After months of threats and pressure tactics, the United States has bombed Venezuela and toppled its president, Nicolas Maduro.

    Maduro and his wife have been abducted by the US forces and taken to a detention centre in New York, where he is set to appear in court over alleged “drug-trafficking” charges.

    Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has slammed the “kidnapping” of Maduro, saying he is “the only president of Venezuela”.

    US President Donald Trump says Washington will “run” Venezuela and tap its vast oil reserves, but he gave few details on how the US will do it.

    The United Nations Security Council is due to meet on Monday on the matter, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying the US actions set “a dangerous precedent”.

Who is Nicolas Maduro

    Maduro, 63, kept an iron grip on power for over a decade in Venezuela.

    It ended abruptly on Saturday when United States forces abducted him and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, removing them from the country.

    The two are ostensibly to be tried in a US court on drug- and weapons-related charges.

Who is Maduro  How did he come to lead Venezuela  And how did he end up abducted by the US

Georgia urges respect for Venezuelan people’s wishes after US attack

    Georgia says it’s closely monitoring developments in Venezuela and expresses hope that future moves will serve the interests of the Venezuelan people.

    In a statement, its Foreign Ministry said Venezuelan authorities previously recognised Georgia’s occupied regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states, a move it described as a “gross violation of international law”.

    The ministry said it hopes recent developments will lead to a reversal of that decision in line with Georgia’s national interests and international legal principles.

    Georgia lost control over Abkhazia and South Ossetia after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

    Russia recognised the independence of the two regions in 2008 after Georgia’s attempt to regain control of South Ossetia by force, which led to a Russian counterattack that saw Moscow’s forces briefly occupy Georgian territory.

How this has played out among MAGA supporters is complicated to unpack

    On the surface of it, you’ve got Donald Trump, who’s saying this is about stopping cocaine and fentanyl and all those drugs that are coming in and killing Americans from entering this country, and most of his supporters will say that’s a good thing.

    But remember that Donald Trump also fought and won an election on that America First policy – no engagement in any foreign wars, no sending US service personnel into any danger, in fact bringing them back – and now we’ve got this situation where he said, less than 24 hours ago, we’re not afraid of putting boots on the ground.

    One barometer that’s really interesting to watch is Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is soon to be ex-congresswoman, and is one of Trump’s biggest supporters, who yesterday went on an absolute tirade online and said Trump’s order to capture Maduro was absolutely disgraceful.

    The midterms in November will be very interesting because Republicans really need to win these so they can keep control of the House and deliver on Donald Trump’s agenda.

‘No one really sure how this pans out’ as Maduro set to appear in court

    Pete Hegseth, who is the US secretary of defence, but known as the “secretary of war” in the Trump administration, has said that what happens next with the ruling of Venezuela will really be at the US president’s discretion.

    He has warned that the US military is still in the area, and there is the possibility of another wave of attacks if they don’t get what they want.

    They’re putting pressure on Delcy Rodriguez, who has been sworn in as the president, but has said that she believes Maduro is still the official leader of Venezuela and that she won’t back down to the US.

    That leaves a real problem for Donald Trump. He was hoping that by putting his confidence in her, he might be able to shape what happens next in Venezuela. It becomes a lot more difficult if you don’t have a willing partner.

    The reality is no one’s really sure how this will all pan out, and what’s added to the complication is that Maduro will appear in court soon.

    International law experts said they didn’t understand how the US could do this, either under international law or domestic law.

    But the reality is, when Maduro appears in court, he will face charges, and he might try and claim that as a head of state, he is immune to any prosecution. But the US has said that he was regarded as illegitimate, so that’s their defence on that. It’s likely a trial will go ahead.

    What is also interesting is that in the indictment, there’s no mention of fentanyl, which was one of the key reasons Donald Trump said he was taking action in Venezuela.