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President Donald Trump said on Jan. 3 that the United States had carried out a successful strike on Venezuela and that the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, had been captured.

Follow here for the live updates:
<h2>Lawmakers React to US Capture of Venezuela’s Maduro</h2>
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Mixed reactions poured in from U.S. lawmakers after President Donald Trump ordered an overnight strike resulting in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores at their home in Caracas on Jan. 3.

Most Republicans applauded the president’s decision.
<div>“Today’s military action in Venezuela was a decisive and justified operation that will protect American lives,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) <a href="https://x.com/speakerjohnson/status/2007468765718384961?s=46" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on X shortly after the operation’s success was confirmed.</div>
</div>
<div>
<div id="post_content" data-post-content="true">

“President Trump is putting American lives first, succeeding where others have failed, and under his leadership, the United States will no longer allow criminal regimes to profit from wreaking havoc and destruction on our country.”

Broad support from Republican senators noted Maduro’s criminal indictments in the United States for narco-trafficking and terrorism charges as justification for the operation.
<div>“President Trump’s decisive action to disrupt the unacceptable status quo and apprehend Maduro, through the execution of a valid Department of Justice warrant, is an important first step to bring him to justice for the drug crimes for which he has been indicted in the United States,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) <a href="https://x.com/LeaderJohnThune/status/2007464869432267134" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement posted on X. “I am grateful for the brave men and women of our armed forces who carried out this necessary action.”</div>
<div>Responding to criticism about the capture that questioned Trump’s authority to conduct tactical strikes around Venezuela during the assault, Rep. Mike Lee (R-Utah) <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/2007395531023352319?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defended</a> the decision as legal under the U.S. Constitution.</div>
“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 said.

Opponents of Trump’s orders, and his plan for the United States to control Venezuela until elections become possible, cautioned that regime change is complicated.
<div>“The idea that Trump plans to now run Venezuela should strike fear in the hearts of all Americans,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) <a href="https://x.com/SenSchumer/status/2007518220023103768" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement posted to X. “The American people have seen this before and paid the devastating price.”</div>
He urged transparency. Other Democratic Party lawmakers voiced concerns that no congressional authorization was sought before the strike.
<div>“Our Constitution places the gravest decisions about the use of military force in the hands of Congress for a reason,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) <a href="https://x.com/MarkWarner/status/2007476434328064175" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on X. “Using military force to enact regime change demands the closest scrutiny, precisely because the consequences do not end with the initial strike.”</div>
Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday that military plans were kept secret because “Congress has a tendency to leak.”

House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) demanded a congressional briefing to define details and determine future objectives.
<div>“Far too many questions remain unanswered, including with respect to whether further military actions are planned,” Jeffries said in a <a href="https://democraticleader.house.gov/media/press-releases/leader-jeffries-statement-trump-administration-actions-venezuela" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.</div>
</div>
</div>
<h2>Maduro, Wife Arrive in New York</h2>
A person, believed to be detained-Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro disembarked from a U.S. government aircraft at Stewart International Airport in Orange County, New York, on the evening of Jan. 3.

The government aircraft believed to be carrying Maduro and his Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro landed at Stewart International Airport at around 5 p.m. ET.

An airplane carrying Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores lands before their scheduled court appearance at Manhattan federal court, at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, N.Y., on Jan. 3, 2026. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

U.S. special operations forces initially captured Maduro and his wife from a fortified compound in the Venezuelan capital city of Caracas shortly after 1 a.m. EST, amid explosions and gunfire.

Those U.S. forces extracted the Venezuelan leader and his wife on military helicopters, before carrying them out of the country. The captured pair were initially transferred to the USS Iwo Jima amphibious assault ship, which had been waiting in the Caribbean Sea.

Maduro and his wife face a criminal indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The Venezuelan leader is charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy for allegedly working with various transnational drug trafficking cartels and South American left-wing guerilla movements, several of which have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the United States.

Maduro faces additional charges for conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, possession of machine-guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine-guns and destructive devices.

The Venezuelan leader’s wife faces the same cocaine import conspiracy charge, as well as the charges of possession and conspiracy to possess machine-guns and destructive devices. She does not, however, face the narco-terrorism conspiracy charge.
<h2>Venezuelan VP Rodriguez Demands Maduro’s Release</h2>
Venezuela’s de facto vice president Delcy Rodriguez addressed the nation in a televised speech demanding Nicolás Maduro’s release, while expressing a desire to maintain dialogue with the United States.

“Here, we have a government with clarity, and I repeat and repeat again … we are willing to have respectful relations,” she said, referring to the Trump administration.

“It is the only thing we will accept for a type of relationship after having attacked (Venezuela).”

President Donald Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Rodriguez directly, and did not rule out possibly working with her. But he said that the United States would “run the country.”

“Marco is working on that directly,” Trump said.
<h2>Trump Says Venezuela’s VP Agreed to Cooperate as US Oversees Transition</h2>
​​President Donald Trump said on Jan. 3 that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has spoken with Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who he said agreed to cooperate with Washington as the United States moves to oversee the country’s political transition following President Nicolas Maduro’s capture.

Trump told a press briefing in Washington that Rodriguez, who he said was sworn in as president after the U.S. operation, held a lengthy conversation with Rubio and indicated she would comply with U.S. demands.

“She said, ‘We’ll do whatever you need,’” Trump said. “I think she was quite gracious.”

Trump said the United States could not remove the previous government and then leave, warning that doing so would leave Venezuela with no chance of recovery.
<h2>Trump Says US Will Run Venezuela Following Maduro's Capture</h2>
President Donald Trump said Saturday that the US is “going to run” Venezuela indefinitely in the aftermath of the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition,” he said during a press conference from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. “We don’t want to be involved with having someone else get in, and we have the same situation that we had for the last long period of years. So we are going to run the country.”

Trump added that he determined the US should take charge of Venezuela to ensure that the eventual next leader has the “good of the Venezuelan people in mind. But he offered no timeline for how long such a transition of power was expected to take.

“We’re going to stay until such time as the proper transition can take place,” he said.

Trump also said he planned to authorize US oil companies to take over Venezuela’s energy infrastructure, asserting that the corporations would “spend billions of dollars” on the project.

“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,” he said.

President Donald Trump, alongside (L–R) Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, speaks to the press following U.S. military actions in Venezuela, at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Fla., on Jan. 3, 2026. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)


<h2>Trump Says US Military Could Have Killed Maduro</h2>
Trump said the United States military could have killed Maduro during its overnight operation if necessary.

“It could have happened,” Trump said. “He was trying to get into a safe place. You know, the safe place’s all steel, and he wasn’t able to make it to the door because our guys were so fast.”

Trump reiterated how the US military “went through the opposition so fast,” while also noting that “there was a lot of opposition.”

“People were wondering, do we get them by surprise? Sort of surprised, but they were waiting for something. It was a lot of opposition. There was a lot of gunfire,” he said.
<h2>US Mission to Capture Maduro Was Called 'Operation Absolute Resolve'</h2>
The overnight mission to capture Maduro was dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said on Saturday.

“The operation, known as Operation Absolute Resolve, was discreet, precise, and conducted during the darkest hours of January 2, and was the culmination of months of planning and rehearsal—an operation that frankly only the United States military could undertake,” he said.
<h2>Trump Posts Photo of Maduro in Custody</h2>
President Donald Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115832088990838303">posted</a> the first photos of the recently captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on his social media platform.

President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform the first photos of the recently captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

The post came hours after Trump’s announcement that the Venezuelan leader and his wife had been taken into U.S. custody.

Trump told Fox News that Maduro and his wife were headed to New York on the U.S. warship Iwo Jima to stand trial on charges of narco-terrorism, conspiracy, and other crimes.

Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima on Jan. 3, 2026. (@realDonaldTrump/Handout via Reuters)


<h2>Trump Offers Details on Venezuela Operation</h2>
President Donald Trump said Saturday that he thought no Americans were killed during the operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, though some were injured while attempting to capture him at what Trump described as a heavily fortified location.

“I think we had nobody killed, I have to say, because a couple of guys were hit. But they came back, and they’re supposed to be in pretty good shape,” Trump told Fox News in a phone interview.

The president added that a helicopter had been hit during the operation, but no aircraft had been lost.

“We lost no aircraft. Everything came back. One of them was hit pretty hard, a helicopter, but we got it back,” Trump said.

Trump said he watched the capture of Maduro play out in real time from a room in Mar-a-Lago alongside military generals.

“Well, we watched it from a room. We had a room, and we watched it, and we watched every aspect of it. We were surrounded by lots of people, including generals, and they knew everything that was happening. And it was very complex, extremely complex,” Trump said.

“I watched it literally, like I was watching a television show,” he said. “If you would have seen the speed, the violence ... It’s just, it was an amazing thing, amazing job that these people did. There’s nobody else could have done anything like it,” Trump added.

“Really, they just broke in, and they broke into places that were not really able to be, broke into steel doors that were put there for just this reason, and they got taken out in a matter of seconds. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Trump continued.

Trump also said that Maduro and his wife are aboard the USS Iwo Jima heading to New York.

“Yes, the Iwo Jima, they’re on a ship,” Trump said. “They’ll be heading into New York. The helicopters took them out, and they went by helicopter in a nice flight—I’m sure they loved it. But they’ve, they’ve killed a lot of people, remember that.”

Asked about the off-ramps he provided to Maduro, Trump said, “Well, basically I said, you have to give up. You have to surrender.”

He told Fox that he spoke to Maduro a week ago.

“This was a very important symbol, and we—I had discussions. I actually spoke to him myself, but I said, you have to give up. You have to surrender,” Trump said.
<h2>Vance Says US 'Offered Multiple Off Ramps' Before Capturing Maduro</h2>
Vice President JD Vance said Saturday that President Donald Trump offered “multiple off ramps” before the United States ultimately captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and conducted a large-scale strike on Caracas.

“The president offered multiple off ramps, but was very clear throughout this process: the drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States. Maduro is the newest person to find out that President Trump means what he says. Kudos to our brave special operators who pulled off a truly impressive operation,” Vance <a href="https://x.com/jdvance/status/2007447083909841398?s=46">posted</a> on X, resharing Trump’s Truth Social from earlier this morning.
<h2>Bondi Says Maduro and Wife to Face Criminal Charges</h2>
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi says Maduro and his wife will face criminal charges after an indictment in New York.

Bondi vowed in a social media post that the couple will “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”

Maduro was indicted in 2020 in New York, but it was not previously known that his wife had been.
<h2>Foreign Leaders Respond to Attack</h2>
Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the U.S. strikes “an act of armed aggression” and affirmed its solidarity with the Venezuelan government.

“The pretexts used to justify these actions are untenable,” a <a href="https://x.com/mfa_russia/status/2007404440278708493?s=20">statement</a> from the ministry read.

Iran <a href="https://x.com/IRIMFA_EN/status/2007405391118770338?s=20">described</a> the strikes as “a blatant violation of national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

From the United Kingdom, Member of Parliament Jeremy Corbyn called the attack “illegal” and a “brazen attempt to secure control over Venezuelan natural resources.”

“It is an act of war that puts the lives of millions of people at risk—and should be condemned by anyone who believes in sovereignty and international law,” he said on <a href="https://x.com/jeremycorbyn/status/2007397883994112062?s=20">social media</a>.

Another member of Parliament, Nigel Farage, <a href="https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/2007405775933845858">said</a> Trump’s actions were “contrary to international law—but if they make China and Russia think twice, it may be a good thing.”

Others, like Indonesia and Spain, urged de-escalation of hostilities. “We call for de-escalation and responsibility. International Law and the principles of the United Nations Charter must be respected,” Spanish President Pedro Sánchez <a href="https://x.com/sanchezcastejon/status/2007410879793435112?s=20">said</a>.

Indonesia Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yvonne Mewengkang similarly said the nation called on “all relevant parties to prioritize peaceful resolution through de-escalation.”

Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said that the country was not a participant in the military operation and that it “continues to maintain peaceful relations with the people of Venezuela."

Some Latin American countries expressed their disapproval of  the U.S. military’s intervention.

“As the Government of Chile, we express our concern and condemnation of the military actions by the United States taking place in Venezuela, and we call for seeking a peaceful solution to the serious crisis affecting the country,” Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font said on <a href="https://x.com/GabrielBoric/status/2007408703922696253?s=20">social media</a>.
<h2>Rubio Says Maduro Regime Was Illegitimate</h2>
Following the attack, Secretary of State Marco Rubio <a href="https://x.com/marcorubio/status/2007404924393697601?s=20">posted a screenshot</a> of one of his social media posts from July of last year. “Maduro is NOT the President of Venezuela and his regime is NOT the legitimate government,” it read.

“Maduro is the head of the Cartel de Los Soles, a narco-terror organization which has taken possession of a country.”

His post came amid condemnations from foreign governments like Russia that said it stands in “solidarity” with the Venezuelan people and government.

The European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas was more measured. In a post to social media, she said, “The EU has repeatedly stated that Mr. Maduro lacks legitimacy and has defended a peaceful transition. Under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected.”

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau celebrated the strikes, declaring a “new dawn for Venezuela.”

“The tyrant is gone,” Landau <a href="https://x.com/DeputySecState/status/2007393216535081418?s=20">said</a> on social media. “He will now—finally—face justice for his crimes.”
<h2>State Department Officials Say ‘the Tyrant Is Gone’</h2>
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau says the military action and seizure of Maduro marks “a new dawn for Venezuela,” saying that “the tyrant is gone.”

He posted on X hours after the strike. His boss, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, reposted a post from July that said Maduro “is NOT the President of Venezuela and his regime is NOT the legitimate government.”
<h2>Sen. Lee Says Rubio Told Him He Anticipates No Further Action in Venezuela</h2>
Utah Sen. Mike Lee said Rubio informed him that “he anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody,” the lawmaker posted on social media.
<h2>Sen. Lee Says Rubio Briefed Him That Maduro Will Be Tried in US</h2>
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) posted on X that he had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who briefed him on the strike. Rubio told Lee that Maduro “has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States.”

The White House did not immediately respond to queries on where Maduro and his wife were being flown to. Maduro was indicted in March 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges in the Southern District of New York.
<h2>Russia Condemns Attack</h2>
Russia’s Foreign Ministry condemned what it called a U.S. “act of armed aggression” against Venezuela in a statement posted on its Telegram channel Saturday.

“Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive, let alone military, outside intervention,” the statement said.

The ministry called for dialogue to prevent further escalation and said it reaffirmed its “solidarity” with the Venezuelan people and government, adding that Russia supports calls for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting.
<h2>State Department Urges Americans in Venezuela to Shelter in Place</h2>
The State Department issued a new travel alert early Saturday warning Americans in Venezuela urging them to “shelter in place” due to the situation.

“U.S. Embassy Bogota is aware of reports of explosions in and around Caracas, Venezuela,” it said without elaboration.

“The U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, warns U.S. citizens not to travel to Venezuela. U.S. citizens in Venezuela should shelter in place.” The embassy in Bogota has been shuttered since March, 2019 but operates remotely.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio retweeted Trump’s announcement without comment, but his deputy, Christopher Landau, posted Trump’s statement, adding that it marked “a new dawn for Venezuela!” “The tyrant is gone. He will now—finally—face justice for his crimes,” Landau said.
<h2>Venezuelan VP Demands Proof of Life for Maduro</h2>
Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodríguez says, “We do not know the whereabouts of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.” He added: “We demand proof of life.”
<h2>Members of Congress Respond to Strikes</h2>
Multiple members of Congress took to social media with mixed messages following the military activity in Venezuela. “I look forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said on social media.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) posted that the United States had “no vital national interests in Venezuela to justify war. We should have learned not to stumble into another stupid adventure by now.”

“No matter the outcome we are in the wrong for starting this war in Venezuela,” Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said in a post.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) was similarly critical, calling President Donald Trump’s strike “illegal.”

“Without authorization from Congress, and with the vast majority of Americans opposed to military action, Trump just launched an unjustified, illegal strike on Venezuela,” McGovern said. “He says we don’t have enough money for healthcare for Americans—but somehow we have unlimited funds for war.”

By contrast, Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) welcomed Trump’s actions. In a post, she said the “Maduro regime is over, thanks to the leadership of [Trump] and [Secretary of State Marco Rubio].”

“Now it’s time for the rightful leaders of Venezuela to restore freedom and rebuild the nation,” the congresswoman added. “Tonight, a new cry of freedom echoes across the hemisphere: loud, clear, and unstoppable.”

Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-Fla.), similarly celebrated and indicated other Latin American leaders would fall after Maduro. “Maduro has fallen, Díaz-Canel and Ortega are next,” he said, referring to Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.

He added that “our hemisphere will be the hemisphere of freedom!”

Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Fla.) also praised Trump’s intervention. “Our country has faced an unprecedented national security threat from the illegitimate Maduro regime,” he said.
<h2>Colombia, Cuba Condemn Attack</h2>
Colombia and Cuba responded with condemnation of the strikes.

“Cuba denounces and urgently demands the reaction of the international community against the criminal attack by the U.S. on [Venezuela],” Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said in a post to social media.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on social media that his government “rejects the aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and of Latin America.”

Petro announced around 4:50 a.m. that he had concluded a National Security Council meeting, which started roughly two hours earlier.

“Public forces are being deployed to the border, and all available support forces will be deployed in the event of a massive influx of refugees,” he said.

“The Colombian Embassy in Venezuela is active and responding to calls for assistance from Colombians in Venezuela.”
<h2>Trump Announces Strike on Venezuela, Says Maduro Captured</h2>
Trump said on Saturday that the United States had carried out a successful strike on Venezuela and that the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, had been captured.

“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,” Trump said in an early morning post to TruthSocial.

He added that a news conference would follow at 11 a.m. at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
<h2>Explosions Rock Venezuela as Maduro Accuses US of Military Attack</h2>
At least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard around 2 a.m. local time Saturday in the capital, Caracas. Venezuela’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states.

The Pentagon referred questions to the White House, which declined to comment.

Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration has banned U.S. commercial flights in Venezuelan airspace over “ongoing military activity” ahead of explosions in Caracas.

Calls to the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in the region, went unanswered.

The FAA’s warning, known as “Notice to Airmen,” came shortly after one in the morning on the East Coast of the United States. It warned all commercial and private U.S. pilots that the airspace over Venezuela and the small island nation of Curacao, just off the coast of the country to the north, was off-limits “due to safety-of-flight risks associated with ongoing military activity.”

The warnings are designed to alert pilots to a variety of dangers.

Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power.

People in various neighborhoods rushed to the streets. Some could be seen in the distance from various areas of Caracas.

Venezuela’s government, in the statement, called on its supporters to take to the streets.

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