Politics
BREAKING: Trump Announces Capture Of Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro
President Donald Trump announced early Saturday morning that Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro has been captured and flown out of the country following a joint U.S. military and law enforcement operation.
“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country,” President Trump announced in a Truth Social post at 4:21 a.m. Eastern Time.
Trump added that the operation was done in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement and announced that a press conference will be held at 11 a.m. Eastern Time.
CBS News reported that Maduro was captured by Delta Force, the U.S. Military’s elite special missions unit. Additional details on the raid, or any U.S. casualties, are unavailable as of this report.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 3, 2026
The stunning announcement comes after several strikes targeting Venezuelan military installations were reported early Saturday morning. Strikes were reported on a number of crucial Venezuelan military installations and airbases, as well as ports and other infrastructure.
A number of U.S. helicopters could also be seen flying over the Venezuelan capital of Caracas not long after the first strikes were reported at 1:50 a.m. Eastern Time. Power and communications outages were also reported at the time of the strikes.
The U.S. government has long contended that Maduro is heavily involved in international cocaine trafficking and other criminal enterprises to keep his regime afloat. “Maduro uses foreign terrorist organizations like [Tren de Aragua], Sinaloa and Cartel of the Suns to bring deadly drugs and violence into our country,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a video statement back in August.
To date, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates, Bondi said. This figure includes“nearly seven tons linked to Maduro himself, which represents a primary source of income for the deadly cartels based in Venezuela and Mexico,” the attorney general added.
She further noted that cocaine linked with Maduro’s smuggling operations is often laced with fentanyl, which has resulted in “the loss and destruction of countless American lives.”
In March 2020, Maduro was hit with a slew of federal charges in the Southern District of New York related to his drug trafficking operations, including narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. At the time, the Trump Administration was offering a $15 million reward for any information relating to Maduro’s capture.
Caracas, Venezuela; April 20 2023: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro participates in a press conference at the Miraflores Palace, the seat of government of Venezuela.
Maduro’s regime has also been directly linked with the infiltration of the ultra-violent Tren de Aragua street gang in the United States. President Trump formally designated the gang as a terrorist organization back in February, citing infiltration of Venezuela’s security agencies, as well as support for the gang from Maduro’s regime.
The control of Venezuela’s government is unknown as of this report. It is also unknown whether any other senior officials were extracted from the country in addition to Maduro.
