NEW YORK – Zohran Mamdani has brought a sharp end to his bromance with Donald Trump by condemning his capture of the Venezuelan president as an ‘act of war’.
Trump and the newly-inaugurated socialist mayor of New York City shared a warm exchange in the Oval Office in November despite their stark political differences.
However, their friendship appears to have been short-lived, as Mamdani quickly took to X to blast Trump’s capture of Nicolás Maduro in no uncertain terms on Saturday.
‘‘I was briefed this morning on the US military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City,’’ wrote Mamdani, who is three days into his tenure as mayor.
‘‘Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law.
‘‘This blatant pursuit of regime change doesn’t just affect those abroad, it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home.
‘‘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.’’
Trump held a press conference from his Florida country club in Mar-a-Lago to announce that the US military had captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. He said the US would run Venezuela in the meantime.
The Venezuelan dictator and his partner have been extradited to New York, where they have been indicted on drug charges over claims they helped flood the United States with cocaine.
They are expected to be held in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Centre, which is famous for its squalid conditions and has also housed Luigi Mangione and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.
The United Nations has also said it was ‘deeply alarmed’ by the US strikes and reported detention of President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.
It expressed concern that the escalation was a violation of international law.
‘‘These developments constitute a dangerous precedent,’’ Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN secretary general, said in a statement.
Dujarric said there are worries about the wider implications for Latin America and the Caribbean, and called on ‘all actors in Venezuela’ to respect human rights and the rule of law.
The New York indictment accuses Maduro of leading a ‘a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking.’
It alleges that the drug trafficking efforts ‘enriched and entrenched Venezuela’s political and military elite.’
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