US attacks Venezuela live updates: ‘Extremely dangerous’ precedent set by Trump; Maduro prepares to face New York court after capture

Welcome to our live coverage of the fallout following the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. With Maduro now in custody in a New York prison, attention is turning to the political, legal and diplomatic consequences of the audacious operation – and whether the Trump administration has a credible plan for what comes next.

Here is a recap of key events:

• Venezuela’s ousted leader spent his first night in a Brooklyn prison cell and will appear in a Manhattan federal court for arraignment on Monday (Tuesday AEDT).
• A new indictment unsealed by a federal judge in New York charged Maduro with narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine and possession of machine guns.
• Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, was sworn in as interim leader at a secret ceremony in Caracas.
• The Trump administration faced renewed scrutiny on Sunday over its plans for Venezuela, following the audacious US operation that captured Maduro.
• Trump said the US would “run” the South American nation for an unspecified period and reclaim American oil interests, but he gave few details of how.
• The UN Security Council will meet on Monday to discuss the US strike on the Venezuela capital, which Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described as a dangerous precedent.
• Russia and China, both major backers of Venezuela, criticised the US on Sunday.

Twenty-six member states of the European Union, all but Hungary, have issued a joint statement on the “US intervention in Venezuela”.

The EU called for calm and restraint to avoid escalation and “ensure a peaceful solution to the crisis”.

“The EU recalls that, under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be upheld.

“Members of the United Nations Security Council have a particular responsibility to uphold those principles, as a pillar of the international security architecture,” the statement said.

It said Nicolás Maduro “lacks the legitimacy of a democratically elected president”, but “the right of the Venezuelan people to determine their future must be respected”.

The statement called for human rights and international humanitarian law to be fully respected and for the unconditional release of political prisoners detained in Venezuela.

The governments of Spain, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay have just issued a joint statement, saying the US military action in Venezuela is “an extremely dangerous precedent for peace and regional security and puts the civilian population at risk.”

These actions are “incompatible with international law and threaten the political, economic, and social stability of the region,” they said in the statement released jointly on Sunday.

They expressed their “concern about any attempt at government control, administration, or external appropriation of natural or strategic resources.”

With AP