The capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro was "not just about drugs," U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in her first interview about the military operation on "Hannity" Monday.

Maduro and other defendants could face charges in other places, Bondi said.

"Nothing is off the table," Bondi told Fox News host Sean Hannity. "These people must remain behind bars. They are responsible for the loss of so many lives, and these aren't street-level drug dealers. They are narco-traffickers."

On Monday, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty to narco-terrorism and other charges in federal court.

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The Justice Department says Maduro provided "Venezuelan diplomatic passports to drug traffickers and facilitated diplomatic cover for planes used by money launderers to repatriate drug proceeds from Mexico to Venezuela."

A man who had a brief exchange with Maduro in the Manhattan court told Fox News the dictator declared himself a "prisoner of war" and compared himself to Jesus.

"I am innocent, I am not guilty," Maduro told the court. "I am a decent man. I am still president of my country."

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Some Democrats have criticized the military operation as a violation of state sovereignty, comparing it to former President George W. Bush’s actions in Iraq.

Meanwhile, Bondi insisted "Operation Absolute Resolve" was "well within" President Donald Trump’s constitutional authority in response to critics.

"It was a law enforcement function to arrest indicted individuals in Venezuela," Bondi explained. "Our military pulled off a flawless, flawless execution of that."

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She went on to stress Saturday’s covert operation "saved countless lives."

"The president saved thousands, countless lives tonight," Bondi said. "But he also protected Americans from the TDA [Tren de Aragua] members who Maduro let into our country, forced into our country."

The attorney general listed several murder victims of Venezuelan gang members, including 22-year-old Laken Riley and 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray.

"It’s horrific and it is going to stop," she vowed.

While Trump has said the U.S. will temporarily "run" Venezuela, Maduro's allies in the government have contested the claim.

The Venezuelan dictator and his wife are set to appear in court again March 17.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado says January 3 will go down as a "day that justice defeated tyranny" following the American capture of dictator Nicolas Maduro. 

The Trump administration announced on Saturday that U.S. forces had captured the dictator and his wife Cilia Flores after successful "large-scale" military strikes targeting the Venezuelan government. The dictator and his wife are now being held in New York while they wait to face narco-terrorism charges against them. 

"January 3rd will go down in history as the day justice defeated tyranny," Machado told "Hannity" on Monday. "It's a milestone, and it's not only huge for the Venezuelan people and our future, I think it's a huge step for humanity, for freedom, and human dignity." 

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Machado told Fox News the victory is "historic" and a "huge step" towards a democratic transition for the country.  

"A free Venezuela means, first, a security ally, dismantling the criminal hub of the Americas and turning it into a security shield, the strongest ally to dismantle all these criminal structures that have made so much damage and harm to our people and to the American people as well," she said. "Secondly, we will turn Venezuela into the energy hub of the Americas. We will bring rule of law. We will open markets. We will give security to foreign investment. Third, we'll bring millions of Venezuelans that have been forced to flee their country back home, to build a strong nation, prosperous nation, open society. We will [leave] behind all the destruction this socialist regime, criminal regime, has brought to our people and turn Venezuela into the main ally of the United States in Latin America." 

Machado’s fight for a free Venezuela is not new. The political leader ran against Maduro and overwhelmingly won the primary election, but was then barred by the government from running. Substitute Edmundo González ultimately ran in her place.

"It was a miracle," she remembered. "Everybody told us it was impossible to carry independent elections in a primary process, and we were able to bring the country together to carry these elections organized by civil society with millions of people participating. ... Cowardly, he feared us. He feared me, Maduro. So, he thought that by banning me, he would stop us from winning, but exactly the opposite happened. Edmundo González Urrutia, standing in my place, and we moved all around the country and managed to bring a country together and defeated Maduro by a landslide ... under extreme conditions, unfair conditions." 

Machado’s fight for freedom in Venezuela has been recognized with a Nobel Peace Prize, an award she dedicated to President Donald Trump upon reception. 

"I dedicated it to President Trump because I believed at that point that he deserved it," she explained. "A lot of people, most people, said it was impossible to achieve what he has just done on Saturday, January 3. So, if I believe he deserved it in October, imagine now. I think he has proven to the world what he means." 

Machado expressed hope for the future of the country moving forward following the Trump administration's actions.

"I do want to say today, on behalf of the Venezuelan people, how grateful we are for his courageous vision, the actions, historical actions he has taken against this narco-terrorist regime to start dismantling this structure and bringing Maduro to justice, which means that 30 million Venezuelans are now closer to freedom, but also that the United States of America is a safer country nowadays."