Anthony Albanese breaks his silence after the US bombs Venezuela and captures its president… however Australians are left with one main query – as cops concern warning over deliberate protests

Aussies are demanding Anthony Albanese clarify his stance after the Prime Minister announced he is ‘monitoring developments’ after the US bombed Venezuela.

‘We urge all parties to support dialogue and diplomacy in order to secure regional stability and prevent escalation,’ he wrote on X on Sunday.

‘Australia has long held concerns about the situation in Venezuela, including the need to respect democratic principles, human rights and fundamental freedoms.

‘We continue to support international law and a peaceful, democratic transition in Venezuela that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people.

‘Australians in Venezuela who need assistance can contact the 24/7 emergency consular assistance team at +61 2 6261 3305 from anywhere in the world or 1300 555 135 from within Australia.’

US President Donald Trump said the United States will govern Venezuela indefinitely after sending in special forces to snatch the country’s president as he slept.

News of the attack prompted social activist groups in Australia to plan ’emergency’ protests against US intervention with rallies to be held in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Canberra at 4pm on Sunday and Perth at 5.30pm on Monday. 

Australians have criticised Albanese, with many taking issue with his statement and demanding he reveal his real stance on US intervention.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced the federal government is ‘monitoring developments’ after the US bombed Venezuela

News of the attack has already prompted social activist groups in Australia to plan ’emergency’ protests against US intervention with rallies to be held in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Canberra at 4pm on Sunday and Perth at 5.30pm on Monday

Trump said he had not briefed Congress of his plans to snatch Maduro, claiming that had he done so, the news would have ‘leaked’ and potentially helped the Venezuelan leader to evade capture (pictured, explosion in Caracas)

‘Monitoring for what?’ one wrote.

‘Said nothing. Do you support the actions or not?’ a second wrote.

In Sydney, protests have been banned for 14 days in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack, with NSW Police warning against demonstrations.

‘Any assembly planned in support of Venezuela is not authorised and without this authorisation the event is not legally protected as an authorised assembly,’ a spokesman said. 

Addressing journalists hours after the shocking capture of Nicolas Maduro and wife Cilia in Caracas, Trump said: ‘We’re going to run the country until as such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition. 

‘We don’t want to be involved with having somebody else get in, and we have the same situation as we had for the last long number of years. 

‘So we are going to run the country until we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.’ 

Trump offered little further detail on the logistics of running Venezuela, which has a population of 30 million, but suggested the country’s vast oil reserves would be used to fund its revival. 

Addressing journalists hours after the shocking capture of Nicolas Maduro (pictured) and wife Cilia in Caracas on Saturday, US President Donald Trump said: ‘We’re going to run the country until as such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition

Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago country club in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump alleged that Maduro is the leader of the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) drug trafficking operation.

The president has accused Maduro and his alleged cartel cronies of flooding the United States with illegal narcotics and has charged him with drug smuggling and weapons offences. 

After his capture by the US Army’s elite Delta Force unit, Maduro was flown by helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima warship.

He will be taken to New York City to face charges at Manhattan Federal Court and will likely be held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, which currently houses alleged CEO murderer Luigi Mangione. 

Trump said he had not briefed Congress of his plans to snatch Maduro, claiming that had he done so, the news would have ‘leaked’ and potentially helped the Venezuelan leader to evade capture. 

Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado has been tipped as the country’s next president, but Trump made no mention of her on Saturday. 

She previously voiced support for Trump’s threats to get rid of Maduro and is hugely popular among the Venezuelan electorate.  

Maduro’s capture sparked jubilation from Venezuelan migrants living outside of their home nation Saturday.

Hundreds took to the streets of cities, including Santiago in Chile, to celebrate the ouster of a leader seen as a corrupt authoritarian accused of destroying the economy of his oil-rich country while silencing dissent. 

The atmosphere appeared altogether more muted in Caracas.