A senior Venezuelan official stated that at least 40 people, including military personnel and civilians, were killed in Saturday's U.S. attack on Venezuela, according to The New York Times in a breaking report shared between 10:45 p.m. and 11:15 p.m. UTC on January 3, 2026. President Donald Trump claimed 'many Cubans' died 'protecting Maduro,' as reported by Al Jazeera English during the same 29-minute window. Trump also said no U.S. troops would remain in Venezuela if Vice President Delcy Rodríguez 'does what we want,' per another Al Jazeera update in the period. Brazil considers Rodríguez the interim president of Venezuela in Maduro's absence, according to a report cited by RapidResponse47 on X linking to esrt.space. Separately, the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela expressed grave concern over the U.S. attack and capture of Nicolás Maduro, underscoring the need for accountability for his government's human rights violations, as posted by @uninvhrc. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he spoke with Trump by phone to oppose the Maduro operation, according to CatchUpFeed. Pro-Maduro protesters gathered in Times Square, New York, holding 'Release Maduro' signs and claiming the U.S. kidnapped Venezuela's president, as shown in video shared by ScooterCasterNY during the window. These reports follow Nicolás Maduro's deplaning at Stewart International Airport in New York earlier this evening, surrounded by federal agents for transport to prison while awaiting trial, per OSINT accounts citing CBS News.
