The US Has Bombed Venezuela and Says It Has Captured the President and His Wife Over “Drug Trafficking”
Trump wrote on Truth Social the US had “successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader.”
US President Donald Trump has said US forces have captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro after it bombed the country’s capital, Caracas.
The strikes took place around 2 a.m. local time on Saturday, Jan. 3, when explosions were heard across the city, and videos posted online showed low-flying aircraft and plumes of smoke and fires across several areas.
Hours later, Trump wrote on Truth Social the US had “successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader,” adding that Maduro and his wife had been captured and flown out of the country.
Trump said Maduro and his wife will face trial in New York on several criminal charges including narco-terrorism, cocaine importation and possession of weapons.
Tension between the US and Venezuela rose in 2025 after Maduro was elected for a third term despite allegations of fraud from the opposition, who claimed its candidate Edmundo González had obtained the victory with 70% of votes.
Maduro has been in power since 2013, when he succeeded former president Hugo Chávez, the leader of the left-wing Chavista party, who was elected in 1999 and ruled until his death.
After Maduro’s win, relations between the US and Venezuela have also deteriorated with the Trump administration repeatedly accusing Maduro of driving narcotics smuggling in the US.
Trump has designated two Venezuelan drug gangs, Tren de Aragua and Cartel de los Soles, as Foreign Terrorist Organisations, and claimed that Maduro was a “global terrorist leader” of Cartel los Soles.
In October, Trump confirmed he had authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to carry out secret operations in Venezuela.
The US has since been carrying out an “anti-drug” campaign, launching strikes against alleged “drug boats” outside of Venezuela’s coast.
During a press conference on Jan. 3, Trump claimed the US would run the country until it could determine “safe, proper and judicial transition.”
Trump also suggested some of the biggest American oil companies would enter Venezuela to rebuild its oil industry, which he said was “a total bust” for years.
The Venezuelan government has issued a state of emergency.
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Sofia Hou
Sofia Hou
Sofia Hou
