ICE Deports Maduro 72 Hours After Military Captures Him; 'He Entered Without Documentation,' Agency Confirms

Border Czar defends action: 'If you're in the country illegally, you got a problem. I don't care who brought you here.'

NEW YORK—In a development that has thrown the administration's Venezuela policy into chaos, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents removed former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from federal custody and placed him on a deportation flight to Caracas late Monday, just 72 hours after U.S. special forces captured him in a large-scale military operation, sources confirmed Tuesday.

"The individual in question entered the United States without valid documentation," said DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin in a statement. "Per standard protocol, he was processed and removed. This administration has been clear: if you're in the country illegally, you're not off the table."

When reporters pointed out that Maduro had been forcibly brought to the United States against his will by the U.S. military, McLaughlin responded, "I'm not going to relitigate how he got here. What matters is he was here without papers. We fixed that."

The deportation reportedly occurred after ICE agents arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where Maduro was being held pending his narcoterrorism trial, and demanded his transfer to their custody.

"They showed up with paperwork saying he was an undocumented alien," said one DOJ official who requested anonymity. "Technically, they weren't wrong. We kidnapped him. He didn't exactly go through customs."

Border Czar Tom Homan defended the action in an interview with Fox News Tuesday morning.

"I've said it a thousand times: if you're in the United States illegally, you got a problem," Homan said. "I don't care if you walked across the border, overstayed a visa, or got snatched out of your presidential palace by Delta Force. The law is the law."

When asked whether this created a logical contradiction—forcibly bringing someone into the country and then deporting them for being undocumented—Homan was dismissive.

"That's not my department. My department is removing people who are here illegally. Was he here illegally? Yes. Did we remove him? Yes. I don't care what the judges think. I don't care what State thinks. We did our job."

'We Had a Perfect Conviction Rate'

The Justice Department expressed frustration with the turn of events.

"We spent two years building a narcoterrorism case," said one prosecutor familiar with the matter. "We had him in custody. The case was, in the President's words, 'infallible.' And then ICE just... took him."

Documents obtained by The Finer Print reveal a frantic series of emails between agencies in the hours before Maduro's removal:

FROM: DOJ Criminal Division
TO: DHS Enforcement
SUBJECT: RE: RE: RE: Detainee Transfer Request - MADURO, Nicolas

Please confirm this is a joke. He is the reason we invaded Venezuela. We need him for the trial.

FROM: DHS Enforcement
TO: DOJ Criminal Division
SUBJECT: RE: RE: RE: RE: Detainee Transfer Request - MADURO, Nicolas

Per the Border Czar's directive, there are no exceptions. He entered without documentation. He has been scheduled for removal on tonight's Caracas flight. This matter is closed.

State Department officials were reportedly not informed of the deportation until Maduro's flight was already over international waters.

"We just spent $2 billion and risked an international incident to get this guy," said one senior diplomat. "And ICE put him on a commercial deportation flight with 140 other people. He landed in Caracas at 6 AM. He was back in the presidential palace by noon."

Maduro Resumes Presidency, Thanks ICE

Venezuelan state television broadcast Maduro's return live Tuesday morning, showing the former detainee descending from an Eastern Airlines charter to cheering crowds at Simón Bolívar International Airport.

"I want to thank the heroic immigration agents of the Trump administration," Maduro said in remarks that were simultaneously translated and broadcast on TeleSUR. "They have shown that even the most powerful empire in history cannot overcome its own bureaucracy."

Maduro confirmed he would immediately resume his duties as president, calling the 72-hour detention "a brief vacation, courtesy of the American taxpayer."

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who had been sworn in following Maduro's capture, stepped aside within hours of his return.

"I was only keeping the seat warm," Rodríguez told reporters. "I knew the Americans would find a way to send him back. I just didn't expect it to be their own immigration department."

Administration Response: 'The System Worked'

At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the deportation as "consistent with this administration's values."

"President Trump has been clear: we remove illegal aliens. Period. No exceptions. We don't ask how they got here or why they're here. We ask one question: do they have papers? Mr. Maduro did not have papers."

When a reporter asked whether the administration would now launch a second military operation to recapture Maduro, Leavitt demurred.

"I'm not going to telegraph our operational plans. What I will say is that if Mr. Maduro enters the United States again without documentation, he will be removed again. We have a very efficient system."

Vice President JD Vance, who had previously stated that Venezuela's "stolen oil must be returned to the U.S.," declined to comment on the deportation but noted that "the oil is still there" and "we know where it is."

Legal Experts Baffled

Constitutional scholars struggled to characterize the situation.

"I've been teaching law for 30 years and I've never seen anything like this," said Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe. "They invaded a country, captured its president, flew him to New York for trial, and then deported him for being undocumented. It's like arresting someone for trespassing after you carry them into your house."

Georgetown Law professor David Cole noted the "unprecedented" nature of the legal framework.

"The administration's position appears to be that anyone they kidnap is deportable because kidnapping doesn't confer legal status. By this logic, they could invade any country, capture any leader, and if they don't process them correctly at the airport, ICE can just send them home."

When asked for comment, Homan dismissed the criticism.

"Lawyers," he said. "You know what I say to lawyers? The same thing I say to judges: I don't care. We enforce the law. The law says you need papers. He didn't have papers. End of story."

The Second Invasion

By press time, Pentagon officials confirmed that planning had begun for what one source described as "Operation Venezuelan Freedom II."

"We're going to get him again," the source said. "This time, we're coordinating with ICE beforehand. Someone's drafting him a visa as we speak."

When asked what category of visa would be appropriate for a foreign head of state being forcibly brought to the United States for prosecution, the source paused.

"We're... working on that. Apparently there isn't a specific visa for 'guy we're kidnapping.' The closest we've found is the O-1B for individuals with extraordinary ability in the arts, but legal says that's a stretch."

DHS, meanwhile, announced that the Maduro deportation would be counted toward its official removal statistics for the month.

"We successfully removed a Venezuelan national with no legal basis to remain in the United States," McLaughlin confirmed. "That's what we do. That's all we do."

At press time, Homan had issued a statement clarifying that "if President Maduro is recaptured and returns to U.S. soil without proper documentation, he will be removed again, as many times as necessary."

"We're very efficient," the statement concluded. "We can do this all day."

This has been an investigative report by The Finer Print's Immigration Desk. Tomorrow: "Pentagon Confirms Venezuela Invasion Qualifies for Marriott Bonvoy Points Under New Military Travel Policy"