Venezuela’s Maduro Set to Appear in N.Y. Court Monday

The Trump administration is working to tamp down fears of a wider war in South America after the dramatic capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, who is now in U.S. custody and set to appear Monday in federal court in Manhattan. Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted Sunday that the United States is not at war with Venezuela and has no “boots on the ground” there following the operation that removed Maduro from power.

“There’s not a war,” Rubio said on NBC’s Meet the Press, arguing the U.S. is “at war against drug trafficking organizations,” not the Venezuelan state. Rubio described the raid as a limited, hours-long law-enforcement mission aimed at dismantling what the Justice Department says was a narco-trafficking network known as the Cartel de los Soles, accused of moving massive cocaine shipments toward the United States.

Maduro, who has long been charged by U.S. prosecutors with narco-terrorism, is being held in a Brooklyn jail and faces charges in the Southern District of New York. The Justice Department said it had “pursued every lawful opportunity to resolve this matter peacefully” before the operation, which Venezuelan officials say included explosions in Caracas and strikes in multiple coastal states under what the U.S. calls Operation Absolute Resolve.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. will effectively run Venezuelan policy until there is what he called a “proper” transition, with Maduro’s former vice president Delcy Rodríguez now serving as the de facto leader. Trump claimed Rodríguez has agreed to cooperate with U.S. demands and said American oil companies could invest billions to rebuild Venezuela’s crippled energy infrastructure. “We want Venezuela to move in a certain direction,” Rubio said, “because not only do we think it’s good for the people of Venezuela, it’s in our national interest.”

Rubio emphasized that pressure will now center on oil enforcement, sanctions, and court-authorized seizures. “We go to court, we get a warrant and seize those boats — and that will continue,” he said, adding the U.S. reserves the right to target cartel “drug boats” moving toward American shores. He stressed the oil issue is not about U.S. dependence. “We don’t need Venezuela’s oil,” Rubio said, arguing it’s about preventing adversaries like Iran and Hezbollah from exploiting the region while Venezuelans suffer.

The situation is now drawing global attention. The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting Monday as Maduro appears before a federal judge in New York