US Attacks Venezuela, Captures President Maduro

US Attacks Venezuela, Captures President Maduro

Donald Trump claims that the United States has apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, as well as begun “large-scale” strikes against Venezuela.

He claims Maduro has been airlifted out of the nation, but specifics remain scarce.

Venezuela’s government is demanding “immediate proof of life” for Maduro and his wife.

Venezuela had previously declared a state of national emergency and stated that it rejects and condemns “military aggression”.

As fires burn, footage shows massive clouds of smoke.

Explosions have been heard, and smoke is seen rising above Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.

President Donald Trump has claimed that the US carried out a 'large-scale strike' against Venezuela and captured its leader, President Nicolas Maduro. The abduction of a foreign leader by another state is a serious violation of international law. pic.twitter.com/oSz3sqBCuL
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) January 3, 2026

There were multiple near-simultaneous reports of explosions in several Caracas locations, including military bases.

Eyewitnesses cited La Carlota, a military airstrip in the city center, and Fuerte Tiuna, the main military installation, as being affected, with footage circulating of apparent explosions at both locations.

“My heart was pumping and my legs were shaking,” an eyewitness in Caracas tells the BBC as explosions rocked the city.

Many of the surrounding areas are without electricity. There have been unsubstantiated reports of jets flying over the city.

The developments come at a time when tensions between the United States and Venezuela are high, as Washington continues to launch military strikes on speedboats in the Caribbean suspected of transporting drugs.

The United States claims Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was illegitimately elected and is personally involved in narcotics smuggling across the country.

"The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement.… pic.twitter.com/sFa5OC4ZrZ
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 3, 2026

The Venezuelan Government say recent actions by Washington – which include the confiscation of sanctioned oil tankers – are part of an effort to force the removal of President Maduro from power and control Venezuela’s oil reserves.

Maduro said he was open to US talks on drug trafficking in interview this week.

On Thursday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said he was open to talks with the US on drug trafficking and oil “wherever and whenever they want”.

In the interview with Venezuelan state TV, Maduro also avoided responding to a statement by US President Donald Trump that the US had hit a docking facility in Venezuela – marking the first such attack inside the country reportedly carried out by the CIA.

A few days before Maduro’s interview, Trump said the US carried out a strike on a “dock area” linked to alleged Venezuelan drug boats, adding there had been a “major explosion” where “they load the boats up with drugs”.

It follows weeks of Trump’s ramped-up pressure on Maduro, whom he accuses of “emptying his prisons and insane asylums” and “forcing” his inmates to migrate to the US, along with using oil money to fund drug-related crime.

Since September, the US has launched 30 strikes on what it says are drug-smuggling boats, targeting vessels in the Pacific and the Caribbean.

More than 110 people have been killed since the US carried out its first attack on a boat in international waters on 2 September.

Maduro’s Potential Consequences

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez says the government doesn’t know the whereabouts of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

"We demand immediate proof of life from the government of President Donald Trump,” Rodríguez said in an call to state-run VTV pic.twitter.com/9x7xclErl1
— Larry Madowo (@LarryMadowo) January 3, 2026

We know so far that there’s been a special communique – or statement – from the Venezuelan government, which repudiates actions which it blames immediately on the US government.

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It also calls the government’s social supporters to action across the length and breadth of the country – that’s militias and grassroots organisations.

To an extent, Maduro is doing what one would expect – appealing to his socialist base.

There’s very little he can actually do at this point, because we’re waiting for more details to emerge.

But it does appear that this is a significant ramping up of a situation that has been building for months.

US Attacks Venezuela, Captures President Maduro