maduro got his big break as foreign minister, spearheading anti-American policies and bolster in ties to China, Russia, and Iran from 2006 to 2013.

After Chavez's death from cancer in 2013, it wasn't long before Maduro stepped into the top job narrowly beating opposition leader Henrique Capriles in a spring election, the first of many to raise questions of fairness.

[02:55:08] A loyal disciple of Chavez's socialist ideals, in 2014 Maduro shared his commitment to keeping his legacy alive with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I know I've been loyal. And I'm fulfilling the legacy of this marvelous giant figure who is President Chavez. And it gives me peace of mind.

POZZEBON (through translator): These ideals didn't help him much in steering Venezuela's economy through challenges like plunging oil prices, however.

In fact, his failure to manage the country's oil wealth triggered an unprecedented economic collapse, intense food shortages soon spawned a term the Maduro diet, a reference to the involuntary weight loss and malnutrition endured by regular Venezuelans.

By the time the public took the ballot boxes in 2024, the anger could be felt from all sides.

Despite both Maduro and the opposition party claiming victory, the president managed to salsa his way through the political storm and remain in office.

But in September, the U.S. began striking alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean Sea as President Trump doubled down on his crackdown on narcotics smuggling.

And while Maduro told CNN in December he was focused on a message of peace --

GRAPHIC: What is your message to the people of the United States, President?

MADURO (through translator): To unite for the peace of the continent. No more endless wars, no more unjust wars.

POZZEBON (voice-over): That call has fallen on deaf ears.

Stefano Pozzebon, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: What a picture that is.

And we do want to thank you so much for watching the last hour of news. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York.

Our breaking news coverage of Nicolas Maduro's detention continues with Isa Soares after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)