NEW YORK: Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the first Muslim to lead New York City, said on Saturday he told President Donald Trump directly that he opposed the US military’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, said he spoke with the president on the phone on Saturday after being briefed on Maduro’s capture and arrival in New York to be prosecuted on narco-terrorism charges.

“I called the president and spoke with him directly to register my opposition to this act,” Mamdani said, “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.”

The mayor, serving just his third day in office, addressed the US military strike in Venezuela during an unrelated news conference in the Greenpoint neighbourhood of Brooklyn. He did not characterise Trump’s response to the call.

“I registered my opposition. I made it clear and we left it at that,” Mamdani said.

Mamdani later released a more detailed statement on the social media platform X.

“I was briefed this morning on the US military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City,” the statement read.

“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.”

The mayor added that his focus is “the safety of every New Yorker,” and that his administration would continue to monitor the situation.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2026