The United States says its forces have captured Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, during pre‑dawn strikes in and around Caracas on Saturday, 3 January. President Donald Trump told reporters that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken out of the country and that Washington would be “very strongly involved” in Venezuela’s governance during a transition. Reuters described the move as the most direct US intervention in Latin America since the 1989 Panama operation.
Independent reporting and open‑source checks point to multiple blasts around 02:00 local time. Verified imagery shows fires or damage near La Carlota air base, the Port of La Guaira, Higuerote Airport and the Fuerte Tiuna military complex. These locations were identified through BBC Verify’s geolocations and satellite heat signatures, with additional visuals of low‑flying aircraft over the capital.
Trump said he had monitored the raid live and that US troops sustained no fatalities. He added that Washington would “run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” though there was no immediate evidence of US control on the ground as state media continued regular broadcasts.
The Associated Press reported that Maduro and Flores were moved to a US warship for transport to New York. The Justice Department, which charged Maduro in 2020 with narco‑terrorism conspiracy and related offences, has now issued a new indictment naming both Maduro and Flores, AP said. Those 2020 SDNY charges alleged coordination with the FARC to ship cocaine to the US and to supply weapons.
Venezuela’s government denounced “military aggression,” declared a national emergency and demanded proof of life for Maduro and Flores. Caracas said strikes hit civilian as well as military areas in the capital and in the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, while pledging to “resist” any foreign troop presence.
International reaction split quickly. UN Secretary‑General António Guterres warned the action sets a “dangerous precedent” and voiced concern that international law and the UN Charter may not have been respected. The EU’s High Representative, Kaja Kallas, reiterated the bloc’s view that Maduro lacks legitimacy but stressed that the principles of international law must apply “under all circumstances”. Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called the strikes “an unacceptable line”.
The administration’s legal characterisation is two‑fold. Internationally, US officials have framed the action as self‑defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter and as a law‑enforcement operation to protect personnel executing an arrest warrant. Domestically, Senator Mike Lee said Secretary of State Marco Rubio told him the operation fell within the President’s Article II powers and that no further action is anticipated. Separately, senators have pressed War Powers measures to restrict further strikes.
Key legal questions now move from policy to courts. Sitting leaders ordinarily enjoy personal immunity from foreign criminal jurisdiction under customary international law, as set out by the International Court of Justice in the Arrest Warrant case. In US practice, however, the Eleventh Circuit held that Manuel Noriega could not claim head‑of‑state immunity where the Executive did not recognise him and pursued prosecution. The Supreme Court’s Alvarez‑Machain ruling further establishes that a defendant’s abduction abroad, even if forcible, does not automatically bar US prosecution absent treaty prohibition. Expect defence counsel to test each of these issues.
Under the War Powers Resolution, the President must submit a report to Congress within 48 hours when US forces are introduced into hostilities or into the territory of a foreign nation while equipped for combat. Absent authorisation, the statute’s 60‑day clock to terminate hostilities is engaged, subject to limited exceptions. Any notification and subsequent legal justification will be scrutinised closely on Capitol Hill.
Immediate operational impacts are mixed. Reuters reports that state oil company PDVSA’s production and refining continued without damage, although the Port of La Guaira suffered severe damage unrelated to oil exports. Airlines and regulators imposed temporary restrictions across parts of Caribbean airspace as a precaution, causing cancellations and diversions.
Inside Venezuela, opposition figures welcomed the news. María Corina Machado called it “the hour of freedom” on social media, and is positioned to be a key voice in any transition after receiving the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for advancing democratic rights. However, any move towards a transitional authority will depend on facts on the ground, security conditions and external recognition.
What changes next will be determined by three tracks: security, law and diplomacy. The UN Security Council is expected to convene; casualty figures and site identifications are still being verified; and US prosecutors will move to arraignment and detention proceedings in New York, where venue stems from the long‑standing SDNY narcotics case. Policy professionals should watch for the War Powers filing, any Article 51 letter to the UN, and clarity on whether Washington seeks sustained on‑the‑ground authority or immediate hand‑off to Venezuelan institutions recognised by international partners.