Staff Reports
CARACAS, Venezuela — The U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and flew him out of the country in a military operation early Jan. 3.
This action is the culmination of months of escalating Trump administration pressure on the oil-rich South American nation.
Maduro and his wife, taken overnight from their home on a military base, were aboard a U.S. warship on their way to New York, where they were to face criminal charges.
In a Jan. 3 press conference, President Donald Trump said the U.S. planned to run Venezuela until a transition of power can take place, and he claimed the American presence was already in place.
“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said. He also said that “no nation in the world could achieve what America achieved.”
Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges, but the U.S. Justice Department released a new indictment of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Jan. 2, accusing them of a role in narco-terrorism conspiracy.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed in a social media post that the couple would “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.” Trump said the couple were aboard the U.S. warship Iwo Jima and headed to New York.
Trump also posted a photo of Maduro blindfolded and in a sweatsuit aboard the ship on his Truth Social account.
Early Jan. 3, multiple explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through the Venezuelan capital. Maduro’s government accused the U.S. of attacking civilian and military installations, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets.
The attack lasted less than 30 minutes and the explosions — at least seven blasts — sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they’d seen and heard. Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said some Venezuelan citizens and members of the military were killed, although he didn’t provide a number. Trump said some U.S. forces were injured in Venezuela but he believed none were killed.
Under Venezuelan law, Rodríguez would take over from Maduro. There was no confirmation that had happened, though she did issue a statement after the strike, demanding proof of life for Maduro and his wife.
The strike followed a months-long Trump administration pressure campaign on the Venezuelan leader, including a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America and attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean accused of carrying drugs. During the last week of 2025, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels — the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes in September.
As of Jan. 2, the number of known boat strikes was 35, and the number of people killed at least 115, according to the Trump administration. Trump said that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels and has justified the boat strikes as necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S.
Maduro has decried the U.S. military operations as a thinly veiled effort to oust him from power.
New Mexico lawmakers have commented on Maduro’s capture.
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said Trump broke the law when he captured Maduro.
“Let’s be clear, President Trump has acted without any legal authorization from Congress,” he said. “His ‘capture’ of Maduro — no matter how terrible a leader Maduro is — breaks our nation’s laws, tarnishes our global leadership, puts Americans in Venezuela and our Armed Forces at risk, and sets an extremely dangerous precedent. Americans want lower costs, transparency, and justice — not endless armed conflicts and regime change wars. President Trump’s actions do not have the consent of the American people and should be condemned by Congress.”
U.S. Rep Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., echoed Heinrich’s sentiments, saying that New Mexicans don’t want to get involved with another overseas conflict.
“New Mexicans don’t want America to get involved in another drawn-out, expensive conflict overseas,” he said. “There has been no transparency, and no assurance that taxpayer dollars and military resources used in this hostile action will make Americans safer. What New Mexicans want are real economic solutions that improve their daily lives.”
