U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as Secretary of State Marco Rubio appears down throughout a press convention following a U.S. strike on Venezuela the place President Nicolas Maduro and his spouse, Cilia Flores, have been captured, from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago membership in Palm Seaside, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
New York officers, whereas providing no sympathy for deposed Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, blasted the Trump administration Saturday for its unilateral motion to bomb the South American nation and apprehend each Maduro and his spouse on a felony indictment.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani mentioned he had been briefed on the operation in addition to the U.S. Justice Division’s plan to prosecute and imprison Maduro and his spouse, Cilia Flores, in Manhattan inside the Southern District of New York.
The brand new mayor referred to as the operation a “blatant pursuit of regime change” that was “an act of war and a violation of federal and international law.” Mamdani mentioned his higher concern in the intervening time is protecting town and its giant Venezuelan inhabitants secure. It’s believed that some 32,000 Venezuelans stay within the New York Metropolis metropolitan space.
“This blatant pursuit of regime change doesn’t just affect those abroad; it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home,” Mamdani mentioned. “My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance.”
Town’s Congressional delegation additionally expressed outrage that Trump acted with out consulting Congress and looking for formal authorization to launch the assault on Venezuela.
Senate Minority Chief and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer slammed Maduro as “an illegitimate dictator,” however Trump’s “military action without congressional authorization… is reckless.”
“The idea that Trump plans to now run Venezuela should strike fear in the hearts of all Americans,” mentioned Schumer, who demanded that the White Home “brief Congress immediately on its objectives, and its plan to prevent a humanitarian and geopolitical disaster that plunges us into another endless war.”
“To distract from skyrocketing costs Americans face, and the historic coverup of the Epstein files, Donald Trump is attempting to throw Americans into more international chaos and uncertainty,” Schumer added.
Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries.REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon
Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) charged that “the Trump administration has not sought congressional authorization for the use of military force and has failed to properly notify Congress in advance of the operation in Venezuela.”
“The promotion of security and stability in a region requires more than just military force as we painfully discovered in Iraq and Afghanistan. Far too many questions remain unanswered, including with respect to whether further military actions are planned,” Jeffries mentioned. “Pursuant to the Constitution, the framers gave Congress the sole power to declare war as the branch of government closest to the American people. The House and Senate must be briefed immediately and compelling evidence to explain and justify this unauthorized use of military force should be presented forthwith.”
U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Queens), rating member of the Home International Companies Committee, charged that Trump had used “the U.S. military to attempt regime change in a sovereign foreign nation, without approval from Congress, without a defined objective or plan for the day after, and without support from our allies,” including that it “risks entangling the United States in an open-ended conflict in Venezuela that could destabilize the entire region.”
“This action is also a violation of international law and further undermines America’s global standing,” mentioned Meeks, who additionally condemned Maduro as an “illegitimate leader.”
“Congress must reassert its constitutional role before this escalation leads to greater instability, chaos, and unnecessary risk to American lives,” the Congress member added.
In stark distinction to these statements, U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Brooklyn/Staten Island), the one Republican within the metropolis’s Congressional delegation, celebrated Trump’s “bold and decisive action” as “a major victory for American security and justice.”
“Maduro, the illegitimate ruler of Venezuela, empowered violent gangs and drug cartels, causing the deaths of countless Americans, and aligned with hostile regimes in Russia, China, Iran and Cuba,” Malliotakis mentioned.
Trump had ordered air strikes on navy installations inside Venezuela early on Jan. 3 amid rising tensions between each nations; the Trump administration had accused Maduro of operating Venezuela as a “narco-state,” serving as a pipeline for unlawful medication and gang exercise.
Throughout an tackle to the nation on Saturday morning, Trump mentioned that the U.S. has successfully taken over Venezuela — and would “run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.” There isn’t a instant timetable for when that transition will take impact.
When requested if the armed forces have been getting into to occupy the nation, Trump mentioned, “We’re not afraid of boots on the ground if we have to. We had boots on the ground last night.”
