Hours following a bold military maneuver by the U.S. that extracted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power and evacuated him from the nation on Saturday, his deputy called for Maduro’s freedom, asserting him as the rightful leader of the country. Early on Saturday, Caracas was rattled by multiple explosions and sightings of low-flying aircraft. Maduro’s administration accused the U.S. of targeting civilian and military sites, labeling it an “imperialist assault” and urging the populace to rally. Maduro and his spouse, apprehended from their residence on a military installation overnight, were initially transported to a U.S. naval vessel before being flown to New York City to face judicial proceedings due to a Justice Department indictment accusing them of involvement in a narco-terrorism plot. Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez disclosed that some Venezuelan civilians and military personnel lost their lives. As per Venezuelan regulations, Rodriguez would assume Maduro’s position, yet she made it known during a televised appearance on Saturday that she had no intentions of assuming control. She demanded Maduro’s release and reaffirmed him as the president, stating, “There is only one president in Venezuela, and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros.” Rodriguez’s statements followed assertions by Trump, claiming she had been inaugurated as president and had discussions with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, where Trump alleged she expressed willingness to comply with U.S. interests. Trump described Rodriguez as willing to cooperate to advance Venezuela’s interests. Nevertheless, there was no broadcast of a swearing-in ceremony on state television, and Rodriguez did not declare herself acting president or mention any political transition in her televised address. She was identified as the vice-president in a ticker at the bottom of the screen and showed no signs of cooperating with the U.S. “What is happening in Venezuela is a violation of international law,” she declared. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado suggested that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez should assume leadership, asserting that he legitimately won the 2024 presidential election. The Venezuelan constitution mandates a new election within a month in the absence of the president, but experts debated whether this succession scenario applied given the government’s lack of popular support and the extraordinary U.S. military intervention. Trump declared that the U.S. government would participate in governing Venezuela, although there were no immediate indications of such involvement. State TV in Venezuela continued airing pro-Maduro content, showcasing live footage of supporters demonstrating in Caracas. Trump emphasized at a press briefing in Mar-a-Lago that the operation was successful and would serve as a deterrent to threats against American interests. The operation culminated a prolonged pressure campaign by the Trump administration on Venezuela, with secretive planning leading to the most decisive U.S. action for regime change since the 2003 Iraq invasion. The legal basis for the operation was not immediately clarified, but the Trump administration portrayed it, along with prior lethal strikes in the Caribbean, as essential to halt drug trafficking. Trump also disclosed intentions to exploit the leadership vacuum to improve the nation’s oil infrastructure and export substantial oil volumes to other countries.