The ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro arrived in the United States to face criminal charges after being captured in a daring overnight military operation that, according to President Donald Trump, would allow the United States to “control” the South American country and exploit its vast oil reserves for sale to other nations.

Maduro landed late Saturday night at a small airport in New York following the nighttime operation that removed him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their residence at a military base in the capital, Caracas—an act Maduro’s government described as “imperialist.” The couple faces charges in the United States for participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

The dramatic action capped an intense pressure campaign by the Trump administration against Venezuela’s autocratic leader and months of secret planning, resulting in the most forceful U.S. action aimed at regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Legal experts questioned the legality of the operation, which was carried out without congressional approval. Meanwhile, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez demanded that the United States release Maduro, calling him the country’s legitimate leader, as Venezuela’s Supreme Court appointed her interim president.

Some Venezuelan civilians and military personnel were killed, Rodríguez said, without providing figures. Trump stated that some U.S. personnel were injured, but none were killed.

Speaking to reporters hours after Maduro’s capture, Trump revealed plans to exploit the leadership vacuum to “fix” Venezuela’s oil infrastructure and sell “large quantities” of oil to other countries.

Trump Says the United States Will “Govern the Country”

The Trump administration promoted Maduro’s removal as a step toward reducing the flow of dangerous drugs into the United States. The president highlighted what he viewed as additional potential benefits, including a leadership role in the country and greater control over its oil resources.

Trump said the U.S. government would help lead Venezuela and claimed it was already doing so, though there were no immediate visible signs of such control. Venezuelan state television continued airing pro-Maduro propaganda and live images of supporters protesting in the streets of Caracas.

President Donald Trump stated that the United States would “govern” Venezuela until the country could be “put back on track,” offering few details or a timeline on how that would work. Trump also said opposition leader María Corina Machado lacks the “support” and “respect” needed to govern the country.

“We are going to govern the country until we can carry out a safe, proper, and sensible transition,” Trump said at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago. He boasted that the “extremely successful operation should serve as a warning to anyone who threatens U.S. sovereignty or endangers American lives.”

Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, and the Justice Department issued a new indictment Saturday against Maduro and his wife, describing his administration as a “corrupt and illegitimate government” driven by a drug trafficking network that flooded the United States with cocaine. The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s leader.

The Trump administration spent months reinforcing U.S. forces in the region and carrying out attacks on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, allegedly transporting drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike on a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels, the first known direct operation on Venezuelan territory since the U.S. campaign began in September.