Trump Announces Venezuelan Leader Nicolas Maduro | Political News
President Trump announced early Saturday that the United States had efficiently captured Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and his spouse, Cilia Flores, following what he called a “large-scale strike.”
The news comes following quite a few experiences in a single day of a number of explosions rocking Caracas and the encircling areas. It also comes within 48 hours of Maduro saying he was “ready” to make a drug-trafficking deal with the President in the hopes that the United States would end its army strain marketing campaign.
The sensible option would seem to have been to strive to make a deal long before kicking off 2026.
“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolás Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country,” Trump said on his Truth Social media platform. “This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement.”
Trump also announced there will probably be a press convention from Mar-a-Lago later today to present more particulars on the operation.
STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP pic.twitter.com/nHDqtsqRFh
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) January 3, 2026
READ MOE: Maduro Says He’s Ready to Play ‘Let’s Make a Deal’
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Reports in a single day point out that a number of explosions rocked Caracas, with the Washington Post indicating the strikes included army installations such as Fuerte Tiuna and Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base.
The Post also alleges that eyewitnesses noticed blasts close to the port of La Guaira, Venezuela’s main port. There has been no official affirmation yet from the White House relating to the exact location of the strikes or why they had been carried out.
Numerous videos have surfaced online purporting to show plumes of smoke, flashes, and sounds of blasts, though their authenticity can’t be independently confirmed at this time.
Footage shared by GWN reveals explosions and smoke at the air base.
Video footage captured explosions and smoke rising from Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base in Caracas as US strikes rocked Venezuela’s capital https://t.co/w6dGatSfQY pic.twitter.com/7hQm9N24NP
— GWN (@GWN) January 3, 2026
CBS News, citing U.S. officers, experiences that the daring seize of Maduro was executed by none other than the elite warriors of the U.S. Army’s 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta—better identified as Delta Force.
Delta Force is America’s premier counterterrorism and high-value goal unit.
JUST IN: 🇻🇪 Close up footage of explosions in Caracas, Venezuela.#Venezuela #VenezuelaLibre #Trump pic.twitter.com/bcvryiqaWA
— Kalesh membership (@Kaleshpoint) January 3, 2026
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) claimed to have spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the operation in Venezuela, with the latter reportedly saying Maduro will face “criminal charges” on American soil.
Lee also indicated that his takeaway is that this was less a army strike and more an effort to help help law enforcement as they arrested Maduro, one thing Trump hinted at in his assertion.
“Just got off the phone with [Secretary Rubio],” Lee wrote on X. “He informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant.”
Just acquired off the cellphone with @SecRubio
He informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on felony costs in the United States, and that the kinetic motion we noticed tonight was deployed to shield and defend those executing the arrest warrant… https://t.co/lXCxhPoKSZ
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) January 3, 2026
Lee, in a follow-up post, advised that Rubio indicated the seize of Maduro and his spouse marks an end to additional motion in Venezuela.
Rubio has yet to issue an official assertion as of the time of this posting. However, he did share a social media post from July in which he declared Maduro was “NOT the President of Venezuela.”
“Maduro is the head of the Cartel de Los Soles, a narco-terror organization which has taken possession of a country,” he had written, “and he is under indictment for pushing drugs into the United States.”
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) January 3, 2026
President Trump in October revealed to reporters that Maduro had “supplied the whole lot” to persuade the United States to back off amid escalating American strikes on suspected drug trafficking boats.
Trump supplied an expletive-laced and frank evaluation of the dictator’s makes an attempt to get the United States to take its foot off the fuel in disrupting narco-terrorists’ operations.
“He has offered everything. He’s offered everything. You’re right. You know why?” Trump replied. “Because he doesn’t want to f*** around with the United States.”
WOAH — President Trump dropped a BOMB.
REPORTER: “Pres. Maduro offered mediation…to you.”
POTUS: “He has offered everything. He has offered everything. You know why? Because he doesn’t want to f*ck around with the United States.”
BOOM. 💥🚨 pic.twitter.com/JlxOgYQhLZ
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 17, 2025
The President at the time had reportedly authorised covert CIA operations inside Venezuela. Two months earlier, the administration raised the bounty on Maduro to a staggering $50 million.
Attorney General Pam Bondi accused Maduro of utilizing overseas terrorist organizations to “bring deadly violence to our country,” including that he’s “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security.”
The Justice Department, according to Bondi, seized over $700 million in property linked to Maduro, including two personal jets, and 30 tons of cocaine, with practically seven tons straight tied to him.
⚡️⚡️‼️🇺🇸🇻🇪 Video displaying explosions in Venezuela’s capital of Caracas after the US assault
— International Relations (@Intl_Relations0) January 3, 2026
Maduro had criticized Trump for going after him, accusing the CIA of participating in “coups” and suggesting it’s reminiscent of “failed everlasting wars” in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The dramatic in a single day operation might very properly mark the efficient end of one of the Western Hemisphere’s most enduring socialist dictatorships—a regime that has presided over financial collapse, mass exodus, and widespread human rights abuses for over a decade.
As this scenario is quickly developing, PinkState will keep readers up to date as occasions warrant.
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