Zoe Saldaña’s Oscar reminds Dominicans of the first time they won Miss Universe

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Dominicans on Monday celebrated Zoe Saldaña's Oscar win for best supporting actress for her role in “Emilia Pérez,” marking a moment of immense national pride.

Dominican President Luis Abinader took to X immediately after the actress received the award Sunday night, thanking her for being a worthy representative of Dominican culture.

“I congratulate you, Zoe Saldaña, for becoming the first Dominican to win an Oscar," he wrote. "Your talent and dedication exalt our nation, thank you for carrying our flag high. You are a Dominican pride,” Abinader said.

Minister of Culture Roberto Ángel Salcedo, a former film producer, echoed the sentiment. "We are deeply proud of you. It is a well-deserved recognition of your career and your international success. Bravo, Zoe!,” he said in a statement shared on social media.

Saldaña, an American of Dominican descent, won the best supporting actress Oscar for her portrayal of Mexican lawyer Rita Castro in the French narco-musical “Emilia Pérez.”

Scarlet Jiménez, a 34-year-old lawyer, drew parallels to Amelia Vega’s 2003 Miss Universe win, another historic first for Dominican women.

“I thought it was super excellent, the domi (Dominicans) shining everywhere, just as Amelia won Miss Universe at the time, that’s how it feels,” said Jiménez.

Diario Libre, the Dominican Republic’s largest newspaper, dedicated its Monday editorial to Saldaña.

“Saldaña has established herself as one of the most prominent figures in global cinema, transcending barriers of genre, platforms and film genres,” the newspaper wrote.

In her acceptance speech, Saldaña saluted her mother, who attended the ceremony at the Dolby Theater, and affectionately remembered her grandmother, who migrated to the U.S. in 1961.

“I am a proud child of immigrant parents. With dreams and dignity and hard working hands,” said Saldaña. “I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award. And I know I won’t be the last."

“The fact that I am getting an award for a role where I got to sing and speak in Spanish, my grandmother, if she were here, she would be so delighted,” she said.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Zoe Saldana arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Zoe Saldana arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Zoe Saldana arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Zoe Saldana arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Zoe Saldana accepts the award for best performance by an actress in a supporting role for "Emilia Perez during the Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

The United States carried out a lightning military strike on Venezuela early Saturday, capturing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and spiriting them out of the country. American officials say the pair will face narco-terrorism charges in U.S. courts.

The overnight operation left Venezuela reeling, with its leadership uncertain and details of casualties and the impact on its military still to emerge. Countries across the region and the wider world were absorbing the destabilizing implications of the apparently unilateral U.S. action.

Here’s what we know — and what we don’t.

Explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, early Saturday. At least seven blasts were heard in an attack that lasted less than 30 minutes. The targets appeared to include military infrastructure. Smoke was seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas and another military installation in the capital was without power.

Trump said in a social media post that Maduro “has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country.”

Venezuelan ruling party leader Nahum Fernández told The Associated Press that Maduro and Flores were at their home within the Ft. Tiuna military installation outside Caracas when they were captured.

Venezuelan officials said people had been killed, but the scale of casualties was unclear.

The attack followed months of escalating pressure by the Trump administration, which has built up naval forces in the waters off South America and since early September has carried out deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean. Last week the U.S. struck Venezuelan soil with a CIA drone strike at a docking area alleged to have been used by drug cartels.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social network X that Maduro and Flores had both been indicted in the Southern District of New York and “will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”

She said Maduro faced charges of “Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States.”

Maduro was indicted in March 2020, during Trump’s first term, but the indictment against Flores was not previously made public.

In an indictment made public Saturday morning, U.S. authorities accused Maduro of leading a “a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking.” It alleges the drug trafficking “enriched and entrenched Venezuela’s political and military elite.”

Authorities estimate that as much as 250 tons of cocaine were trafficked through Venezuela by 2020, according to the indictment. The drugs were moved on go-fast vessels, fishing boats and container ships or by plane from clandestine airstrips, authorities allege.

Trump said Maduro and his wife are aboard a U.S. warship and will face prosecution in New York.

The U.S. does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, and the legal implications of the strike under U.S. law were not immediately clear.

The Trump administration maintains that Maduro is not the legitimate leader of Venezuela and claims he has effectively turned Venezuela into a criminal enterprise at the service of drug traffickers and terrorist groups.

Mike Lee, a U.S. senator from Utah, said on X that the action “likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack.”

But some Democrats were more critical.

Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, said in a statement, “President Trump’s unauthorized military attack on Venezuela to arrest Maduro — however terrible he is — is a sickening return to a day when the United States asserted the right to dominate the internal political affairs of all nations in the Western Hemisphere.”

Maduro’s government accused the United States of an “imperialist attack” on civilian and military installations and urged citizens to take to the streets.

Armed individuals and uniformed members of a civilian militia took to the streets of a Caracas neighborhood long considered a stronghold of the ruling party. But in other areas of the city, the streets remained empty hours after the attack. Parts of the city remained without power, but vehicles moved freely.

By law, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez should take power, but there was no confirmation that had happened.

There was no immediate comment from Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. She was in hiding for almost a year before traveling to Norway last month to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump told Fox News that the U.S. was deciding what is next for Venezuela and said “we’ll be involved in it very much” as to who will govern the country.

Christopher Sabatini, a Latin America expert at the Chatham House international affairs think tank, said the U.S. strikes “open up an entirely unforeseen, in many ways unexpected, series of events," and it's unclear what kind of government will emerge.

He said elements of the Trump administration and the Venezuelan opposition have held a “dangerously naive” belief that “if you decapitate the regime, figuratively speaking, by removing Maduro … that would somehow lead to a democratic transition.”

Venezuela’s neighbor Colombia sent troops to the border and anticipated an influx of refugees.

Latin American leaders were sharply divided over the strikes. Trump’s right-wing ally President Javier Milei of Argentina celebrated the operation, while leftist Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva condemned American actions and warned of the sharp repercussions of past American interventions in Latin America.

Cuba, a supporter of the Maduro government and a longtime adversary of the United States, urged the international community to respond to what President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez called “the criminal attack.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the attack and capture of Maduro would be “an unacceptable infringement on the sovereignty of an independent state.”

U.S. allies in Europe — critical of Maduro but mindful of international law — offered muted responses as they scrambled to understand the scale and implications of the attack.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc “has repeatedly stated that Mr Maduro lacks legitimacy and has defended a peaceful transition. Under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the U.N. Charter must be respected. We call for restraint.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had not spoken to Trump about the attack and stressed that “the U.K. was not involved in any way.” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Spain was “conducting a thorough monitoring of the events in Venezuela” and called for “de-escalation and responsibility.”

Associated Press Writer Danica Kirka in London contributed to this story.

FILE - President Nicolas Maduro acknowledges supporters alongside first lady Cilia Flores during his closing election campaign rally in Caracas, Venezuela, July 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)

Pro-government armed civilians patrol in La Guaira, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that President Nicolás Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro embrace in downtown Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Men watch smoke rising from a dock after explosions were heard at La Guaira port, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)