Fire at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, is seen from a distance after a series of explosions in Caracas on Jan. 3, 2026.
Str | Afp | Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday the United States conducted a large-scale strike in Venezuela that resulted in the capture and removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured and removed from the country following the operation, which was conducted in coordination with U.S. law enforcement authorities, Trump said in an early morning post on Truth Social.
“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. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement,” Trump said.
No further details were provided.
CBS News reported that the U.S. Army’s elite Delta Force unit was involved in the capture of Maduro.
The Pentagon declined to answer CNBC’s queries and referred questions to the White House.
Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who had earlier questioned whether the U.S. attack was constitutional, said in a X post on Saturday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio told him the U.S. operation “was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant.”
“This 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,” Lee added.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said in a post on X that Maduro would “finally face justice for his crimes.”
There was no immediate confirmation from the Venezuelan government.
Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s vice president, demanded that the U.S. provide proof that Maduro and his wife are alive, in an interview on state television station Venezolana de Televisión.
Maduro’s official Facebook page posted a video stating that attacks occurred in the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, according to a Google translation of the Spanish-language statement.
The statement in the video added that the U.S. would fail in its goal of possessing Venezuela’s oil and minerals, and that Maduro had declared a national emergency and mobilized defense forces.
The official spokesperson for Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who leads the Venezuelan opposition, said in a post on X that it had no comment on the operation.
Trump told The New York Times that the operation was a result of “a lot of good planning.”
“It was a brilliant operation, actually,” Trump told the Times.
Explosions were reported in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, at about 2 a.m. local time (0600 GMT), according to images circulating on social media that could not be independently verified.
The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the U.S. operation, saying that “the pretexts used to justify such actions are untenable.”
“We support the statement by the Venezuelan authorities and the leadership of Latin American countries on the urgent convening of a meeting of the UN Security Council,” the statement said.
Trump has repeatedly threatened action against Maduro. On Dec. 23, 2025, he said it would be “smart” for Maduro to leave power.
Trump last month announced a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers moving in and out of Venezuelan waters, saying the country was “completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America.”
The strategy to pressure Maduro comes as the U.S. and Venezuela’s opposition say Maduro rigged an election last year to stay in power. Trump has also accused Maduro of running a “narco-state.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said in a post on X that Caracas was under attack and urged an emergency meeting of the Organization of American States and the United Nations.
Maduro, who succeeded Hugo Chavez in 2013, has said Washington is seeking control of its oil reserves, the largest in the world.
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