China and Russia erupted with fury after Donald Trump sanctioned the seizure of Venezuelan despot Nicolas Maduro in a covert coup. An audacious special forces operation saw the “forcible removal” of the South American dictator and his wife from their Caracas lair.

They are both due to appear in a New York court tomorrow on narco-terrorism charges after being smuggled to the US in an undercover-of-darkness mission. The daring Delta Force operation has angered and humiliated Beijing and Moscow - allies of Venezuela - and set the axis on a collision course with the White House.

The Chinese foreign ministry demanded US President Donald Trump "release them at once" after Maduro and Cilia Flores were captured and caged in a high-security New York prison.

Beijing's stinging rebuke expressed “serious concern over their transfer out of the country".

It claimed the military operation was "in clear violation of international law and the basic norms in international relations and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter”, adding: "China calls on the US to ensure the personal safety of President Maduro and his wife, release them at once, stop toppling the Government of Venezuela, and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation.”

Maduro's capture during a faultless mission has infuriated China, not least because the last video of the toppled tyrant was ​of him hosting Beijing's special representative for Latin American affairs, Qiu Xiaoqi, in a back-slapping video posted on Instagram.

Moscow, which has been at war with its neighbour Ukraine after launching an invasion almost four years ago, accused the US of committing "an act of armed aggression".

The shock and awe seizure of Maduro marked the first direct US military attack on a South American country, and afterwards, Mr Trump issued an ominous warning, saying: “American dominance in the western hemisphere will never be questioned again”.

Mr Trump alleged that Maduro, who had served as president of Venezuela since 2013, was the leader of the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) drug trafficking operation.

He and his wife were captured by US forces on Saturday and smuggled out of Caracas on board a US helicopter and taken to the waiting USS Iwo Jima warship.

He was then taken to New York via Cuba, where and later pictured in a tracksuit and shackled alongside Drug Enforcement Administration officers.

Iran, which was targeted by US bombers last year in a series of raids aimed at destroying its nuclear capabilities, described the raid as a "flagrant violation of the country's national sovereignty".

Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, and Cuba joined the chorus of criticism in separate statements that expressed concern at the violation of international law.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected" and was "deeply alarmed" by an operation that sets a "dangerous precedent".

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said no tears would be shed over the end of Maduro's regime, saying: "The UK Government will discuss the evolving situation with US counterparts in the days ahead as we seek a safe and peaceful transition to a legitimate Government that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people.”

News of Maduro's capture prompted wild celebrations in Chile, while Argentine President Javier Milei hailed the operation and, in a statement, said: “Freedom moves forward - long live freedom.”

Sir John Sawers, the former boss of the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service, said: "The reality is that these operations do take many months of planning. They've had a massive build-up of US military forces, including US special forces, so it was an operation months in the planning."

Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel said: "The national security strategy - that America under Trump was going to assert itself when it came to issues of chronic wrongdoing that were having a big impact on the United States - was crystal clear. Should we have anticipated this? Absolutely."

Mr Trump said Maduro had been captured and charged with a "campaign of deadly narco-terrorism" against the US and its citizens.

He also described the Venezuelan leader as an "illegitimate dictator" and asked him to "surrender" a week before he sanctioned the strikes.

Maduro's seizure from his heavily-guarded Fort Tiuna compound by crack commandos came in a stunning attack on Caracas weeks after Mr Trump accused crime cartels in Venezuela of flooding the US with drugs and gangs.

Venezuela has declared a state of national emergency and denounced US "military aggression”.

Mr Trump said the US would govern the country until it can be assured of a safe, proper, and judicious transition and dismissed the chances of the country's popular Opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, taking over, saying she does not have sufficient support.

He said: "No nation in the world could achieve what America achieved. In just a short period of time, all Venezuelan military capacities were rendered powerless."

Congress was not briefed on the top-secret military operation before it was carried out, due to fears that the plans could leak.

Alan McPherson, a history professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, said: “One might have thought that this era of naked imperialism – of the US getting the political outcomes it wants in Latin America through sheer military force – would be over in the 21st century, but clearly it is not.”