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The United States launched a “major strike” early Saturday, capturing the country’s president, and flying him out of the country after months of pressure from Washington.
The President announced the details at a press conference on Saturday morning.
“Under my direction, the United States Armed Forces conducted an extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela,” he said.
“Air, land and sea were used in a spectacular attack.”
Trump said the U.S. military “successfully captured Maduro at night,” adding, “We will govern the country until such time as we can make a safe, proper and prudent transition.”
Under Venezuela’s constitution, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez used to take power.
There is no evidence of what happened, although he issued a statement after the strike.
“We don’t know where President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores are,” said Rodríguez. “We want proof of life.”
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Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah wrote in X that he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who told him that Maduro was “arrested by American agents to face criminal charges in the United States.”
The Venezuelan government condemned what it called an “imperialist attack” and urged citizens to take to the streets.
There were many explosions and low-flying planes flooded Caracas, the capital, on Jan. 3.
Maduro’s government immediately accused the United States of attacking civilian and military facilities.
Rubio said Maduro “is not the president of Venezuela and his regime is not a legitimate government.”
Gen. Dan Caine described “Operation Absolute Resolve,” as, “smart, precise and conducted during the darkest hours.”
He added that these strikes “are the culmination of months of planning and training, a task that only the American military can do.”
Trump added that not a single American service member was killed and no American equipment was lost.
Trump described Maduro as the head of a criminal group responsible for drug trafficking in the United States.
“Each boat kills, on average, 25,000 people,” he said.
The strikes come after months of pressure from the Trump administration, including raids on suspected drug boats and a recent CIA strike on a suspected cartel docking area.
The death toll in Venezuela was not immediately clear.
Videos from Caracas showed damaged buildings and military structures, and multiple explosions were reported throughout the capital and nearby regions.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre congratulated Trump on X, calling Maduro a “narco-terrorist and socialist dictator” and calling for a transition to opposition leadership.
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand also took to X a statement saying that Canada continues to refuse to recognize the legitimacy of Maduro’s regime and is “monitoring developments closely.”
“Canada calls on all parties to respect international law and we stand against the people of Venezuela,” Anand said in a statement.
The Canadian government has updated its travel advisories, urging citizens to avoid all travel to Venezuela, warning that the situation is “intense and could escalate rapidly.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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