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United States President Donald Trump announced connected Saturday greeting that his country’s forces had bombed Venezuela and captured the South American nation’s president, Nicolas Maduro, and First Lady Cilia Flores successful a melodramatic overnight subject onslaught that followed months of rising tensions.
Venezuela’s authorities said that the US had struck 3 states isolated from the capital, Caracas, portion neighbouring Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro released a longer database of places that helium said had been hit.
The cognition has few, if any, parallels successful modern history. The US has previously captured overseas leaders, including Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and Panama’s Manuel Noriega, but aft invading those countries successful declared wars.
Here is what we cognize astir the US attacks and the lead-up to this escalation:
Pedestrians tally aft explosions and low-flying craft were heard successful Caracas, Venezuela, connected Saturday, January 3, 2026 [Matias Delacroix/ AP Photo]How did the onslaught unfold?
At slightest 7 explosions were reported from Caracas, a metropolis of much than 3 cardinal people, astatine astir 2am section clip (06:00 GMT), arsenic residents said they heard low-flying aircraft. Lucia Newman, Al Jazeera’s Latin America editor, reported that astatine slightest 1 of the explosions appeared to travel from adjacent Fort Tiuna, the main subject basal successful the Venezuelan capital.
Earlier, the US Federal Aviation Administration had issued instructions to American commercialized airlines to enactment wide of Venezuelan airspace.
Within minutes of the explosions, Maduro declared a authorities of emergency, arsenic his authorities named the US arsenic liable for the attacks, saying that it had struck Caracas arsenic good arsenic the neighbouring states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira.
The US embassy successful Bogota, Colombia, referred to the reports of the explosions and asked American citizens to enactment retired of Venezuela, successful a statement. But the diplomatic ngo did not corroborate US engagement successful the attacks. That came much than 3 hours aft the bombings, from Trump.
Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro clasp successful downtown Caracas, Venezuela, connected Saturday, January 3, 2026, aft US President Donald Trump announced that Maduro had been captured and flown retired of the state [Cristian Hernandez/ AP Photo]What did Trump say?
In a station connected his Truth Social platform, Trump said, a small aft 09:00 GMT that the US had “successfully carried retired a ample standard onslaught against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, on with his wife, captured and flown retired of the Country”.
Venezuela has not yet confirmed that Maduro was taken by US troops — but it besides has not denied the claim.
Trump said that the onslaught had been carried retired successful conjunction with US instrumentality enforcement, but did not specify who led the operation.
Trump announced that determination would beryllium a quality league astatine his Mar-a-Lago edifice successful Florida astatine 11am section clip (16:00 GMT) connected Friday, wherever much details would beryllium revealed.
Where did the US onslaught successful Venezuela?
While neither the US nor Venezuelan authorities person pinpointed locations that were struck, Colombia’s Petro, successful a societal media post, listed a bid of places successful Venezuela that helium said had been hit.
They include:
- La Carlota airbase was disabled and bombed.
- Cuartel de la Montana successful Catia was disabled and bombed.
- The Federal Legislative Palace successful Caracas was bombed.
- Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s main subject complex, was bombed.
- An airdrome successful El Hatillo was attacked.
- F-16 Base No 3 successful Barquisimeto was bombed.
- A backstage airdrome successful Charallave, adjacent Caracas, was bombed and disabled.
- Miraflores, the statesmanlike palace successful Caracas, was attacked.
- Large parts of Caracas, including Santa Monica, Fuerte Tiuna, Los Teques, 23 de Enero and the confederate areas of the capital, were near without electricity.
- Attacks were reported successful cardinal Caracas.
- A subject chopper basal successful Higuerote was disabled and bombed.
The US Navy’s Gerald R Ford Carrier Strike Group, including the flagship USS Gerald R Ford, USS Winston S Churchill, USS Mahan and USS Bainbridge, sail towards the Caribbean Sea, successful the Atlantic Ocean, connected November 13, 2025 [US Navy/Petty Officer 3rd Class Tajh Payne/Handout via Reuters]What led to these US attacks connected Venezuela?
Trump has, successful caller months, accused Maduro of driving narcotics smuggling into the US, and has claimed that the Venezuelan president is down the Tren de Aragua pack that Washington has proscribed arsenic a overseas violent organisation.
But his ain quality agencies person said that determination is nary grounds that Maduro is linked to Tren de Aragua, and US information shows that Venezuela is not a large root of contraband narcotics entering the country.
Starting successful September, the US subject launched a bid of strikes connected boats successful the Caribbean Sea that it claimed were carrying narcotics. More than 100 radical person been killed successful astatine slightest 30 specified vessel bombings, but the Trump medication is yet to contiguous immoderate nationalist grounds that determination were drugs connected board, that the vessels were travelling to the US, oregon that the radical connected the boats belonged to banned organisations, arsenic the US has claimed.
Meanwhile, the US began its largest subject deployment successful the Caribbean Sea successful astatine slightest respective decades, spearheaded by the USS Gerald Ford, the world’s largest craft carrier.
In December, the US hijacked 2 ships carrying Venezuelan oil, and has since imposed sanctions connected aggregate companies and their tankers, accusing them of trying to circumvent already stringent American sanctions against Venezuela’s lipid industry.
Then, past week, the US struck what Trump described arsenic a “dock” successful Venezuela wherever helium claimed drugs were loaded onto boats.
Could each this beryllium astir oil?
Trump has truthful acold framed his unit and subject enactment against Venezuela and successful the Caribbean Sea arsenic driven by a tendency to halt the travel of unsafe drugs into the US.
But helium has progressively besides sought Maduro’s departure from power, contempt a telephone telephone successful aboriginal December that the Venezuelan president described arsenic “cordial”.
And successful caller weeks, immoderate elder aides of the US president person been much unfastened astir Venezuela’s oil: the country’s immense reserves of crude, unmatched successful the world, amounted to an estimated 303 cardinal barrels (Bbbl) arsenic of 2023.
On December 17, Trump’s apical advisor Stephen Miller claimed that the US had “created the lipid manufacture successful Venezuela” and that the South American country’s lipid should truthful beryllium to the US.
But though US companies were the earliest to drill for lipid successful Venezuela successful the aboriginal 1900s, planetary instrumentality is clear: sovereign states — successful this lawsuit Venezuela — ain the earthy resources wrong their territories nether the rule of Permanent Sovereignty implicit Natural Resources (PSNR).
Venezuela nationalised its lipid manufacture successful 1976. Since 1999, erstwhile socialist President Hugo Chavez, Maduro’s mentor and predecessor, came to power, Venezuela has been locked successful a tense narration with the US.
Still, one large US lipid company, Chevron, continues to run successful the country.
The Venezuelan opposition, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, has publically called for the US to intervene against Maduro, and has pointed to the lipid reserves that American firms could pat much easy with a caller dispensation successful powerfulness successful Caracas.
Oil has agelong been Venezuela’s biggest export, but US sanctions since 2008 person crippled ceremonial income and the state contiguous earns lone a fraction of what it erstwhile did.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez speaks to the media astatine the Foreign Office successful Caracas, Venezuela, connected August 11, 2025 [Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo]How has Venezuela’s authorities reacted?
While Venezuela has not confirmed Maduro’s capture, Vice President Delcy Rodrigues told state-owned VTV that the authorities had mislaid interaction with Maduro and First Lady Flores and did not person clarity connected their whereabouts.
She demanded that the US supply “proof of life” of Maduro and Flores, and added that Venezuela’s defences were activated.
Earlier, successful a statement, the Venezuelan authorities said that it “rejects, repudiates and denounces” the attacks.
It said that the aggression threatens the stableness of Latin America and the Caribbean, and places the lives of millions of radical astatine risk. It accused the US of trying to enforce a assemblage war, and unit a authorities alteration — and said that these attempts would fail.
This operation of pictures created connected August 7, 2025 shows US President Donald Trump successful Washington, DC, connected July 9, 2025, and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, right, successful Caracas connected July 31, 2024 [Jim Watson and Federico Parra/AFP]What happens to Maduro next?
In a connection posted connected X, Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Maduro and his woman person been indicted successful the Southern District of New York.
Maduro has been charged with “Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy” among different charges, Bondi said. It was unclear if his woman is facing the aforesaid charges, but she referred to the Maduro mates arsenic “alleged planetary narco traffickers.”
“They volition soon look the afloat wrath of American justness connected American ungraded successful American courts,” she added.
Mike Lee, a Republican legislator from Utah, earlier posted connected X that helium had spoken to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had told him that Maduro had been “arrested by US unit to basal proceedings connected transgression charges successful the United States, and that the kinetic enactment we saw contiguous was deployed to support and support those executing the apprehension warrant.”
In 2020, US prosecutors had charged Maduro with moving a cocaine-trafficking network.
But US officials stay soundless connected the illegality of Maduro’s seizure and the attacks connected Venezuela, which interruption UN charter principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations.
Russia and Cuba, adjacent Maduro allies, condemned the attack. Colombia, which neighbours Venezuela and has itself been successful Trump’s crosshairs, said that it “rejects the aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and of Latin America” – adjacent though Bogota itself does not recognise Maduro’s government.
Most different nations person been comparatively muted successful their effect to the US aggression truthful far.
Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, left, Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, 2nd from left, and Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, centre, seen present astatine a ceremonial commemorating the 80th day of the Soviet Union’s triumph implicit Nazi Germany successful World War II successful Caracas, Venezuela, connected Tuesday, May 13, 2025. Rodriguez, Cabello and Lopez are among the leaders wide seen arsenic Maduro’s closest aides [Cristian Hernandez/AP Photo]What’s adjacent for Venezuela?
Constitutionally, Rodriguez, the vice president, is adjacent successful enactment to instrumentality complaint if Maduro so has been plucked retired of Venezuela by the US.
Other elder leaders seen arsenic adjacent to Maduro and influential wrong the Venezuelan hierarchy see Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, National Assembly President — and Delcy’s member — Jorge Rodriguez, and subject main General Vladimir Padrino López.
But it is unclear whether the authorities apparatus that Chavez and Maduro cautiously built implicit a 4th period volition past without them.
“Maduro’s seizure is simply a devastating motivation stroke for the governmental question started by Hugo Chavez successful 1999, which has devolved into a dictatorship since Nicolas Maduro took power,” Carlos Pina, a Venezuelan expert based successful Mexico, told Al Jazeera.
If the US does technologist — oregon has already engineered — a authorities change, the opposition’s Machado could beryllium a front-line campaigner to instrumentality Venezuela’s apical job, though it is unclear however fashionable that mightiness be. In a November canvass successful Venezuela, 55 percent of participants were opposed to subject involution successful their country, and an adjacent fig were opposed to economical sanctions against Venezuela.
Trump mightiness beryllium mistaken if helium thinks the US tin enactment retired of the chaos that’s apt to travel successful a post-Maduro Venezuela, suggests Christopher Sabatini, a elder probe chap for Latin America, the US and North America programme astatine Chatham House.
“Assuming adjacent if determination is authorities alteration – of immoderate sort, and it’s by nary means wide adjacent if it does hap that it volition beryllium antiauthoritarian – the US’s subject enactment volition apt necessitate sustained US engagement of immoderate sort,” helium said.
“Will the Trump White House person the tummy for that?”
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