Former Venezuela president Nicolas Maduro appeared in a federal court in the US on Monday, several days after being arrested in Caracas in a surprise US military operation in Venezuela.
Maduro, 63, is charged by US narcotrafficking, together with his wife, Cilia Flores. The couple was held in a high level military raid that used helicopters, air support and naval forces. According to reports by US commandos, they were taken out of Caracas and sent to New York.
It was on Monday, that Maduro was taken to New York by helicopter and armored vehicle to a court in New York where he was brought before an initial hearing under heavy security.
Venezuela Political Crisis Worsens.
When Maduro was captured, the political crisis in Venezuela currently escalated. The interim president Delcy Rodriguez who previously indicated an aggressive tone showed readiness to collaborate with Washington.
According to her, Venezuela is willing to negotiate with the United States to formulate cooperation on the political and economic issues.
In the meantime thousands of Maduro supporters gathered in Caracas, with armed bands on the motorcycles, brandishing Venezuelan flags and shouting out slogans. The Venezuelan military spokesperson affirmed that it was aware of the interim leader Rodriguez and asked the citizens to calm down.
The defense officials said that several people were attacked during the operation, of which there were members of the security detail of Maduro, the military forces, and civilians, but no official number of casualties has been announced.
US wants to have the access to Venezuela oil reserves.
US President Donald Trump claimed that the United States now had control over Venezuela and that it needed the complete access to the oil deposits of Venezuela which are the largest proven oil deposits in the world.
According to Trump, access to oil has been key to the reconstruction of the country. Nevertheless, energy analysts caution that it will take a lot of time and investment to revive the production of oil in Venezuela. The markets responded to the developments by falling slightly in oil prices across the globe.
The US still imposes economic pressure by limiting the Venezuelan oil shipments and even declares that military action can still be taken. One of the largest naval powers of the US is still stationed in the offshore waters of Venezuela.
UN Response and International Reaction.
Opinion leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia declared that the US intervention was important but not complete without the freeing of political prisoners and acceptance of the controversial 2024 election outcomes in Venezuela.
The US operation was condemned by several countries such as China, Russia, Iran, and others which demanded the release of Maduro terming it as a breach of the international law. The United Security Council will also have a meeting scheduled as an emergency meeting at the request of Venezuela.
Another issue that regional leaders were worried about was that the situation might result in instability and humanitarian catastrophe in South America.
