US forces capture Venezuelan Prez Nicolas Maduro, protests erupt in Pakistan

On orders of President Donald Trump, US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, protests erupt in Pakistan, condemning the act by America. Dozens of protesters demonstrated in front of the Karachi Press Club on Sunday (January 4), to condemn the United States' military intervention in Venezuela and the capture of president Maduro more than 24 hours earlier.

Maduro is currently in a New York detention centre awaiting a Monday court appearance on drug charges, after US President Donald Trump ordered his removal and said the US would take control of Venezuela. But in Caracas, top officials in Maduro's government, who have called the detentions of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores a kidnapping, were still in charge.

The US move has caused deep uncertainty about what is next for the oil-rich South American nation and provoked strong condemnation from a number of leaders in Latin America as well as the United Nations, which described it as a dangerous precedent and convened a meeting of the Security Council for Monday. Organised by the National Trade Union Federation Pakistan (NTUF) and the Home-Based Women Workers Federation, Pakistan (HBWWF), the demonstrators demanded the immediate release of Maduro. This military action was not about restoring democracy. In a rambling press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump openly declared that the United States would “run the country,” effectively announcing an occupation with no legal basis. He repeatedly referenced Venezuela’s oil reserves, saying American companies would now be “very much involved.”