Venezuela live: At least 40 civilians and military personnel killed in US attack, top Venezuela official claims

By OLIVIA CHRISTIE, NEWS REPORTER and OLIVIA ALLHUSEN, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER and SOPHIE GABLE, US REPORTER and JENSEN BIRD

Updated: 20:13 EST, 3 January 2026

At least 40 Venezuelans were reportedly killed after the US launched large-scale strikes on Venezuela overnight in a ploy to capture President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

The death toll included military personnel and civilians, a top Venezuelan official told the New York Times. 

No US fatalities have been reported, but there were an unspecified number of injuries, per CBS, which reported that all injured service members are in stable condition. 

Maduro and Flores arrived in New York on Saturday afternoon after being apprehended by the US military.

Trump announced the military mission in the early hours of Saturday morning, confirming that a ‘large-scale strike’ was carried out in Venezuela. He added that the operation was done in conjunction with US Law enforcement. 

The president said this morning on Fox News that he watched the operation with federal officials in a room at Mar-a-Lago.

‘If you would’ve seen the speed, the violence… it was an amazing thing,’ he said. 

Sources told CNN and the Associated Press that Maduro and Flores were taken from their home by US troops in the middle of the night and were sleeping when the raid began. 

President Trump addressed who should lead Venezuela after President Nicholas Maduro and his wife touched down in the US following their military capture. 

Maduro and Flores are facing criminal drug trafficking charges and will be federally tried in New York. 

Follow our live blog below for the latest updates 

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said the US should ‘stay out’ of Venezuela

Tulsi Gabbard took to social media to express her thoughts on the US’s overnight operation in Venezuela.

The Director of National Intelligence wrote the government needs to ‘stay out of Venezuela.’

‘Let the Venezuelan people determine their future,’ she wrote. ‘We don’t want other countries to choose our leaders–so we have to stop trying to choose theirs.

President Trump stated earlier today that the US will take control of Venezuela for the time being.

Dozens of Venezuelans killed in US strikes, top official claims

At least 40 people were reportedly killed during US strikes on Venezuela amid the operation to capture leader Nicolas Maduro.

The Saturday morning strikes allegedly killed civilians and military personnel, a top Venezuelan official told the New York Times.

No deaths among US military were recorded, per CBS. The outlet reported an unspecified number of injuries.

All US personnel are in stable condition according to the outlet.

Maduro touched down in New York on Saturday evening along with his wife Cilia Flores who was also taken into custody following the raid on their home in Caracas.

Maduro takes first steps on American soil as he is led from plane in handcuffs

Maduro has taken his first steps on US soil after being seized from his Caracas compound by US Army Delta Force soldiers.

A white FBI Boeing 757 landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base in upstate New York after 4:30pm Saturday afternoon.

Cops subsequently boarded the plane to take Maduro into custody.

Around 30 minutes later, several figures including Maduro could be seen slowly disembarking the aircraft flanked by a group of officials

The captured Venezuelan leader appeared to be wearing handcuffs and the same outfit he was seen in earlier today in a photograph of him taken aboard an aircraft.

Takeaways from Trump’s press conference

Trump concluded this morning’s press conference on the overnight military operation in Venezuela to capture Nicolas Maduro after an hour of speaking to the press.

He was joined on the podium by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Below are some key takeaways from the conference:

• The US will take control of Venezuela, with Rubio and Hegseth working as a ‘team’ alongside the ‘people of Venezuela.’
• Trump said he wasn’t opposed to ‘boots on the ground.’ He didn’t confirm whether the military would be stationed in Venezuela and didn’t provide further details on how the country would operate with Maduro in custody.
• Rubio defended the administration’s decision not to seek Congressional approval before the raid.
• General Dan Caine said the operation was named ‘Absolute Resolve.’ He said 150 aircraft were involved in the mission, which launched from 20 different bases.
• Trump said Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado will not take over for Maduro and that his administration hasn’t been in contact with her.

Trump posts first look at Maduro

Donald Trump shared a shocking photo of Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima on social media.

In the image posted to Truth Social, Maduro was wearing blackout goggles and a grey sweatshirt.

He also appeared to be strapped to a flotation device and was holding a water bottle.

Democratic leaders deem Trump’s strike on Venezuela ‘unconstitutional’

Members of the Democratic National Convention criticized President Trump after he ordered strikes on Venezuela without congressional approval.

DNC Chair Ken Martin issued a statement on Saturday condemning the military operation.

‘Trump promised peace, but has delivered war…’ he wrote on X.

‘Today, Trump finally said the quiet part out loud. The justification for this war isn’t about stemming the flow of drugs. This is about regime change.

Massachusetts Rep. Jake Auchincloss called the move ‘blood for oil,’ per CNN.

House Democrats are set to hold a conference call on Sunday to discuss the president’s actions.

Venezuelan President Maduro and wife Cillia Flores arrive in Manhattan

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cillia Flores arrived in Manhattan via helicopter just before 7pm Saturday evening.

After touching down at the Westside Heliport, they are expected to be transported to the Drug Enforcement Agency’s office, per BBC.

They will then allegedly be held at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, where they will await trial, reported Fox Digital

The same detention center held Diddy, Ghislaine Maxwell and currently Luigi Mangione, the outlet said.

Family of missing Venezuelan musician hopes the president’s fall will bring their loved one home

The family of a missing Venezuelan musician hopes that the large-scale US military operation in Venezuela will be the first step in bringing their loved one home.

James Luckey-Lange is one of several Americans who were arrested by Venezuelan security in recent months.

The 28-year-old Staten Island native is the son of cult musician Q Lazzarus.

Luckey-Lange was last heard from on December 8, just days before he was supposed to board a flight from Caracas to New York.

His aunt Abbie Luckey told the Daily Mail that the family is hopeful that the fall of the Venezuelan president will bring him home.

‘After Maduro’s capture, I remain hopeful and confident that the citizens being held will return safe and unharmed,’ she said.

Venezuela VP calls for Trump brands Maduro capture a ‘kidnapping’ and calls for his release

Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has demanded the release of Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

She described their capture as a ‘kidnapping’ in a televised press conference in which she insisted on Maduro’s right to lead.

‘There is only one president in Venezuela, and his name is Nicolas Maduro Moros,’ Rodriguez said.

She called the operation a ‘savage attack’ and a violation of international law.

President Trump had previously suggested that Rodriguez might take over in tandem with US officials to run the country during the transition phase.

However her comments stood in stark contrast to his remarks as she urged for the ‘defense of life’.

‘Not a single Venezuelan man or woman should remain on the sidelines, because the extremists who have provoked this armed aggression against our country will be made to pay by history and justice,’ she said.

Trump tells the Daily Mail he will work with Venezuelan VP over opposition leader Machado

President Donald Trump told Daily Mail political reporter Jon Raasch that he and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will negotiate with Venezuela’s interim leader, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez.

‘She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again,’ the president said at a press conference from Mar-a-Lago this afternoon.

He previously claimed he would not be working with the country’s opposition leader Maria Machado.

Raasch reported the president later claimed Machado ‘does not have the respect of the Venezuelan people’.

Maduro lands on US soil

The captured Venezuelan president has arrived in the United States.

A white FBI Boeing 757 landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base in upstate New York after 4:30pm Saturday afternoon.

Cops subsequently boarded the plane to take Maduro into custody. He has not been seen disembarking the plane yet.

Zohran Mamdani has brought a sharp end to his bromance with Donald Trump by condemning his capture of the Venezuelan president as an ‘act of war’.

Trump and the newly-inaugurated socialist mayor of New York City shared a warm exchange in the Oval Office in November despite their stark political differences.

But their friendship appears to have been short-lived, as Mamdani quickly took to X to blast Trump’s capture of Nicolás Maduro in no uncertain terms on Saturday.

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Venezuela live: At least 40 civilians and military personnel killed in US attack, top Venezuela official claims