DANIEL ESTRIN, HOST:
President Trump says he will be making an address on the attack in Venezuela later this morning. We will bring you that as it happens. In the meantime, we have NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. He has just got back from covering the president in Palm Beach, Florida. Good to speak with you, Franco.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Good to be here, Daniel.
ESTRIN: Just bring us up to speed from your beat at the White House.
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I mean, I think what we've heard so far, especially from Carrie, I mean, this really just follows such a major buildup in U.S. military power in the region. As we've been reporting, the U.S. has been building up, including an aircraft carrier, other warships, thousands of troops. And, you know, these, you know, this - attacks or these - you know, this buildup was first focused on alleged drug boats. But more recently, the U.S. actually seized an oil tanker, and then there was a land strike on a port in Venezuela. So the U.S. was already taking quite unprecedented action, but this is quite a new development.
I mean, for U.S. special forces to go into another country's capital and capture the sitting leader, take him out and bring him to the United States - that's really quite staggering. You know, of course, as we just heard, the Venezuelan government is denouncing the strikes. And it's just bringing back such memories of the capture of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega by the George H. W. Bush administration more than 30 years ago.
ESTRIN: So what are we hearing so far this morning from the White House?
ORDOÑEZ: Well, the president said the military operation was carried out in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement and that more details would be shared later at his 11 a.m. news conference, which he'll have at his Mar-a-Lago resort, his home. The White House has not responded to queries about where Maduro and his wife are being flown to, but Trump did call the strikes a brilliant operation in a brief interview with The New York Times. Senator Mike Lee actually said he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who told him that Maduro would stand trial on criminal charges in the U.S. and that the, quote, "kinetic action" that "we saw tonight was deployed to" actually protect "those executing the arrest warrant." Lee also said that Rubio told him, and he posted this on social media, that he did not anticipate further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody.
ESTRIN: What exactly are the U.S. allegations against Maduro?
ORDOÑEZ: Well, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife have been indicted in the Southern District of New York on a variety of charges, including narcoterrorism. And he was actually - Maduro, that is - was indicted first six years ago, accused of narcoterrorism and weapons trafficking. And last summer, the Trump administration doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro's capture to $50 million.
ESTRIN: OK. Maduro is known as a brutal dictator. He was alleged to have stolen the last election. Seems like a moment for many to celebrate. There is still a lot of concern as well, though.
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. For sure. I mean, for many people in Venezuela, this is going to be a moment to celebrate, but there is also a lot of uncertainty. I was speaking with Mark Feierstein, who advised multiple administrations on Latin America. He said Trump can claim victory for capturing someone indicted long ago. The question, though, is how much further is he willing to go?
MARK FEIERSTEIN: There's a reason for caution 'cause there could be disappointment if the regime, you know, stays in power.
ESTRIN: And what are we hearing from authorities in Caracas?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I mean, as we just heard from Carrie, the Venezuelan vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, told state TV that she didn't know where Maduro was and was calling for a proof-of-life. There's a state of emergency as well that's been called.
ESTRIN: What steps is the United States outlining now?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I mean, I'm going to be watching the president's press conference later today to see what he has to say. Of course, what steps is the U.S. going to take to make sure the Venezuelan infrastructure doesn't crumble? I mean, it is really a delicate moment where we just don't know how things are going to turn out. I mean, in addition to where this leaves Venezuela, Daniel, there's also this big question about how Trump's own supporters are going to feel about this overseas act, such an aggressive act. I mean, Trump came to power with an America First agenda, and so far this term, his international focus has really alienated some of his supporters. So I expect we're going to be hearing a lot from Trump's supporters. And there's going to be a new debate among them, as well as the Republican Party, as well as Congress is coming back, so there's going to be a lot of questions about that as well.
ESTRIN: OK. We'll leave it there for now. That's White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Thank you, Franco.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you, Daniel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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