Maduro in a detention center in New York… wished the American officers a happy year

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro remains in a detention center in New York on Sunday after US President Donald Trump ordered a bold operation to arrest him, saying that the United States would take control of oil-producing Venezuela.

“We will run the country until such time as we can have a safe, sound, and wise transition,” Trump said at a press conference at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Some legal experts questioned the legality of a foreign force carrying out an operation to arrest a head of state, while Democrats who said they were misled during congressional briefings demanded a plan for next steps.

Trump said that as part of the takeover, major US oil companies would return to Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserves, and would renovate the severely deteriorated oil infrastructure, a process that experts said could take years.

He indicated that he was open to sending American forces to Venezuela, saying, “We are not afraid of deploying forces on the ground.” A plane carrying Maduro landed near New York City yesterday evening, Saturday, and he was transported by helicopter to the city before being transferred to a detention center in Brooklyn.

Pictures published by the US authorities showed the Venezuelan leader in a hallway at the headquarters of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, where he was heard wishing the US officers a “Happy New Year.”

It is not clear how Trump plans to supervise Venezuela, as US forces do not control the country, and not only does it appear that the Maduro government is still in control, but also that it is unwilling to cooperate with Washington.

Maduro, who faces several charges including terrorism and drug conspiracy charges, is expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan on Monday.

The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to meet tomorrow, Monday, to discuss the measures, which United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described as a “dangerous precedent” and Russia and China, both major backers of Venezuela, criticized the United States.

“China firmly opposes such hegemonic behavior by the United States, which seriously violates international law, violates Venezuela’s sovereignty and threatens peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

Trump’s comments about the potential military presence in Venezuela were similar to statements regarding previous invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan, which ended with an American withdrawal after years of costly occupation and thousands of American deaths and injuries.

Trump said that any American occupation operation “will not cost us anything” because the United States will compensate for what it loses through “the money that will come out of the ground,” in reference to Venezuelan oil reserves, something he referred to repeatedly during the press conference held yesterday, Saturday. Trump’s focus on foreign affairs provides a great opportunity for Democrats to criticize him before the midterm congressional elections in November, and Trump also faces the risk of losing some of his supporters, who supported the “America First” policy and oppose interventions abroad.