US forces raided the presidential palace in Caracas on Saturday, capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
President Donald Trump told Fox News that US forces had trained and practised for the extraction “like nobody's ever seen”, comparing it to the strike on Iran's nuclear facilities last year.
The US has accused the Venezuelan leader of “narco-terrorism”, among other activities.
Mr Trump said at a press conference the US will "run" Venezuela until it can ensure a "safe, proper and judicious" transition.
When did Maduro come to power?
Mr Maduro came to power in Venezuela following the death of Hugo Chavez in 2013.
Mr Chavez swept to victory in the elections of 1998 after being jailed for fomenting a coup in 1992. His populist policies won him wide support amid an oil boom that filled Venezuela's coffers, but he was accused of political repression and involvement in – or at least turning a blind eye to – the regional drug trade.
Mr Maduro worked as a bus driver before entering politics. He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1998, to the National Constituent Assembly in 1999 and then to the National Assembly in 2000, representing Caracas. He is married to Cilia Flores, one-time legal representative of Mr Chavez and former head of the National Assembly.
He took the presidency immediately before a major oil market crash that sent the Venezuelan economy into freefall. His 12-year reign was defined by shortages, a spiralling currency and mass emigration.
Why did the US capture Maduro?
The US has long accused the Venezuelan government of being involved with regional criminal activity, including drug trafficking.
Last year, the US government raised the bounty on Mr Maduro from $25 million to $50 million. It also declared him the head of the Cartel de los Soles – a nebulous term used for Venezuelan officials believed to be involved in drug trafficking and other activities – and issued further sanctions against him.
Mr Maduro has also come under scrutiny for political repression. After the opposition took control of the National Assembly in 2015, Mr Maduro created the National Constituent Assembly and stripped the other body of its power, effectively locking the opposition out of government.
His government also jailed or drove out of the country several opposition figures – including Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado – in addition to violently suppressing protests.
What happens next?
Mr Maduro, his wife and prominent members of his government have been indicted on a host of charges, according to the unsealed court documents, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machineguns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices against the US.
Mr Trump told Fox News on Saturday that the US was still determining the next steps in Venezuela. “We're making that decision now. We can't take a chance on letting somebody else run it and just take over where he left off,” he said. He added that the US would be “involved in it very much”.
The President added that US oil companies would enter Venezuela to shore up its oil infrastructure, with the goal of making "rich, independent and safe".
Large protests took place in Caracas following Mr Maduro's capture. Mr Trump said that most Venezuelans were glad the Maduro regime had been toppled, and warned supporters of the toppled leader that the future “is really bad” for them.
Mr Maduro's vice president and presumptive successor, Delcy Rodriguez, is believed to be in Russia, according to Reuters, though Moscow has said this is false. Ms Rodriguez was not named in the indictment.
Ms Machado, who escaped from Venezuela last year after spending months in hiding, could be someone the US is looking to support as the new leader of Venezuela. She thanked Mr Trump following the awarding of her Nobel Peace Prize.
It is unclear if she has the support to hold a government together, however. Mr Maduro has strong backing from the country's security forces as well as the powerful “colectivos”, or urban militias.
Mr Trump highlighted this by saying Ms Machado does not have the "support or the respect" needed to take charge in the country. He added that his administration had not been in contact with her.
