NYC Mayor Mamdani called Trump to express opposition to Maduro's capture

Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News on Jan 3, 2026

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NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani called President Donald Trump to voice outrage at the president’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the mayor said Saturday.

“I called the president and spoke with him directly to register my opposition to this act,” Mamdani said, adding that he made clear to Trump that he stood against a “pursuit of regime change” and against the “violation of federal international law.”

The president’s shocking actions in the Latin American nation come after his monthlong effort to oust the leader. The U.S. military captured Maduro early Saturday morning. At a press conference after his capture, Trump said the U.S. would “run the country” until a formal transition of power could be arranged. The president also said U.S. oil companies will be brought in to work the country’s oil fields.

“The president and I have always been honest and direct with each other about places of disagreement,” Mamdani said at an unrelated Greenpoint press conference. “I was honest and direct (when we met) in the Oval Office. I will be honest and direct in the phone conversations we have.”

The two spoke briefly around 2 p.m., a spokesperson for the mayor said.

Mamdani did not share Trump’s response to his call. The mayor simply said he “made it clear” to the president that he objected to forcibly removing Maduro “and we left it at that.”

Earlier in the day, Mamdani also called Trump’s actions an “act of war.”

Both Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken from Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, and as of Saturday afternoon were en route to New York City to face drug and weapons charges. The deposed leader is likely to be held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center — where UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione is currently in custody — upon his arrival, and he could be arraigned as soon as Monday.

Other elected officials similarly came out against Trump’s aggressions in Venezuela.

Gov. Kathy Hochul called Trump’s move a “flagrant abuse of power by acting without congressional approval.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer knocked Trump’s actions, which went forward without congressional approval, as “reckless.”

Meanwhile, protesters gathered in Times Square to stand against what organizers charactered as a war against Venezuela.

Mamdani previously told the Latin Times Maduro was a “dictator,” though he refrained on Saturday from attacking the leader, instead focusing his criticisms on Trump.

Despite their many political and personal differences, the president took a liking to Mamdani when the two met in person for the first time in November, after the latter’s general election victory.

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(With Rebecca White.)

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