President Donald Trump stated the U.S. “efficiently carried out a big scale strike towards Venezuela” and stated Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his spouse had been “captured and flown out of the Nation.”
The announcement on Trump’s social media platform got here shortly earlier than 4:30 a.m. Saturday just a few hours after a number of explosions had been heard in Venezuela’s capital metropolis of Caracas, witnesses stated, and pictures and movies confirmed plumes of smoke and a big fireball within the night time sky.
FILE PHOTO: Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro waves whereas holding the hand of his spouse Cilia Flores throughout a ceremony to swear in new community-based organisations, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration ramps up stress on Maduro’s authorities, in Caracas, Venezuela, December 1, 2025.
Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters
Trump stated the operation was carried out at the side of U.S. legislation enforcement and stated he would maintain a information convention at 11 a.m. from Mar-a-Lago.
Lawyer Basic Pam Bondi stated that Maduro and his spouse, Cilia Flores, “will quickly face the total wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts” on a slew of expenses in New York, together with “narco-terrorism conspiracy” and “cocaine importation conspiracy” in addition to weapons expenses. Maduro has confronted the fees in New York for years.
Sources acquainted with the matter advised ABC Information Maduro was being flown to New York. Whereas the sources didn’t specify the place Maduro might be held, defendants awaiting trial in federal courtroom in Manhattan are typically held at MDC-Brooklyn.
The operation that led to Maduro’s seize was carried out by the Military’s Delta Pressure after the CIA had recognized the chief’s exact location, in keeping with two folks acquainted with the operation. Delta Pressure is an elite particular operations group of troopers skilled in secret counterterrorism operations and hostage rescues.
One particular person advised ABC Information that Trump had given the inexperienced mild to seize Maduro a number of days in the past and troops had been able to strike on Christmas Day, however had been delayed resulting from army airstrikes in Nigeria towards ISIS. Subsequent alternatives had been postponed partly resulting from climate, the particular person stated.
CBS first reported the small print on the operation.
In a short telephone interview with The New York Occasions, President Trump celebrated what he referred to as the success of the mission to seize Maduro, who the U.S. has thought-about the pinnacle of a international terrorist group since a November designation.
“A number of good planning and lot of nice, nice troops and nice folks,” Trump advised The New York Occasions. “It was an excellent operation, truly.”
When requested whether or not he had sought congressional authorization for the operation or what would come subsequent for Venezuela, Trump stated he would deal with these issues throughout his information convention at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday morning.
‘No additional motion’ anticipated
Republican Sen. Mike Lee, of Utah, stated in a put up on X that he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the telephone in regards to the actions being taken in Venezuela after initially asking “what, if something, may constitutionally justify this motion within the absence of a declaration of conflict or authorization for the usage of army power.”
In accordance with Lee, Rubio stated that Maduro had been “arrested by U.S. personnel to face trial on prison expenses in america,” and that the “kinetic motion” was taken to guard these executing the warrant.
He additionally stated that Rubio advised him he anticipates “no additional motion in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody.”
“This was an extremely harmful operation to conduct,” stated ABC Contributor Mick Mulroy, a former CIA officer and senior Pentagon official. “It required exact intelligence, detailed planning and flawless execution by these Delta operators and all of the assist, particularly the [Joint Special Operations Command] air element, to drag it off within the method that they did.”
Senate and Home Republicans praised Trump’s actions, with Sen. Rick Scott, of Florida saying “a brand new day is right here for Venezuela and Latin America” in a put up on X and Sen. Tom Cotton, of Arkansas saying Maduro “wasn’t simply an illegitimate dictator; he additionally ran an enormous drug-trafficking operation.”
However the motion was criticized by Democrats.
Sen. Ruben Gallego, of Arizona, blasted Trump’s transfer, calling it the “second unjustified conflict in my life time” in a put up on X. “This conflict is prohibited, it’s embarrassing that we went from the world cop to the world bully in lower than one 12 months. There isn’t any motive for us to be at conflict with Venezuela.”
The most recent occasions come amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela together with a build-up of U.S. army forces within the Caribbean and the concentrating on of alleged drug-smuggling boats.
Some 15,000 U.S. army personnel had been within the space in addition to the usGerald Ford plane service.
The operation additionally comes a short while after the first-known land strike carried out towards a dock the place Trump stated medication had been being loaded onto boats.
Evening view of Caracas taken after a sequence of explosions heard on January 3, 2026. Loud explosions, accompanied by sounds resembling plane flyovers, had been heard in Caracas round 2:00 am (0600 GMT) on January 3, an AFP journalist reported. The explosions come as US President Donald Trump, who has deployed a navy activity power to the Caribbean, raised the opportunity of floor strikes towards Venezuela.
Federico Parra/AFP by way of Getty Photos
Worldwide response
The Venezuelan authorities issued a press release condemning what it referred to as “the grave army aggression perpetrated by the present authorities of america of America” in Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira.
(FILES) (COMBO) This mix of images created on August 07, 2025 reveals US President Donald Trump (L) in Washington, DC, on July 9, 2025, and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (R) in Caracas on July 31, 2024.
Jim Watson,federico Parra/AFP by way of Getty Photos
As well as, President Nicolas Maduro ordered the implementation of nationwide protection plans, and declared a “state of Exterior Disturbance all through the nationwide territory,” in keeping with the assertion.
Russia condemned the motion as “an act of armed aggression towards Venezuela” and stated it needed to stop “additional escalation,” in keeping with the nation’s International Ministry. And Colombian President Gustavo Petro stated “Alert the world: Venezuela has been attacked!” in a put up on X. However Trump ally and Argentinian president Javier Milei praised the transfer.
The U.S. has lengthy thought-about Maduro the pinnacle of a corrupt dictatorial regime. In 2024, Maduro declared victory after a broadly disputed presidential election for a 3rd time period.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro arrives along with his spouse Cilia Flores to ship his annual speech to parliament in Caracas on January 15, 2025. President Donald Trump stated on January 3, 2026, that US forces had captured Venezuelan chief Nicolas Maduro after launching a “giant scale strike” on the South American nation.
Federico Parra/AFP by way of Getty Photos
US lately declares Maduro head of terror group
In an unprecedented transfer in November, the Trump administration declared Maduro the pinnacle of a international terrorist group, citing alleged hyperlinks to drug cartels, which Maduro denied.
The designation put the Venezuelan chief on the identical checklist as terror networks like al-Qaeda and the Houthi insurgent group in Yemen. In August, Rubio introduced the U.S. had elevated the reward for info resulting in Maduro’s arrest from $25 million to $50 million.
Maduro has confronted expenses in america of narcotics-terrorism since 2020, when federal prosecutors in New York accused him of partnering with a Colombian insurgent group to “flood america with cocaine with a purpose to undermine the well being and wellbeing” of the nation.
Image of fireside at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest army complicated, after a sequence of explosions in Caracas on January 3, 2026. Loud explosions, accompanied by sounds resembling plane flyovers, had been heard in Caracas round 2:00 am (0600 GMT) on January 3, an AFP journalist reported. The explosions come as US President Donald Trump, who has deployed a navy activity power to the Caribbean, raised the opportunity of floor strikes towards Venezuela.
Luis Jaimes/AFP by way of Getty Photos
The costs embody narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and weapons possession conspiracy. Prosecutors allege that Maduro and 14 present or former officers ran an enormous prison enterprise for the final 20 years, utilizing state sources to gas the worldwide drug commerce, together with within the U.S.
It is a growing story. Please examine again for updates.
