Venezuela, Trump: 'I will be the ultimate decision maker'. Rodriguez: 'No foreign agent governs us'

The United Nations has expressed deep concern following the US military intervention in Venezuela, warning that "it undermines a fundamental principle of international law". "States must not threaten or use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of another state," Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), said at a press conference in Geneva. The US military operation in Venezuela has clearly 'undermined a fundamental principle of international law' and Venezuela's 'future must be determined exclusively by the Venezuelan people, with full respect for their human rights, including their right to self-determination and sovereignty over their lives and resources', the UNHCR office said today.

Shamdasani went on to express the High Commissioner Volker Türk's "deep concern" about the situation. "The United States," he added, "has justified its intervention on the basis of the Venezuelan government's long-standing and appalling human rights record, but accountability for human rights violations cannot be achieved through unilateral military intervention in violation of international law. The UN also fears that the current instability and further militarisation of the country will only worsen the situation. The High Commissioner therefore calls on the 'US and Venezuelan authorities, as well as the international community, to ensure full respect for international law'.

Of an opposite opinion was the US Attorney General Pam Bondi, according to whom the capture of the Venezuelan dictator "was not just a drug deal" and Operation Absolute Resolve was within the constitutional powers of President Donald Trump, in response to criticism from the Dems. "Our military executed the operation flawlessly. The president saved thousands, countless lives," said Bondi, interviewed on Fox News. "But he also protected Americans from members of the Tda (Tren de Aragua) that Maduro let into our country."

And again: 'Maduro and the other defendants may also face charges in other places. Nothing is excluded'. "These people must remain behind bars. They are responsible for the loss of so many lives, and they are not street dealers. They are drug dealers." The Justice Department claimed that Maduro provided "Venezuelan diplomatic passports to drug traffickers and facilitated diplomatic cover for planes used by money launderers to repatriate drug proceeds from Mexico to Venezuela. Our army executed the operation flawlessly'.

Machado attacks Rodriguez and announces his return to Venezuela

The Venezuelan opposition leader and recent Nobel Peace Prize winner, Maria Corina Machado, said she wants to return to her homeland "as soon as possible" and harshly attacked interim president Delcy Rodriguez. In his first public comment since a social media post last weekend - when the US military forcibly removed President Nicolas Maduro from power - Machado promised to return. "I plan to return to Venezuela as soon as possible," he told TV host Sean Hannity on Fox News, speaking from an undisclosed location.

Machado also openly disowned Rodríguez, stating that 'she is one of the main architects of torture, persecution, corruption and drug trafficking'. Rodríguez, who has expressed his willingness to cooperate with Washington, was vice-president of Venezuela under Maduro. Machado stated that Rodríguez is 'rejected' by the Venezuelan people and that the voters are on the side of the opposition. 'In free and fair elections we will win with more than 90 per cent of the votes, I have no doubt of that', he said.

The opposition leader went on to promise to "transform Venezuela into the energy hub of the Americas" and to "dismantle all these criminal structures" that have harmed her compatriots, promising to "bring home millions of Venezuelans forced to flee" from the country. Finally, Machado emphasised that the goal is 'to leave behind the socialist regime imposed on our people and make Venezuela the main ally of the United States in America'.

Meanwhile, Trump denied Washington Post rumours that he had discarded the possibility of Maria Corina Machado to lead Venezuela because she had won the Nobel Prize, an award the president was hoping for. "She should not have won it. But that has nothing to do with my decision,' Trump noted.

As for the involvement of the US oil industry in Venezuela's future, the US president said he believed that the US industry could set up large-scale operations in the country in less than 18 months, against "an enormous amount of money" that US companies would invest and that could be recouped through revenues or reimbursements from the US administration. In an interview with Nbc News, Trump emphasised that this would be a 'huge investment', but without giving precise cost estimates.

The US administration will meet with the big American oil companies this week to talk about increasing crude oil production in Venezuela. According to rumours reported by the Wall Street Journal, in recent weeks Trump had told the oil majors to get ready and stand ready, but without going into details of the operation that led to Maduro's capture. Chevron, the only American giant in Venezuela, has no intention at the moment - says the Wall Street Journal - of increasing spending and oil production in the country as it fears a lack of stability and certainty.

According to the tycoon, a newly oil-producing Venezuela would be beneficial for the US because it would help keep energy prices low. The president reiterated that his priority remains 'fixing' the country and relaunching the oil sector, rather than fostering a democratic transition in the immediate future.

The Trump administration will brief all US senators on the operation in Venezuela. The appointment is set for tomorrow at 11am local time. The briefing follows the administration's briefing to congressional leaders, from which Democrats came away "with more questions than answers," said Senate Dem leader Chuck Schumer.

Pending the briefing to Congress, the US president nevertheless had occasion to celebrate the capture of Venezuelan leader Maduro, boasting that the high-risk operation proved that the US possesses the 'most fearsome' military in the world, during a retreat with Republican Party deputies. 'We had a lot of soldiers on the ground, but it was great,' he said, according to CNN reports. 'It was tactically brilliant.

The broadcaster reports how Trump recounted several operational details to parliamentarians, indicating that the US cut off electricity in much of Venezuela just before entering the country, so as to give the military the element of surprise as they approached Maduro's compound. "And think about it, nobody was killed," he said, adding that "on the other side, many people were killed".

Specifically, according to budgets published today by Colombia and Cuba, fifty-five Cuban and Venezuelan soldiers were killed during the US raid. Cuba released the names of 32 members of its military who died in the assault, while Venezuelan forces released a list of 23 of their personnel who were also killed in the operation.

Trump then criticised members of the Democratic Party for expressing concern about the decision to capture Maduro, complaining that few of them had congratulated him. "At some point they should say, 'You know, you did a great job,'" he said. "'Thank you, congratulations'. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called on the United States to ensure that Nicolas Maduro receives a 'fair trial'. 'Now that the president is in detention, what we demand is a fair trial,' she told the press.

A few hours after Sheinbaum's words, Venezuela's attorney general, Tarek William Saab, at the country's National Assembly, called on the US judge overseeing the legal proceedings against Maduro to respect international law and the leader's diplomatic immunity. "I call on Judge Alvin Hellerstein to respect international law and recognise the lack of jurisdiction of the court at his disposal to prosecute the leader of a sovereign nation like Venezuela, who is protected by diplomatic immunity," he said, according to several US media reports, indicating that he considers Maduro's capture and prosecution in the US to be illegal.

He also called for an investigation into the "dozens of innocent civilian and military casualties that occurred in the midst of this war crime", pointing out that the National Assembly has appointed three prosecutors from the Public Ministry to lead the prosecution.

The French Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, considers the military operation conducted by Donald Trump's United States in Venezuela to be 'illegal' and appeals for a 'democratic transition' in the country. "Everything is illegal in this affair. The Nicolas Maduro regime, the 2024 election cycle, the US military operation that violates the UN Charter," Lecornu noted, speaking at the National Assembly in Paris. Hence the head of the government's call for a 'democratic transition' around the figure of Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the opponent whom the France considers to be Venezuela's legitimately elected president in 2024.

From Mexico, however, President Claudia Sheinbaum calls on the United States to ensure that Maduro receives a 'fair trial'.

"I insisted on the importance of the release of our compatriots held in Venezuelan prisons, starting with Alberto Trentini, Mario Burlò, Luigi Gasperin and Biagio Pilieri. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated his support for the release of political prisoners'. The deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, wrote this on X at the end of the G7 foreign ministers' meeting on Venezuela and Ukraine. "I stressed the importance of ensuring a peaceful transition in Venezuela and the need to protect the large community of Italians in the country," he added.

Drones in flight, gunfire in the night in Caracas

Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, was rocked in the night by intense bursts of fire near the Presidential Palace of Miraflores, after drones were spotted over the restricted airspace of the government area. The authorities specified that the shots, fired by the security forces - Presidential Guard, Bolivarian National Police and Fanb units - were for warning and deterrence, and that the situation was quickly brought under control with no official casualties. The episode, which began around 8pm local time (1am in Italy) and lasted less than an hour, was reportedly 'friendly fire' due to internal confusion between the different security units and did not involve external drones or foreign operations. This was reported by Venezuelan media

The alert prompted the precautionary evacuation of government buildings and central ministries, while some businesses and streets in neighbouring districts of Miraflores, such as Avenida Urdaneta, La Pastora and El Paraíso, were temporarily closed. Residents and witnesses described scenes of panic during the blasts, with people taking refuge in shops or buildings, but measures were limited to the affected areas and normality was restored within a few hours. The White House reiterated that it was monitoring the situation without any US involvement.