What we covered here
• Tense capital: Gunfire and anti-aircraft fire were seen over Caracas as the Venezuelan capital remains on edge following the US capture of President Nicolás Maduro. A Venezuelan ministry said police fired at drones that were “flying without permission.” Sigue nuestra cobertura en español.
• Maduro’s plea: The ousted Venezuelan leader and his wife pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges in a New York courtroom. A defiant Maduro told the judge he had been kidnapped in Caracas.
• Who is in charge? Maduro ally Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as acting president, as US President Donald Trump repeated his claim that he is in charge of Venezuela.
• Trump’s threats: Trump also issued warnings to other countries, saying he could take military action in Colombia, told Mexico to get its “act together” on drugs and said the US “needs Greenland.”
Our live coverage has moved here.
Not working with Venezuelan opposition is a “major mistake,” Trump's former national security adviser says
The Trump administration has made a “major mistake” by not working with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado after capturing President Nicolás Maduro, a former US national security adviser told CNN.
John Bolton said Washington’s threw Machado “under the bus.”
Working with the remnants of the Maduro regime, rather than using the opposition to try and take over the government, is “a major turning point and a major mistake,” he said.
“Why are we apparently prepared to engage with somebody we’ve sanctioned before to give an illegitimate regime legitimacy?” he asked, referring to acting President Delcy Rodríguez.
Responding to the Trump administration’s claims that installing Machado as president would be chaotic, as she doesn’t have enough support, Bolton said that the US should have been working with the opposition before its attack on Venezuela.
More about Bolton: Following his term as national security adviser between 2018 and 2019, Bolton has become a prominent critic of Trump. He is currently facing a raft of charges over the transmission and retention of defense information.
Venezuelan opposition leader says she hasn’t spoken to Trump since October, and plans to return to Venezuela “as soon as possible”
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she hasn’t spoken to President Donald Trump since October, and vowed to return to Venezuela “as soon as possible.”
In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Machado again thanked Trump for “the historical actions he has taken against the narco-terrorist regime.” She said January 3, when the US captured President Nicolás Maduro, “will go down in history as the day justice defeated tyranny.”
In the wake of the capture, Trump said Machado “doesn’t have the support within or the respect” to lead Venezuela and has repeatedly said that the US is in charge of the country.
Senior White House aide Stephen Miller has also dismissed calls for the US to install Machado as president.
The US has instead been working with Maduro-ally and acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who has vowed to cooperate.
Machado, who is under a decade-long travel ban, had been in hiding for more than a year but traveled to Oslo, Norway in December to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. She left Oslo last month.
Machado defended her decision to dedicate her Peace Prize to Trump on Fox and said she wished she could share her gratitude to him for Maduro’s arrest personally, noting she last spoke with Trump on October 10, when her Nobel win was announced.
Reports of misunderstanding between Caracas security units following gunfire
Gunfire and anti-aircraft fire seen in videos over the Venezuelan capital Caracas Monday evening comes as the city is on edge and security services on heightened alert following the US attack and capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
Video verified by CNN shows anti-aircraft fire over the Caracas. In separate video verified by CNN audible gunfire could also be heard amid reports of confusion between security units in the capital.
One resident, who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, said they heard gunfire close to Urdaneta Ave near the Miraflores presidential palace.
Venezuela’s Ministry of Communication and Information said police fired at drones that were “flying without permission.”
“No confrontation occurred, and the entire country is completely calm,” the ministry said. It did not say who might have been flying the drones.
A White House official told CNN they are closely tracking the reports of gunfire out of Venezuela, but noted that “the US is not involved.”
“Misunderstanding”: Discussions between paramilitary groups associated with the regime and heard by CNN indicate the gunfire was related to ongoing confusion between different security groups operating near the Miraflores presidential palace.
A member of one of these groups, called colectivos, can be heard calling for support and backup, following “confrontations” at the palace and that “several shots were heard.”
Then, another member can be heard saying there was a “misunderstanding” and confusion after shots were fired. The speaker said the situation was now calm.
Later, what appears to be the first speaker said that a drone that had been flying in the area was fired upon by members of the Miraflores Police and palace security, but the situation was now “under control.”
After pleading not guilty today in New York, here's what comes next for Maduro and his wife
Nicolás Maduro, the ousted Venezuelan leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty in their first court appearance in New York.
CNN’s Laura Coates explains what comes next legally for the pair.
Nicolás Maduro, the ousted Venezuelan leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty in their first court appearance in New York. CNN's Laura Coates explains what comes next legally for the pair.
White House says US is not involved in Venezuela gunfire
A White House official told CNN they are closely tracking the reports of gunfire out of Venezuela, but noted that “the US is not involved.”
Meeks says "no complete clarity" on whether Venezuela operation will include US troops
Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs committee, told reporters after the classified briefing about the Venezuela military operation that he has “no complete clarity” about whether the mission will involve US troops on the ground in Venezuela.
“There’s no complete clarity. They basically said what the president said. He has the option of putting troops on the ground. He’s not going to take anything off the table,” Meeks said.
When asked if Trump could strike another country, Meeks said, “well, if you ask me, clearly Donald Trump does everything that he can to avoid Congress. I mean that’s what I feel, he doesn’t think that Congress is relevant.” Meeks said further of Trump: “he does not see us as a separate but equal branch of government and unfortunately, the leadership in Congress doesn’t see itself as an equal branch of government.”
Meeks said his Republican colleagues are raising concerns to him about how much future military action in Venezuela will cost: “I hear that some are concerned about the American people. What is the cost? How much is this going to cost the United States of America?”
Pressed whether he thinks the strike was done to distract or divert attention away from domestic issues such as the cost of health care and broader affordability concerns, Meeks said “I think the timing is suspicious to me.”
Like other Democrats who left the briefing, Meeks said he was not provided with the legal justification for why Congress was not informed ahead of the strike.
The problem with Trump’s plan to take oil from Venezuela
President Donald Trump says Venezuela stole US oil and wants to take it back by rebuilding their system.
But CNN’s David Goldman reports on two key issues he faces.
President Donald Trump says Venezuela stole US oil and wants to take it back by rebuilding their system, but he faces these two key issues.
“It is appalling and it is very frankly stupid," Danish lawmaker says of Trump's latest salvo about Greenland
A Danish lawmaker tonight described US President Donald Trump’s latest comment about how the US needs Greenland as “very frankly stupid.”
Anders Vistisen, who is a member of the European Parliament, told CNN’s Erin Burnett that the situation for the self-governing territory of Denmark is “quite different” from that of Venezuela.
He accused the Trump administration of having no knowledge about the history of Greenland, adding that the US had signed a treaty 100 years ago that accept Denmark will have full control of the territory.
Trump has spoken about needing Greenland since the start of his second term. He repeated the claim Sunday as he issued warnings to other countries following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
For context: Vistisen told Trump to “f*** off” in January last year in response to Trump suggesting the idea of buying Greenland.
GOP lawmaker suggests after briefing US military not eying additional operations without "a warrant"
House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast suggested Monday that the US military was not planning additional operations in South America or other nations after this weekend’s successful capture of Venezuela’s leader, unless there is major criminal activity leading to another warrant against a head of state.
Pressed by CNN about whether the Trump administration was considering nations such as Colombia and Cuba as its next targets, Mast stressed the US military’s involvement was an isolated incident.
Mast described Maduro’s capture as a “specific law enforcement function” and said further operations wouldn’t take place without “a warrant that has to be enforced.”
Mast declined to offer specifics on the White House’s plans in other countries, moments after emerging from a two-hour classified briefing about the Venezuela operation and its strategy ahead.
Asked by CNN about additional countries being targeted, Mast would say only: “Everyone has questions. Everybody in a lot of rooms and circles have questions about what happens to other nations in the region. Right? And questions were answered about that.”
Rep. Adam Smith says he doesn't think the Trump administration has a "clear plan" for Venezuela
Rep. Adam Smith, a Democrat who was one of the lawmakers briefed Monday night on the Trump administration’s Venezuela operation, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that he doesn’t think the Trump administration has a “clear plan” on what to do next in Venezuela.
Smith said that Trump’s rhetoric has been “undermining” Secretary of State’s Marco Rubio statements about what the administration’s mission is in Venezuela, and he said that the United States “should make it clear that we’re not planning on running Venezuela.”
He also called the administration’s operation over the weekend “blatantly illegal and an exercise of presidential power in clear violation of the Constitution” and urged Republicans to “step up and recognize that Congress needs to be relevant regardless of the party.”
“Congress needs to reassert its authority, and I think we need to put pressure on Republican leadership to do that,” he added.
Shaheen says lawmakers did not get justification on why Congress wasn't notified ahead of Venezuela strike
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN following the closed-door briefing with Trump administration officials about the Venezuela strike that she did not receive the legal justification for why Congress was not notified ahead of the military action.
“We did not get that justification,” Shaheen said.
Asked whether she believes the Trump administration is considering similar action in other countries, Shaheen responded, “I don’t think that’s clear yet.”
Shaheen said she did not get a sense for how long the US plans to maintain operational control of Venezuela and when asked how much these military actions will cost the American taxpayer Shaheen replied, “we are spending money in the Caribbean now.”
Thune says timeline for US control over Venezuela should be answered in "next few days"
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the timeline for how long the United States would maintain operational control over Venezuela will be answered “in the next few days” following a closed-door briefing about the Trump administration’s Venezuela operation.
“Those are all questions that I think would be more sufficiently properly answered in the next few days. But I think we obviously have clear interests there and I think those answers are advanced by what they establish that the military, the intelligence community and the administration took,” Thune told reporters following the briefing.
Without divulging specifics, Thune shared that the lawmakers in the room, comprised of Democratic and Republican leaders, “asked a lot of questions.”
“I was sufficiently satisfied with the answers to the questions” Thune added.
“Look, we had I think a very robust discussion about the operation, and I think about the path forward. So, it was good. It was a very comprehensive discussion,” Thune said.
Asked whether US troops are expected on the ground in Venezuela at any point, Thune said, “I don’t have any sense that that’s going to happen.”
Johnson stresses Venezuela operation "not a regime change" and says he doesn't expect US troops on the ground
Speaker Mike Johnson declared that President Donald Trump’s recent ousting of Nicolas Maduro as leader of Venezuela is “not a regime change,” despite Trump’s own comments about US involvement in that nation’s government.
Moments after emerging from a closed-door briefing on the White House’s Venezuela operation, Johnson offered a hefty defense of Trump’s legal authority in conducting it — which he said had been a discussion in the room among top lawmakers and White House officials.
“We are not at war. We do not have US armed forces in Venezuela and we are not occupying that country,” Johnson said.
Pressed by CNN about Trump’s repeated remarks that the US is “going to run” Venezuela, Johnson again pointed to what he heard in the briefing and said: “The way this is being described – this is not a regime change. This is a demand for change of behavior by a regime.”
And he emphasized that there would not be American soldiers on the ground in Venezuela helping to carry out a new government.
“We don’t expect troops on the ground. We don’t expect direct involvement in any other way beyond just coercing the interim government to get that going,” he said.
Energy secretary to meet with oil executives this week to discuss Venezuela
US Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright will meet with oil executives this week to discuss US companies once again standing up drilling for oil in Venezuela, a spokesperson for the Energy Department said.
Wright will meet with the executives at the Goldman Sachs Energy, CleanTech & Utilities Conference in Miami, the spokesperson said. Bloomberg News first reported on Wright’s planned meetings.
The meetings come as much of the industry has been blindsided by President Donald Trump’s decision to capture Nicolás Maduro and his subsequent insistence that private companies would pour billions of dollars into rebuilding Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, an industry source told CNN.
As of Monday, major companies and trade associations were still waiting to hear from the White House, the industry source said, and had little clarity on what comes next.
These meetings are expected to be the first of many, two energy industry sources said, as Wright faces the difficult task of persuading major oil companies to invest billions of dollars to return to a market where many suffered significant financial losses. One source characterized the effort as nearly impossible.
In other words, standing up a US presence in Venezuela’s oilfields won’t happen overnight, or even in a year, the source said.
“This is probably going to take at least a decade,” the source added.
Company safety is going to be “absolutely paramount and a necessary condition for a necessary level of investment to unfold,” another industry source said.
This post has been updated with additional reporting.
What some senators are saying about the US action in Venezuela and its aftermath
CNN is speaking to US senators on how they view US strike in Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
Here’s what we’re hearing:
Democratic senators:
• Sen. Elizabeth Warren questioned President Donald Trump’s declaration that the United States would “run” Venezuela, warning it risks plunging the US into another war. She also argued Trump’s operation was focused on giving a boost to oil companies and not in the interest of the American people. Finally, she expressed concern Republicans won’t conduct proper oversight of the administration’s actions in Venezuela.
• Sen. Jeff Merkley criticized the administration’s approach to Venezuela’s future leadership. “What it looks like is he wants to keep the dictatorship in place, just with the vice president becoming head of government, rather than Maduro,” he said. “He just wants a dictator that will say ‘yes, sir,’ when the United States says, do this or do that, I think that’s a I think that’s a big problem for us.”
Republican senator:
• Sen. Rand Paul, who has long opposed military action in Venezuela without congressional approval, called this weekend’s operation “unconstitutional” and expressed concern over the precedent set by the US’ action. “Apparently, this attack’s been under planning for three or four months, and so there’s plenty of time to ask Congress’ permission. I think it’s disdainful,” said Paul. “But without question, this is war. You can’t say, ‘Oh, well, we’re just arresting a criminal.’ They bombed half of Caracas and then removed him from that.”
Schumer says he left Trump officials' briefing on Venezuela with "more questions" than answers
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer left a closed-door briefing Monday night on the Trump administration’s Venezuela operation with even deeper concerns about the US’ next steps, saying the classified meeting posed “far more questions” than it answered.
The top Senate Democrat said White House officials refused to confirm that similar operations would not take place in other countries, despite his own questions on the matter.
“Their plan for the US running Venezuela is vague, based on wishful thinking and unsatisfying,” Schumer said as he left a two-hour briefing with some of Congress’ top lawmakers.
Top intel Democrat says after briefing that Rubio and Trump administration have no plan for Venezuela
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, who was among the lawmakers briefed on the Trump administration’s Venezuela operation Monday night, repeatedly criticized the Trump administration’s lack of plan.
Asked by CNN’s Erin Burnett if Secretary of State Marco Rubio provided answers to questions during the briefing, Rep. Jim Himes said, “No, he doesn’t have the answers because he doesn’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow or the next day.”
Himes expressed deep worry about the coming days for Venezuela’s government as its current leader faces pressure from her own military.
Gunfire heard near Venezuelan presidential palace
Gunfire was heard in the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Monday night, near the Miraflores presidential palace.
Videos geolocated by CNN show what appear to be lights from drones and anti-aircraft fire across the night sky.
It’s unclear what the situation is related to.
CNN has reached out to Venezuela’s ministries of communication and foreign affairs for more information.
What Trump and administration officials are saying tonight about Venezuela
We just heard from President Donald Trump and several other key members of his administration as the United States determines what to do next in Venezuela.
After ousted President Nicolás Maduro and his wife appeared in a Manhattan courtroom today, the US president said he is in charge of the South American country.
Here’s a rundown of the top lines:
- Trump told NBC News he considers himself in charge of Venezuela. He suggested the US could launch a second military operation if Delcy Rodríguez, who is now the acting Venezuelan president, stops cooperating but said he doesn’t think it will be necessary. He also projected it will take less than 18 months for oil companies to rebuild Venezuela’s energy infrastructure.”
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US operation included nearly 200 US personnel on the ground in Caracas. Separately, he said Maduro didn’t know the troops were coming “until about three minutes before they arrived.”
- US Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright will meet with oil executives later this week to discuss US companies once again standing up drilling for oil in Venezuela, a spokesperson for the Energy Department said.
- Senior White House aide Stephen Miller characterized the US’ involvement as an “ongoing military operation,” even as the administration has contended that capturing Maduro was a law enforcement action. Miller also spoke with CNN’s Jake Tapper. You can read more from that interview here.
CNN’s Ella Nilsen, Adam Cancryn, Haley Britzky and Kit Maher contributed reporting to this post.
