Minnesota leaders are sounding off following President Trump's announcement Saturday that the United States will temporarily "run" Venezuela after launching airstrikes on the country and capturing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

Trump administration officials tell CBS News the operation was carried out by the U.S. Army's elite Delta Force on Saturday morning, targeting military facilities inside the South American country.

The operation comes after weeks of deadly, U.S.-led boat strikes in the Caribbean Sea and the seizures of two oil tankers off Venezuela's coast. About 15,000 U.S. troops are now positioned in the Caribbean, along with the world's largest aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, arrived early Saturday evening at Stewart Air National Guard Base, just north of New York City, to face federal drug trafficking and weapons charges.

Mr. Trump has long accused Maduro's regime of narcoterrorism, stating last week Maduro has "sent billions of dollars of drugs" into the U.S., as well as "hundreds of thousands of people in from jails, from prisons, from mental institutions and insane asylums."

In a Saturday morning press conference, Mr. Trump also noted the U.S. is set to sell Venezuelan oil.

"In terms of other countries that want oil, we're in the oil business. We're going to sell it to them. We're not going to say we're not going to give it to them. In other words, we'll be selling oil, probably in much larger doses, because they couldn't produce very much because their infrastructure was so bad," Trump said.

The Trump administration's move has drawn outrage from home and abroad, with some U.S. lawmakers alleging the strikes and regime change were carried out without congressional approval. Those claims have already been refuted by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who called the operation "largely a law enforcement function."

Local reactions

Reaction from Minnesota's Congressional Delegation fall predictably along party lines. Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer praised the Trump administration's move.

"The President of Peace, Donald J. Trump, has just made the United States, the region, and the world a safer place through his decisive action," Emmer said.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said she "strongly opposed sending American forces into harm's way" without Congress' authorization.

"We should not put Americans at risk in this way without careful deliberation among the people's elected representatives. Wars for regime change can lead to unintended consequences," Klobuchar said. "Right now we need a full briefing on how to avoid spiraling instability, and a vote to stop this unauthorized action from continuing."

Republican Congressman Brad Finstad said the Trump administration's actions give Venezuelans "a chance to reclaim their democracy."

"Maduro's narco drug trafficking networks that have fueled violence across our hemisphere and are responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans," Finstad said. "Thanks to President Trump's leadership, Maduro will now face justice for his crimes against the American people. Thank you to the brave service members who carried out this decisive mission, sending a clear message of why the American military is the best in the world."

Democratic U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, a ranking member of the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, called on Mr. Trump to halt airstrikes immediately.

"The actions taken today by the Trump administration are blatantly illegal. Venezuela poses no imminent national security threat to the United States and Congress has not voted to authorize any use of force in the region," McCollum said. "Speaker Johnson must call the House of Representatives back into session immediately to reign in this out-of-control President."

Protesters take to Twin Cities streets

Protesters gathered at East Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis on Saturday, calling the president's actions unconstitutional.

They say the U.S. kidnapped the leader of a sovereign nation, and called for Maduro's release.

They also point to polls that say these actions are unpopular and called for people across the country to voice their concerns.

"I think it's totally unprovoked. It's a misuse of what our country stands for," Mike Troutman said.   

Johann Teran spoke to WCCO from his home in Venezuela after living in Hopkins, Minnesota, for about a year. He moved to Minnesota after getting approved for humanitarian parole status in 2024, forced to leave Venezuela after finding he could not afford groceries on a lawyer's salary. 

Teran described being unable to handle the economy as inflation skyrocketed under Maduro; his mother-in-law found refuge in Minnesota after facing a far more direct threat, claiming that Maduro's regime kidnapped and robbed her. 

Teran found himself back in Venezuela after Mr. Trump ended his humanitarian status program in March of 2025. Teran was relieved to learn that Maduro was gone when he woke up on Saturday, but he has "mixed feelings" about the military operation and what comes next. 

Mr. Trump said that the United States will run the country without offering further details. Teran just wants to see a free and fair election. 

"We don't know if the U.S. can run Venezuela, but we hope for the best," Teran said, "We want peace. We want to be a good country," Teran said.

Professor David Schultz, a political affairs expert with Hamline University in St. Paul, said that the Trump administration likely violated both domestic and international law. He said that his first thought when he heard the news was the striking similarities to this operation in Venezuela and the start of the Iraq War. He compared the drug trafficking allegations to the infamous claims of weapons of mass destruction, given that Mr. Trump said he was 

"We're now in Venezuela. We don't know for how long, and are we going to be there not just for weeks, not just for months, but for years," Schultz said.