Two days after signaling his break from City Hall with a defiant social media video, former New York Mayor Eric Adams resurfaced with a forceful rebuke of fellow Democrats over President Donald Trump’s move to detain Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.
Adams had first drawn attention with a clip of himself smoking a cigar beside what appeared to be a glass of bourbon, grinning as he derided government as “slow as s—,” accused officials of throwing “sand in the gears,” and forecast an “unforgettable, bada–, no bull—- 2026.” By the weekend, however, his tone shifted sharply as he weighed in on Maduro, staking out a position that put him at odds not only with Democratic leaders but also with his own successor at City Hall.
Thanking Trump for what he described as striking organized crime at its core, Adams praised the operation that led to Maduro’s detention and condemned the handling of Venezuela under former Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Joe Biden.
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“I have seen firsthand how Nicolás Maduro destroyed Venezuela and turned it into a narco-state. Millions fled. Thousands landed in New York City,” Adams said.
“Now in U.S. custody, the man who helped flood our streets with fentanyl is finally being held accountable. American lives were destroyed because of him.”
Adams noted that just days before leaving office, the Biden-Harris administration raised the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $25 million, up from the $10 million set during the Obama years. He contrasted that move with Harris’ public criticism of Trump’s decision to detain the Venezuelan leader.
Harris argued that Trump’s action “do[es] not make America safer,” saying Maduro’s status as an “illegitimate dictator does not change the fact that this action was both unlawful and unwise … The American people do not want this, and they are tired of being lied to.”
Adams rejected that view outright.
“Public safety is not a political game,” he replied.
“You do not label someone a narco-dictator one year and then pretend he is no longer a threat the next simply because a different president is in office that is cynical and irresponsible,” Adams said, referencing Harris’ extended critique of the operation.
Stressing his argument, Adams pointed to fentanyl deaths in New York that he linked to Venezuela’s drug trade, including the case of 2-year-old Bronx resident Nicholas Feliz-Dominici, whom he said was fatally poisoned while at daycare.
READ ALSO: Venezuela in U.S. hands? Trump signals leadership role after Maduro capture
“America is safer today because Maduro is no longer in power,” the former NYPD officer turned mayor said.
“Welcome to New York, Nicolás.”
His remarks clashed directly with those of his successor, socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who said he personally contacted Trump to object to the operation.
“I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City,” Mamdani said in a statement.
“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,” the former Queens state assemblyman added.
READ ALSO: Trump claims victory in Venezuela after Maduro’s capture
