US military captures Venezuelan President Maduro

• US President Donald Trump announced the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, following an overnight joint US military extraction in Venezuela’s capital of Caracas on January 3.

• The US operation began with overnight strikes in and around the capital. 

• Venezuela has declared a state of national emergency, with casualty figures and the extent of the damage yet to be confirmed.

• Trump said that both Maduro and his also-captured wife, Cilia Flores de Maduro, will face criminal court proceedings tied to a 2020 indictment from the US Department of Justice on multiple federal charges, including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.

• He posted a photo to social media showing a blindfolded and handcuffed Nicolas Maduro in custody aboard the US Navy amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima.

What led to the capture of Maduro?

• The capture of Maduro represents a culmination of tensions between the US and Venezuela dating as far back as 1998, with the election of President Hugo Chavez, a Venezuelan socialist who espoused anti-US rhetoric and formed close ties with Cuba, Iran and Russia.

• Following the death of Chavez in 2013, Nicolas Maduro took over and became increasingly politically hostile toward the US as the years progressed. 

• The US and numerous European governments already did not recognise Maduro’s legitimacy, saying he stole elections both in 2018 and 2024.

• Maduro long accused Trump of seeking regime change in order to control Venezuela’s huge oil reserves. 

• Tensions between the two countries increased significantly beginning in September 2025, when the Trump administration began conducting targeted boat strikes on vessels deemed to be conducting narco-terrorism by attempting to smuggle illegal drugs into the US.   

• In November 2025, the State Department declared Venezuela’s state-embedded criminal network Cartel de los Soles — which is alleged to have been headed by Maduro — as a terror organisation. 

• With Maduro now out of power, Trump said the US will oversee Venezuela until a safe transition to a legitimate replacement for the deposed strongman can be identified. 

• He added that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez seemed willing to work with the US to achieve what is best for Venezuelans. 

• As the country with the world’s largest oil reserves, Trump said that the US oil companies would modernise and renovate infrastructure “to make money for the country”.

What is ‘Operation Absolute Resolve’?

• The joint military and law enforcement mission to capture Maduro and his wife was labelled ‘Operation Absolute Resolve’.

• It was the result of months of planning and rehearsal involving US joint forces — including special operations forces — from multiple service branches. 

• The military also networked extensively with multiple US intelligence agencies.

• The mission to extract Maduro and his wife involved more than 150 military aircraft from all across the Western Hemisphere launching in close coordination to provide cover for the ground-based extraction force in Caracas.