Chaos engulfed Venezuela on Monday night, as intense gunfire erupted near Caracas’ presidential palace following the removal of Nicolás Maduro from power.
Stunning footage circulated on social media, capturing the cacophony of gunfire echoing through the Venezuelan capital.
Residents reported hearing ‘anti-aircraft’ explosions around the presidential palace’s vicinity, amidst ongoing turmoil in the streets since Maduro and his wife were detained and extradited to the United States to face drug trafficking allegations.
The evening sky was ablaze with what appeared to be drones and anti-aircraft fire starting around 8:15 PM local time, according to locals.
This upheaval followed Maduro’s defiantly self-proclaimed status as “the president of my country” during his protest against the arrest, as he pleaded not guilty to federal charges that the Trump administration used to justify his ousting.
“I was captured,” Maduro stated in Spanish, as interpreted in court, before the judge interrupted him.
Asked later for his plea to the charges, he stated: ‘I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country.’
Maduro’s court appearance in Manhattan, his first since he and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized from their Caracas home Saturday in a stunning middle-of-the-night military operation, kicked off the U.S. government’s most consequential prosecution in decades of a foreign head of state. She also pleaded not guilty.
Extraordinary vision emerged on social media on Monday night appearing to show a hail of bullets descending on Venezuela’s capital
Cilia Flores arrived at the Wall Street Heliport in New York Monday with visible bruising to her forehead and cheek. She and her husband both pled not guilty to narco-terrorism charges
The court set a next date of March 17, and no application for bail was made.
Explosions tore across Caracas during the daring raid on early Saturday morning, as Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek Saab claimed that ‘innocents’ had been ‘mortally wounded’ by the US operation.
With details still emerging on Monday, Havana said 32 Cubans were killed in the attack, while Donald Trump suggested Cuba itself was close to collapse following Nicolás Maduro’s capture.
‘I don’t think we need any action. It looks like it’s going down,’ Trump said.
The White House signaled on Sunday that it was not seeking full regime change, but rather Maduro’s removal and the installation of a compliant new government – even one staffed by many of his former allies.
Anointed by mentor Hugo Chávez before his death in 2013, Maduro maintained an iron grip on power until his dramatic capture.
Maduro’s vice president and ally Delcy Rodríguez has stepped in as interim President.
She’s part of a band of senior officials in Maduro’s administration that now appears to control Venezuela, even as U.S. President Donald Trump and other officials say they will pressure the government to fall in line with its vision for the oil-rich nation.
The preliminary hearing for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro devolved into chaos as the deposed leader’s fury boiled over, sparking a shouting match with a man who claimed he had been jailed by Maduro’s regime and warned he would ‘pay’
Armed supporters of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro gather near the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas after his ouster
Trump announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been in communication with Rodríguez and that the Venezuelan leader was ‘gracious’ and would work with the American government. Rubio said Rodríguez was someone the administration could work with, unlike Maduro.
But in a televised address, Rodríguez gave no indication that she would cooperate with Trump, referring to his government as ‘extremists’ and maintaining that Maduro was Venezuela’s rightful leader.
‘What is being done to Venezuela is an atrocity that violates international law,’ Rodríguez said, surrounded by high-ranking civilian officials and military leaders.
Trump warned on Sunday, if Rodríguez didn’t fall in line, ‘she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.’ He added that he wanted her to provide ‘total access,’ from oil facilities to basic infrastructure like roads, so they can be rebuilt.
Venezuela’s constitution requires an election within 30 days whenever the president becomes ‘permanently unavailable’ to serve. Reasons listed include death, resignation, removal from office or ‘abandonment’ of duties as declared by the National Assembly.
That electoral timeline was rigorously followed when Maduro’s predecessor, Chavez, died of cancer in 2013. However, the loyalist Supreme Court, in its decision Saturday, cited another provision of the charter in declaring Maduro’s absence a ‘temporary’ one.
Maduro’s vice president and ally Delcy Rodríguez has stepped in as interim President
A member of the Colombian Army stands guard on the Simon Bolivar International Bridge connected to Venezuela
In such a scenario, there is no election requirement. Instead, the vice president, an unelected position, takes over for up to 90 days — a period that can be extended to six months with a vote of the National Assembly.
In handing temporary power to Rodríguez, the Supreme Court made no mention of the 180-day time limit, leading some to speculate she could try to remain in power even longer as she seeks to unite the disparate factions of the ruling socialist party while shielding it from what would certainly be a stiff electoral challenge.
