{"id":221094,"date":"2026-01-07T08:34:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T08:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/221094\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T08:34:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T08:34:12","slug":"how-the-us-captured-venezuelan-leader-nicolas-maduro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/221094\/","title":{"rendered":"How the US captured Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro"},"content":{"rendered":"

After apparent months of planning, the US strike that resulted in the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro unfolded swiftly over the weekend, with American forces converging on Caracas to arrest Maduro and his wife.<\/p>\n

In subsequent days, Maduro<\/a> would be spirited from a US warship to a plane and ultimately a downtown Manhattan courthouse, where he would enter a not guilty plea on narco-terrorism charges.<\/p>\n

US President Donald Trump<\/a> and US military leaders gave details of the operation, and Venezuelan officials spoke out against it. Global leaders considered the situation in venues including the United Nations, and Venezuelans living in the US celebrated the news of Maduro\u2019s capture.<\/p>\n

US intervention welcomed by\u00a0many\u00a0but fears\u00a0remain over what will happen next.\u00a0 (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

This is how the operation unfolded:<\/p>\n

January 2, 2026<\/p>\n

10.46pm EST: Trump gives go-ahead for US strikes in Venezuela.<\/p>\n

January 3, 2026<\/p>\n

1.01am EST: US forces arrive at Maduro compound in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.<\/p>\n

3.29am EST: US forces are \u201cover the water\u201d \u2013 meaning beyond the coastline \u2013 on their way from Venezuela back to American ships stationed in the Caribbean Sea.<\/p>\n

4.21am EST: Trump announces on Truth Social that the US has carried out a “large scale strike” against Venezuela and captured Maduro. The US president says he will hold a news conference at 11am EST.<\/p>\n

Venezuela\u2019s Vice President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez said, “We do not know the whereabouts of President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores”.<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cWe demand proof of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife would face criminal charges after an indictment in New York, vowing in a social media post that the couple would \u201csoon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.\u201d <\/p>\n

In South Florida, Venezuelans celebrated the news of Maduro\u2019s capture at a rally held outside a South American eatery.<\/p>\n

\"Maribel<\/p>\n

Maribel Gonzalez celebrates outside Versailles Cuban Cuisine after President Donald Trump announced President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro had been captured and flown out of Venezuela, in Miami, Saturday, January 3, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Trump told Fox News that the couple were aboard the US warship Iwo Jima and headed to New York, where they would face prosecution. <\/p>\n

The Justice Department released a new indictment accusing Maduro and his wife for their alleged roles in a narco-terrorism conspiracy. <\/p>\n

Trump posted a photo on social media showing Maduro wearing a sweatsuit and a blindfold with the caption \u201cNicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima.\u201d<\/p>\n

Accompanying Trump at a press conference \u2013 which got underway nearly 40 minutes after its scheduled 11am EST start time \u2013 were Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Stephen Miller, a top White House aide overseeing homeland security matters.<\/p>\n

Trump said the US was “going to run” Venezuela until a “judicious” transition of power. At that moment, there were no visible signs the US was controlling the country.<\/p>\n

In a televised address to the nation lasting less than 15 minutes, Rodr\u00edguez left open the door for dialogue with the US while also seeking to calm ruling party supporters.<\/p>\n

“Here, we have a government with clarity, and I repeat and repeat again \u2026 we are willing to have respectful relations,” she said, referring to the Trump administration. “It is the only thing we will accept for a type of relationship after having attacked [Venezuela].\u201d<\/p>\n

Venezuela\u2019s high court ordered Rodriguez to assume the role of interim president, and the leader was backed by Venezuela\u2019s military. A plane carrying Maduro arrived in New York following his capture by the US, an AP source said.<\/p>\n

January 4, 2026<\/p>\n

In a statement read on Cuban state TV, the Cuban government announced that the American military strikes in Venezuela had killed 32 Cuban military and police officers<\/a> who had been on a mission at the request of Venezuela\u2019s government.<\/p>\n

In comments aboard Air Force One flying from Florida to Washington, Trump said Venezuela was sick and needed US support, adding: \u201cColombia\u2019s very sick, too. Run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And he\u2019s not going to be doing it very long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if that might mean a US operation that could target Colombia President Gustavo Petro, Trump responded, “sounds good to me”.<\/p>\n

Saying he had repeatedly offered US troops to Mexico, which he said \u201chas to get their act together\u201d on drug trafficking, Trump said President Claudia Sheinbaum is \u201cconcerned, she\u2019s a little afraid\u201d.<\/p>\n

Questioned about US military force in Cuba, however, Trump said: \u201cI think it\u2019s just going to fall. … I don\u2019t think we need any action.\u201d<\/p>\n

January 5, 2026<\/p>\n

\"This<\/p>\n

This image taken from video shows Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro being escorted to board a helicopter for transport to Manhattan Federal Court, Monday, January 5, 2026, in New York. (Source: WABC via AP)<\/p>\n

Maduro arrives at the federal courthouse in New York City. The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting, where both allies and adversaries of the United States voiced opposition to the US raid.<\/p>\n

Maduro’s son appeared in Venezuela\u2019s National Assembly, where the country\u2019s lawmakers elected in parliamentary elections last May were set to be sworn in. <\/p>\n

Maduro Guerra, also known as “Nicol\u00e1sito”, demanded that his parents be returned by American authorities and called on international support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After apparent months of planning, the US strike that resulted in the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221095,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[28708,65,42,43,64,40,38,41,39,66],"class_list":["post-221094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-central-south-america","tag-donald-trump","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-north-america","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-us-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}