Mamdani strongly condemns Trump’s capture of Venezuelan leader Maduro as ‘act of war’

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Saturday he had been briefed on federal plans to detain Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in New York City, describing their capture as “an act of war and a violation of both federal and international law.”

Earlier in the day, President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces had taken the Venezuelan leader and his wife into custody during what he called a “large-scale strike.” The operation followed months of U.S. military actions targeting alleged drug-trafficking operations associated with the Maduro regime in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific.

In response, Venezuela’s government issued a statement condemning the strike, accusing Washington of seeking to seize the nation’s oil and mineral resources. The statement framed the action as “a colonial aggression aimed at dismantling the republican system of government and enforcing a regime change in partnership with the fascist oligarchy.”

Mamdani, a Democratic socialist inaugurated on New Year’s Day, said during a news conference Saturday he discussed the matter with Trump on the phone, pushing back on the commander-in-chief’s decision.

“I called the president and spoke with him directly to register my opposition to this act, and to make clear that it was an opposition based on being opposed to a pursuit of regime change, to the violation of federal international law, and a desire to see that be consistent each and every day,” Mamdani said. “I registered my opposition, I made it clear, and we left it at that.”

The mayor later took to X, claiming the “blatant pursuit of regime change” will directly impact New Yorkers and Venezuelans living in New York City.

“My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance,” Mamdani wrote in the post.

Both Maduro and Mamdani believe in redistributing wealth downward, with Mamdani focused on taxing the wealthy and corporations to fund public services, and Maduro redistributing wealth through oil revenues and state control of resources.

Mamdani also campaigned on public-run housing, childcare, transit and city-owned grocery stores, similar to Maduro’s policies of state-run food distribution, healthcare and housing.

However, Venezuelan socialism involves nationalization and central control, which led to an economic collapse and authoritarian drift.

Mamdani’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.