The Trump administration said it will dictate decisions to Venezuela’s interim authorities as Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores were abducted in a US military offensive and taken to New York to face drug trafficking charges.

The Trump administration launched a military offensive in Venezuela to capture and remove President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and transported them to New York City to face charges tied to shipping “tons of cocaine into the United States”. President Donald Trump said the US would run Venezuela during a transition, and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Venezuela’s interim authorities’ decisions would be dictated by the United States. Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim leader and said no foreign agent is governing Venezuela. A group of United Nations experts warned that Trump’s actions constitute an “international crime of aggression”.