Pre-dawn blasts rattled Caracas as officials said the Venezuelan leader and his wife were taken into custody and removed from the country.
WASHINGTON, DC — President Donald Trump said Saturday that U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during overnight strikes in and around Caracas, then flew Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, out of Venezuela. Loud explosions were reported in the capital around 2 a.m. local time.
Trump’s announcement marks the most dramatic turn in Venezuela’s long political crisis and in years of U.S. confrontation with Maduro’s government. Senior officials said elite U.S. military units took part in the operation and briefed lawmakers in Washington after daybreak Saturday. The immediate questions include where Maduro is being held, what charges he will face, and how Venezuelan institutions and the armed forces will respond in the hours ahead. Regional governments and oil markets are watching for signs of instability, while U.S. officials signaled that further strikes were not expected for now.
Trump posted before sunrise that Maduro and Flores had been “captured and flown out of the Country.” A U.S. official said elements of the Army’s Delta Force were involved in the raid, which followed a series of blasts that residents heard across southern and central Caracas. National Guard vehicles blocked routes toward the Miraflores presidential palace as helicopters and low-flying aircraft were seen overhead. “Venezuela will be free,” Trump said in his post, adding that the operation was conducted with U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies. By late morning in Washington, congressional leaders received initial briefings, and the White House said details on custody and legal proceedings would follow.
Officials and witnesses described at least seven explosions in the capital and power outages in several neighborhoods. Two people familiar with state oil company operations said facilities run by Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., known as PDVSA, were operating normally after the strikes, and there was no damage to major refineries or production hubs. The port of La Guaira, which does not handle crude exports, sustained heavy damage, according to those accounts. Republican Sen. Mike Lee said Secretary of State Marco Rubio told him Maduro would face criminal charges in the United States. It was not immediately clear which federal court might take the case or when an indictment would be unsealed. Venezuela’s government did not issue an immediate statement.
Maduro, a former bus driver and foreign minister, rose to power after Hugo Chávez’s death in 2013 and consolidated control through contested elections and heavy repression. The United States accused him of narco-terrorism and offered multimillion-dollar rewards for his arrest, while United Nations investigators documented widespread abuses by Venezuelan security forces. Economic collapse deepened during his rule, pushing millions to leave the country and overwhelming neighboring states. Opposition leader María Corina Machado gained international prominence as a key challenger, and foreign governments repeatedly rejected Maduro’s 2024 reelection as illegitimate. U.S. pressure intensified through sanctions, naval deployments in the Caribbean, and covert support to dissidents, setting the stage for Saturday’s operation.
Legal and diplomatic steps will shape the next phase. U.S. officials said Maduro is in American custody outside Venezuela, though his location remained undisclosed. Prosecutors are expected to pursue long-standing drug trafficking and corruption cases, and a federal court appearance could come within days if a judge is assigned. In Washington, the administration prepared a formal notification to Congress under the War Powers Resolution describing the scope and duration of the strikes. Regional bodies and European governments scheduled emergency consultations, and the Pentagon planned an afternoon briefing to outline the timeline of events and assess any remaining security risks around Caracas.
In the capital, armored vehicles guarded approaches to central government offices as residents picked through shattered glass near La Carlota air base. “We heard a thunder that would not stop,” said Carolina Pérez, a bakery worker in Chacao. “Then the lights went out and the phones died.” Pro-government supporters unfurled banners with Maduro’s image downtown, while pockets of opposition crowds cheered at intersections before dispersing. At PDVSA offices, managers told staff to remain home while technicians checked systems that had been moved to manual controls after a December cyberattack. Shipping agents reported delays at commercial terminals as crews assessed damage to cranes and warehouses.
As of midday Saturday in Washington, U.S. officials said no additional strikes were planned and that Maduro and Flores remained in custody while transfer and charging decisions were finalized. Venezuelan ministries had not provided casualty figures or an official account of the overnight events. Further statements were expected from the Pentagon and the State Department later Saturday, along with updates from regional governments monitoring the situation.
Author note: Last updated Saturday, January 3, 2026.