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<\/p>\nIn this photo provided by the Federal Road Safety Corps, people walk past the accident scene of British boxer Anthony Joshua in Lagos, Nigeria, on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (Federal Road Safety Corps via AP)<\/p>\n
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In this photo provided by the Federal Road Safety Corps, people gather at the accident scene of British boxer Anthony Joshua in Lagos, Nigeria, on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (Federal Road Safety Corps via AP)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The United States hit Venezuela with a \u201clarge-scale strike\u201d early Saturday and said President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country after months of stepped-up pressure by Washington \u2014 an extraordinary nighttime operation announced by President Donald Trump on social media hours after the attack.<\/p>\n The legal authority for the strike \u2014 and whether Trump consulted Congress beforehand \u2014 was not immediately clear. The stunning, lightning-fast American military action, which plucked a nation\u2019s sitting leader from office, echoed the U.S. invasion of Panama that led to the surrender and seizure of its leader, Manuel Antonio Noriega, in 1990 \u2014 exactly 36 years ago Saturday.<\/p>\n Maduro and his wife, captured overnight from their home, were being transported via a U.S. warship to New York, where they were to face criminal charges. The U.S. is now evaluating next steps for Venezuela, Trump said Saturday on Fox News, \u201cWe\u2019ll be involved in it very much.\u201d<\/p>\n Here’s the latest: <\/p>\n Trump told Fox News he spoke to Maduro several times, including most recently a week ago.<\/p>\n Maduro denied that in an interview on New Year\u2019s Eve, saying he had only spoken to Trump in November.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s dramatic action against Maduro is the polar opposite of the clemency he granted to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hern\u00e1ndez.<\/p>\n Trump in December pardoned Hern\u00e1ndez though he was sentenced to 45 years in U.S. prison for helping drug traffickers to safely move hundreds of tons of cocaine north through his country to the U.S.<\/p>\n Hern\u00e1ndez, who enjoyed support from officials in the first Trump administration, was convicted by a U.S. jury in New York \u2014 which Maduro is now set to face.<\/p>\n When asked in an interview with Politico about the pardon, Trump said, \u201cI don\u2019t know him\u201d and \u201cI know very little about him,\u201d but added that he was told that Hern\u00e1ndez \u201cwas set up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe country, uh, deals in drugs, like probably you could say that about every country, and because he was the president, they gave him like 45 years in prison,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The indictment accuses Maduro of leading a \u201ca corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking.\u201d It alleges that the drug trafficking efforts \u201cenriched and entrenched Venezuela\u2019s political and military elite.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. authorities allege that Maduro partnered with \u201csome of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world\u201d to bring tons of cocaine into the U.S., according to the indictment.<\/p>\n Authorities estimate that as much as 250 tons of cocaine were trafficked through Venezuela by 2020, according to the indictment. The drugs were moved on go-fast vessels, fishing boats and container ships or via planes from clandestine airstrips, authorities allege.<\/p>\n The United Nations said it was \u201cdeeply alarmed\u201d by the U.S. strikes and reported detention of President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro in Venezuela. It expressed concern that the escalation was a violation of international law.<\/p>\n \u201cThese developments constitute a dangerous precedent,\u201d St\u00e9phane Dujarric, spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general, said in a statement. Dujarric said the U.N. worried about the larger implications for Latin America and the Caribbean and called on \u201call actors in Venezuela\u201d to respect human rights and the rule of law.<\/p>\n China strongly condemned the U.S. strike in Venezuela and the action against its president, the Foreign Ministry said, adding the Beijing government was \u201cdeeply shocked\u201d and firmly opposed to the operation.<\/p>\n \u201cSuch hegemonic acts of the U.S. seriously violate international law and Venezuela\u2019s sovereignty and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n It called on the U.S. to comply with international law and the principles of the U.N. Charter, urging it to stop violating the sovereignty and security of other nations.<\/p>\n Trump said a helicopter was hit during the operation in Venezuela and a few U.S. members were injured, but he believed none were killed.<\/p>\n \u201cA couple of guys were hit, but they came back and they\u2019re supposed to be in pretty good shape,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He said the U.S. lost no aircraft in the operation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got it all back. One of them was hit pretty hard but\u2014a helicopter\u2014but we got it back.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had to do it because it\u2019s a war,\u201d he added a few moments later.<\/p>\n The Federal Aviation Administration has imposed a temporary airspace restriction on Puerto Rico\u2019s international airport and surrounding regions.<\/p>\n An announcement by Luis Mu\u00f1oz Mar\u00edn International Airport in San Juan posted on the social media site X said the restriction was placed because of the \u201csecurity situation related to military activity\u201d in Venezuela.<\/p>\n As a result, most commercial airlines to and from the airport that are operated by U.S. airlines have been suspended or may be canceled.<\/p>\n Foreign airlines and military aircraft are not included in this restriction, the statement said. \u201cPassengers are urged to check the status of their flight directly with their airline before heading to the airport.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump brushed off criticism from U.S. Democratic lawmakers that he did not seek permission from Congress ahead of time and that the strike was illegal. He called his Democratic critics \u201cweak, stupid people\u201d and blaming his political opponents for inflation in the U.S.<\/p>\n He said the operation in Venezuela was \u201creally genius.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll they do is complain,\u201d he said of the Democrats.<\/p>\n \u201cThey should say, \u2018Great job.\u2019 They shouldn\u2019t say, \u2018Oh Gee, maybe it\u2019s not constitutional.\u2019 You know, the same old stuff that we\u2019ve been hearing for years and years and years,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n Trump said the operation in Venezuela \u201cwasn\u2019t meant to be\u201d a message to Mexico, but then he has proposed to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum that the U.S. \u201ctake out\u201d cartels in her country and suggested the U.S. might take action.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re very friendly with her, she\u2019s a good woman. But the cartels are running Mexico. She\u2019s not running Mexico. The cartels are running Mexico,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n He said he\u2019s asked Sheinbaum numerous times, \u201cWould you like us to take out the cartels?\u201d but she has said no.<\/p>\n \u201cSomething\u2019s going to have to be done with Mexico,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n Trump told Fox News that the couple were aboard the U.S. warship Iwo Jima and headed to New York, where they will face prosecution.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump said in an interview Saturday morning that the United States will be making decisions on what is next for Venezuela after capturing the Latin American country\u2019s president and flying him out of the country.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be involved in it very much\u201d as to who will govern the country, Trump said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t take a chance in letting somebody else run and just take over what he left, or left off,\u201d Trump said in an interview with Fox News hours after the capture.<\/p>\n Venezuelan ruling party leader Nahum Fern\u00e1ndez told The Associated Press that Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and his wife were at their home within the Ft. Tiuna military installation when they were captured.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s where they bombed,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd, there, they carried out what we could call a kidnapping of the president and the first lady of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n Vice President JD Vance said in a statement on X: \u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n Kudos to our brave special operators who pulled off a truly impressive operation.\u201d<\/p>\n In South Florida, Venezuelans celebrated the news of Maduro\u2019s capture at a rally held outside a South American eatery.<\/p>\n People wrapped themselves in Venezuelan flags, ate fried snacks and cheered as music was playing at the event. At one point, the crowd chanted \u201cLiberty! Liberty! Liberty!\u201d<\/p>\n The rally took place in Doral, Florida, a city of 80,000 people surrounded by Miami sprawl and home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States.<\/p>\n \u2014 EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X that she had spoken with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the EU ambassador in Caracas. \u201cThe 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. We call for restraint.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez called for \u201cde-escalation and responsibility. International Law and the principles of the United Nations Charter must be respected,\u201d S\u00e1nchez wrote on X.<\/p>\n \u2014 Russia\u2019s Foreign Ministry said it is \u201cextremely alarmed\u201d and called for \u201cimmediate clarification,\u201d according to a statement posted Saturday on the ministry\u2019s Telegram channel. The ministry said such actions, if confirmed, would constitute \u201can unacceptable infringement on the sovereignty of an independent state.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the U.K. was not involved in the U.S. operation in Venezuela and that he would seek more information from Trump. Without condemning the U.S. action, Starmer said he always believes that international law should be upheld. \u201cBut I think at this stage, fast moving situation, let\u2019s establish the facts and take it from there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n At a pro-Maduro protest in the capital, Caracas Mayor Carmen Mel\u00e9ndez joined a crowd that demanded that Maduro be returned immediately.<\/p>\n \u201cMaduro, hold on, the people are rising up!\u201d the crowd chanted. They also said: \u201cWe are here Nicol\u00e1s Maduro. If you can hear us, we are here!\u201d Elsewhere, residents were still taking in the events.<\/p>\n \u201cHow do I feel? Scared, like everyone,\u201d said Caracas resident Noris Prada, who sat on an empty avenue looking down at his phone. \u201cVenezuelans woke up scared, many families couldn\u2019t sleep. I have been on the street, I just got back from Maracay, everything is blocked, everything is bad, very bad.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey impose the law,\u201d electrician Alfonso Valdez said about the U.S. government. \u201cThey are the police of the world \u2026 they are assassins.\u201d<\/p>\n Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado\u2019s spokespeople declined to comment on the U.S. operation.<\/p>\n Machado was last seen in public last month, when she emerged from 11 months in hiding and traveled to Norway, where she was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize.<\/p>\n U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi says Maduro and his wife will face criminal charges after an indictment in New York.<\/p>\n Bondi vowed in a social media post that the couple will \u201csoon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.\u201d<\/p>\n Maduro was indicted in 2020 in New York, but it was not previously known that his wife had been.<\/p>\n The Justice Department during Trump\u2019s first term in office charged in the several indictments that Maduro had effectively converted Venezuela into a criminal enterprise at the service of drug traffickers and terrorist groups as he and his allies stole billions from the South American country.<\/p>\n The coordinated unsealing of indictments against 14 officials and government-connected individuals, and rewards of $55 million for Maduro and four others, attacked all the key planks of what then-Attorney General William Barr called the \u201ccorrupt Venezuelan regime,\u201d including the Maduro-dominated judiciary and the powerful armed forces.<\/p>\n One indictment by prosecutors in New York accused Maduro and socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello, head of the rubber-stamping constitutional assembly, of conspiring with Colombian rebels and members of the military \u201cto flood the United States with cocaine\u201d and use the drug trade as a \u201cweapon against America.\u201d<\/p>\n Read our news report from 2020 on the charges<\/p>\n U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau says the military action and seizure of Maduro marks \u201ca new dawn for Venezuela,\u201d saying that \u201cthe tyrant is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n He posted on X hours after the strike. His boss, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, reposted a post from July that said Maduro \u201cis NOT the President of Venezuela and his regime is NOT the legitimate government.\u201d<\/p>\n Utah Sen. Mike Lee said Rubio informed him that \u201che anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody,\u201d the lawmaker posted on social media.<\/p>\n 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 \u201chas been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u201cnarco-terrorism\u201d conspiracy charges in the Southern District of New York.<\/p>\n President Gustavo Petro of Colombia, one of Trump\u2019s fiercest critics, said the Colombian government convened a national security meeting before dawn Saturday and sent security forces to the border in preparation for a potential \u201cmassive influx of refugees\u201d from neighboring Venezuela.<\/p>\n He said he\u2019d also call on the U.N. Security Council to consider \u201cthe aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and of Latin America.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWithout sovereignty, there is no nation,\u201d Petro wrote on social media.<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s Foreign Ministry condemned what it called a U.S. \u201cact of armed aggression\u201d against Venezuela in a statement posted on its Telegram channel Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cVenezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive, let alone military, outside intervention,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n The ministry called for dialogue to prevent further escalation and said it reaffirmed its \u201csolidarity\u201d with the Venezuelan people and government, adding that Russia supports calls for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting.<\/p>\n The State Department issued a new travel alert early Saturday warning Americans in Venezuela urging them to \u201cshelter in place\u201d due to the situation.<\/p>\n \u201cU.S. Embassy Bogota is aware of reports of explosions in and around Caracas, Venezuela,\u201d it said without elaboration.<\/p>\n \u201cThe U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, warns U.S. citizens not to travel to Venezuela. U.S. citizens in Venezuela should shelter in place.\u201d The embassy in Bogota has been shuttered since March, 2019 but operates remotely.<\/p>\n Secretary of State Marco Rubio retweeted Trump\u2019s announcement without comment, but his deputy, Christopher Landau, posted Trump\u2019s statement, adding that it marked \u201ca new dawn for Venezuela!\u201d \u201cThe tyrant is gone. He will now\u2014finally\u2014face justice for his crimes,\u201d Landau said.<\/p>\n Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez says, \u201cWe do not know the whereabouts of President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.\u201d He added: \u201cWe demand proof of life.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump said Maduro \u201chas been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement. Details to follow.\u201d He set a news conference for later Saturday morning. <\/p>\n The explosions in Caracas, Venezuela\u2019s capital, early on the third day of 2026 \u2014 at least seven blasts \u2014 sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report hearing and seeing the explosions. It was not immediately clear if there were casualties. The apparent attack itself lasted less than 30 minutes, but it was unclear if more actions lay ahead, though Trump said in his post that the strikes were carried out \u201csuccessfully.\u201d <\/p>\n Government supporters display posters of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, right, and former President Hugo Ch\u00e1vez in downtown Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Supporters display a poster of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. (AP Photo\/Cristian Hernandez)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n National Guard armored vehicles block an avenue leading to Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Cristian Hernandez)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Smoke rises from Fort Tiuna, the main military garrison in Caracas, Venezuela, after multiple explosions were heard and aircraft swept through the area, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Pedestrians walk past the Miraflores presidential palace after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Cristian Hernandez)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n
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