Name: US strikes Venezuela and captures President Nicolas Maduro
Uploaded: 2026-01-04T06:34:11.664Z
Duration: 4 min 16 s
Description: American forces seized Venezuela’s deposed president Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a major military attack on the country’s capital, Caracas. Donald Trump says the US will run Venezuela until a new government is installed.

American forces seized Venezuela’s deposed president Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a major military attack on the country’s capital, Caracas. Donald Trump says the US will run Venezuela until a new government is installed.

Caracas

The U.S has launched strikes on sites inside Venezuela, including military facilities in a campaign against the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. 

Venezuela Strikes

U.S. military and law enforcement conducted a large-scale covert operation in Venezuela, resulting in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. The mission, named Operation Absolute Resolve, involved the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and FBI, utilizing drones, helicopters, and an engineered blackout in Caracas. Maduro was transported to New York to face federal charges related to narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking.

The operation was carried out without prior notification to Congress, leading to criticism from lawmakers and mixed reactions among the public. While some Venezuelan-Americans celebrated the move, protests erupted in the U.S. and Venezuela, with critics questioning the legality and precedent of the intervention. The Venezuelan government has called for public demonstrations, and the situation remains tense.

US strikes Venezuela and captures President Nicolas Maduro

One of the most audacious military moves in U.S. history. American armed forces striking Venezuela and capturing the country's leader, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife. All Venezuelan military capacities were rendered powerless as the men and women of our military, working with U.S. law enforcement, successfully captured Maduro in the dead of night. Dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve, the unprecedented assault involved the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and FBI, and the use of drones, helicopters, bombs and an engineered blackout across the nation's capital, Caracas. They were completely overwhelmed and very quickly incapacitated. If you would have seen what I saw last night, you would have been very impressed. I'm not sure that you'll ever get to see it, but it was an incredible thing to see. The shock capture of Maduro came after months of work by U.S. intelligence agencies who tracked the leader's every movement. Where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore, what were his pets? President Trump posted a photo of Maduro captured midair. The leader was then taken to New York to face federal charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and two illegal weapons counts based on allegations he helped shipped tons of cocaine to the United States over a period of decades. Nicolas Maduro had multiple opportunities to avoid this. He was provided multiple very, very, very generous offers and chose instead to act like a wild man, chose instead to play around. And the result is what we saw tonight. But as the U.S. insisted Maduro is an illegitimate leader, his vice president, Delsi Rodriguez, reacted with fury. We demand the immediate release of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores. She said, we are ready to defend Venezuela. But President Trump insisted the U.S. would now run the nation. We're not afraid of boots on the ground if we have to have. We had boots on the ground last night at a very high level, actually. We're not afraid of it. We're we don't mind saying it, but we're going to make sure that that country is run properly. We're not doing this in vain. This is not this is a very dangerous attack. This is an attack that could have gone very, very badly. The operation was so secretive that even Congress wasn't notified ahead of the strikes. That's resulted in criticism from many lawmakers, especially Democrats, who say they should have been consulted. Maduro is illegitimate. A lot of leaders are illegitimate in the world. Thinking you can simply reach in like we're playing some game of risk and remove them and then wash your hands of it and everything's fine. Well, we've learned that that's just not the way it plays out most of the time. It's been a mixed reaction across the U.S. to celebration from many Venezuelans who hope this is the start of a better life for their families. We're getting closer to that freedom that we have been waiting for over 20 years. So for me, it's a very exciting day today. For the first time in many, many years, I'm hopeful. While some protests also erupted across the nation in Times Square, demonstrators called Trump a war criminal. While others insisted the U.S. intervention was all about gaining control of the world's largest oil reserves. Trump's vice president, J.D. Vance, was quick to take to social media to defend the legality of the operation. But some are questioning the precedent it sets for the rest of the world. This is a slap in the face of those rules, saying that somehow President Trump gets to decide what is the right to use military force. And that is going to cause great dissension in the world. Tensions with Venezuela have been flaring for months, with the U.S. conducting at least 30 strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and a massive buildup of 15,000 American troops in the region. For now, the situation remains explosive. The Venezuelan government calling on its people to take to the streets in protest, just as the U.S. insists that Maduro's long reign of more than 11 years is over. In the United States, Catherine Firkin. 10 News.

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US strikes Venezuela and captures President Nicolas Maduro

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Venezuela Strikes