Mayor Critiques Trump Administration Over Maduro Capture

New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani publicly criticized the Trump administration on Saturday regarding the U.S. military’s recent capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. He labeled the operation an excessively aggressive “act of war.”

In statements made to reporters, Mamdani revealed that he had directly called President Trump to convey his strong disapproval of the arrest of Maduro and Flores—who have been evading arrest since 2020 on charges related to drug terrorism.

“I reached out to the president and expressed my opposition to this action, emphasizing that it was based on a pursuit of regime change that violates international laws,” he explained during a news conference in Brooklyn.

“I made my stance clear. We settled our discussion there,” Mamdani added, reflecting on his first conversation with Trump since taking office.

A few hours earlier, Mamdani had condemned the military action on social media after receiving a briefing from New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and other officials regarding plans to detain Maduro and Flores in the city.

“This kind of unilateral attack on a sovereign nation is a declaration of war and breaches both federal and international law,” he stated.

He stressed that this aggressive move not only impacts foreign affairs but also has direct repercussions for New Yorkers, particularly the vibrant Venezuelan community in the city.

Meanwhile, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the Socialist Party, suggested that the Trump administration’s focus on drug trafficking, which the president blames for a staggering death toll in the U.S., was not their true motivation for the military action.

“If this were genuinely about drugs, Trump wouldn’t have pardoned a major trafficker just last month,” she contended on social media.

She further expressed that a trial is necessary to divert attention from other pressing issues, such as the ongoing Epstein case and rising healthcare costs.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul also criticized the raid, calling it a “blatant abuse of power” conducted without Congressional approval.

“New York is home to many Venezuelans, and I wish for stability and a better future for my family both here and abroad,” Ocasio-Cortez expressed.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries along with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer made a joint statement, urging that the Trump administration quickly organize a briefing with the “Gang of Eight” and all congressional members early next week to discuss the situation in Venezuela.