Daily World Briefing, Jan. 4

Maduro captured, taken out of Venezuela in "large scale" U.S. strike

WASHINGTON/CARACAS, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, who was flown out of the country along with his wife.

"The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country," Trump said in a Truth Social post, adding that the operation "was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement."

Captured Maduro, wife arrive in New York by plane

A plane carrying Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were captured in a large-scale U.S. military strike on Venezuela early Saturday morning, has arrived at a New York military base, according to local media.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has demanded the "immediate release" of the couple at a session of the National Defense Council broadcast by a state television channel. Maduro is "the only president" of Venezuela, she said.

UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Venezuela on Monday

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday on the U.S. operation against Venezuela, the council presidency told Xinhua on Saturday.

"The presidency intends to hold the emergency meeting on Monday morning at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT)," said Khadija Ahmed, spokeswoman for the Somali Permanent Mission to the United Nations. Somalia holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council for the month of January.

Trump says U.S. will "run" Venezuela following capture of Maduro

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday the United States will "run" Venezuela after the U.S. military raided the country and captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, who are being transported to New York.

"We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump said at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago private club in Florida.

Tesla overtaken by BYD in global EV sales in 2025

U.S. electric automaker Tesla said Friday that its global vehicle deliveries in 2025 fell by around 8.6 percent year on year, marking the first time the company has been overtaken in annual electric vehicle sales by China's automaker BYD.

Tesla produced 1.655 million electric vehicles in 2025 and delivered 1.636 million, lower than the 1.773 million vehicles produced and 1.789 million delivered in 2024, according to company data.■