Updated January 3, 2026 at 9:50 AM CST
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President Trump claimed overnight that the United States carried out airstrikes in Venezuela and "captured" President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, following a series of explosions and fires reported around Caracas in the early hours of the morning.
In a post on Truth Social published early Saturday morning, Trump said the U.S. had "successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro," adding that Maduro and his wife had been "captured" and flown out of the country. Trump said the operation was conducted "in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement" and announced a news conference for 11 a.m. EST at Mar-a-Lago.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on X that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York on drug, arms and conspiracy charges.
"They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts," she said.
The Justice Department unsealed a superseding indictment against Venezuela's president and his wife, adding to previous indictments from 2020.
In an interview on Fox News, Trump said Maduro had tried to negotiate with the U.S. in the final days before his capture -- a request Trump says he refused. "I didn't want to negotiate," Trump said. "I said, 'Nope, we got to do it.'"
Trump described the strike as "unbelievable."
"And to have a few injuries, but no death on our side, is really amazing," he said.
"I think we had nobody killed, I have to say, because a couple of guys were hit, but they came back in. They're supposed to be in pretty good shape."
Trump added "we were prepared to do a second wave ... but this was so lethal ... but didn't have to."
The Venezuelan government swiftly accused the U.S. of launching what it called a "grave military aggression" against the country. In a statement posted on Telegram, the government said U.S. forces targeted civilian and military locations in Caracas as well as in the nearby states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira, calling the attacks a "flagrant violation" of the United Nations Charter.
On state television, Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said government and military officials had been killed by U.S. strikes across Venezuela. She added the government does not know the whereabouts of President Maduro and his wife and demanded proof of life.
Early this morning, Venezuela's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello appeared flanked by police, saying the Venezuelan government will not be cowed.
Videos circulating on social media platforms and first-person accounts indicate the blasts began around 2 a.m. local time (1 a.m. EST).
A journalist in Caracas, who NPR is not naming for safety reasons, told us they woke up to two explosions at La Carlota military airport, located across the street from their home. They saw two fires on the runway that were quickly extinguished. Immediately afterward, they reported hearing similar detonations in other parts of the city and planes flying low over Caracas for at least an hour.
The explosions come as the U.S. has been increasing pressure on the government of Nicolás Maduro. The Trump administration has accused Maduro of leading a drug-trafficking organization known as the Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns.
Since late August, the U.S. has deployed aircraft carriers and warships to the Caribbean. The U.S. military has struck dozens of small boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific it claimed were transporting drugs toward the U.S. At least 115 people have been killed in at least 35 known strikes on the vessels.
The U.S. naval flotilla is the largest such deployment to the Caribbean in decades.
In a social media post, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said the U.S. military operation and the capture of Maduro signal "a new dawn for Venezuela," adding "the tyrant is gone." Both Landau and Secretary of State Marco Rubio reposted earlier comments by Rubio saying that Maduro is not the legitimate president of Venezuela but instead the head of "a narco-terrorist organization which has taken possession of the country."
Venezuelan opposition leader, 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, has not commented publicly on the U.S. operations, but in November issued a "freedom manifesto" for a post-Maduro future calling for the restoration of human rights, free markets, free speech, clean elections and the return of Venezuelan exiles.
The White House briefed congressional leadership only after the operation, according to a source familiar with the matter who is not authorized to talk publicly.
"We got no notice at all from the White House or from anyone," said Texas Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro, who is ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.
Castro told NPR that Secretary Rubio told lawmakers "that they would come before Congress to get elements and authorization for use of military force for anything that required it."
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., praised Trump's actions and said he expects Congress will learn more about the strikes when lawmakers return to Washington this week.
"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," Thune said in a statement.
Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, said Rubio briefed him on the strike, telling him he anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody. Lee said he looked forward to learning what might constitutionally justify the Venezuela operation in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force.
"I definitely support Maduro facing his own people for the crimes he committed in terms of holding power illegitimately," he says. "Whether or not it's up to the United States to make that happen, I think is a different question."
Todd Robinson, a former charge d'affairs in Venezuela during the first Trump administration, who was expelled by Maduro's government in 2018, called the military operation in the country "virtually unprecedented."
Speaking to NPR, Robinson said: "The idea that in our hemisphere, we would go into another country and … arrest the de facto leader of the country.
"Obviously, it doesn't happen every day. … and I think there are a lot of legitimate questions about what comes next," he said.
Maduro has repeatedly accused Washington of attempting to remove him from power in order to gain access to Venezuela's vast oil reserves, among the largest in the world.
Senate Intelligence Chair Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Rubio confirmed to him that Maduro is in U.S. custody and "will face justice for his crimes against our citizens."
"The interim government in Venezuela must now decide whether to continue the drug trafficking and colluding with adversaries like Iran and Cuba or whether to act like a normal nation and return to the civilized world," Cotton wrote on X.
Congressional Democrats have blasted the action, with Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern calling it an "unjustified, illegal strike on Venezuela."
Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said the strike "sends a horrible and disturbing signal to other powerful leaders across the globe that targeting a head of state is an acceptable policy for the U.S. government."
"Secretaries Rubio and Hegseth looked every Senator in the eye a few weeks ago and said this wasn't about regime change. I didn't trust them then and we see now that they blatantly lied to Congress," Kim wrote in a post on X. "Trump rejected our Constitutionally required approval process for armed conflict because the Administration knows the American people overwhelmingly reject risks pulling our nation into another war."
Regional reaction has been swift. Cuba's President Miguel Díaz-Canel, a close ally of Venezuela that depends heavily on its oil, denounced the attack as "criminal." Colombia's President Gustavo Petro said his forces are deploying to the Venezuelan border and promised additional support "in the event of a massive influx of refugees." By contrast, Argentina's President Javier Milei, a Trump ally, praised the operation, posting on X: "Freedom advances."
Eyder Peralta contributed reporting from Mexico City. Kelsey Snell and Scott Neuman ncontributed reporting from Washington.
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