US launches military attacks against Venezuela, Trump says Maduro was captured and expelled from country

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a social media post Saturday that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife “will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”

Maduro has been charged in US federal court with at least four counts, including narcoterrorism crimes and possession of weapons “against the United States,” Bondi said.

It was not immediately clear whether the country’s top lawyer was referring only to charges contained in an indictment filed against the Venezuelan leader in 2020, or whether new or different charges would be filed in an indictment on Saturday.

Bondi said the Maduros were charged in the Southern District of New York, which is the same jurisdiction that handed down the 2020 indictment against the Venezuelan president. His wife, Cilia Flores, was not previously charged.

Bondi, in his post, added his gratitude on behalf of the Department of Justice to President Trump, “for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American people, and a huge thank you to our brave military who carried out the incredible and highly successful mission of capturing these two alleged international drug traffickers.”

The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said on Saturday that she had spoken with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the EU ambassador in Caracas.

He said the EU was “closely monitoring the situation” and noted that it had “repeatedly stated that Mr. Maduro lacks legitimacy.”

“In all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected,” Kallas wrote on social media. “We ask for restraint. The safety of EU citizens in the country is our top priority.”

Russia and Iran were among the many nations that reacted quickly to the US military attacks against Venezuela and President Trump’s announcement of the capture of the Latin American nation’s leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Iran condemned the attack, calling it a “flagrant violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of” Venezuela, according to the News news agency.

The Russian Foreign Ministry accused the United States of “an act of armed aggression against Venezuela. This is deeply worrying and condemnable” in a statement, according to the Reuters news agency.

“The pretexts used to justify such actions are baseless,” the statement said, adding a call to prevent “further escalation,” dialogue and backing other calls for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

President Trump announced the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro early Saturday, 35 years to the day U.S. forces arrested another indicted Latin American leader, the late Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega.

Noriega, a one-time U.S. ally and CIA informant, led Panama for much of the 1980s but fell out of favor with Washington toward the end of his reign over drug trafficking allegations.

Former President George HW Bush ordered the US military to invade Panama in late 1989, prompting Noriega to hide in the Vatican embassy before surrendering to US authorities on January 3, 1990. He was convicted in the United States on drug trafficking charges and spent 20 years in a US prison before being sent to France to serve a sentence for money laundering, and then to Panama where was imprisoned for murder and other charges.

Noriega died in Panama in 2017.

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said early Saturday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had told him he “does not anticipate further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody.”

In a post on X, Lee said he spoke with Rubio on the phone. He said he was told that Maduro was arrested “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 carrying out the arrest warrant.”

The US government has sought Maduro’s arrest for years. He was indicted by a US court in March 2020, accused along with more than a dozen others of narcoterrorism.

Last summer, the Trump administration doubled the reward for information leading to the capture of Maduro up to 50 million dollars.

Federal prosecutors alleged in 2020 that Maduro and other top Venezuelan government officials collaborated with the Colombian guerrilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, to traffic cocaine and weapons to the United States.

At the time, the Justice Department also accused Maduro of leading a criminal network called the Cartel de Los Soles, which the Trump administration designated as a foreign terrorist organization last year.

Some experts have He questioned the characterization of the administration of the Los Soles Cartel, arguing that the term refers to a loosely defined group of corrupt government officials with ties to drug trafficking, not a centrally organized group.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez spoke on the country’s state television and demanded proof of life and the location of the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, on Saturday morning.

His comments, in a telephone interview with the television network, came shortly after President Trump said that Maduro had been captured and flown out of Venezuela.

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López announced a deployment of military forces throughout the country in a video posted on social media early Saturday morning, after the US military carried out attacks in the country.

The Minister of Defense called for a united front of resistance in the face of “the worst aggression” ever experienced against Venezuela. He said all armed forces would be deployed following “Maduro’s orders,” but made no mention of Maduro’s alleged capture.

“They have attacked us but they will not subdue us,” he said.

He called for calm and unity, and warned against anarchy and disorder, warning: “let us not succumb to the panic that the enemy seeks to instill.”

The defense minister also said that the government had declared a “state of external shock”, that is, a state of emergency.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured early Saturday by members of the Delta Force, the US military’s main special mission unit, US officials told News themezone.

The elite Army Delta Force was also responsible for the mission 2019 who killed former Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

President Trump said in a Truth Social post early Saturday morning that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were “captured and flown out of the country,” as he confirmed U.S. military strikes in Venezuela.

“The United States of America has successfully carried out a full-scale attack against Venezuela and its leader,” Trump wrote. He said U.S. law enforcement was involved, but did not specify how or which agencies.

Ripe was accused in a US court for alleged narcoterrorism in 2020.

Trump said more details will be offered at a news conference at 11 a.m. ET at Mar-a-Lago.

The State Department warned U.S. citizens in Venezuela to shelter in place early Saturday.

In a notice posted on its website, the department said the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, was “aware of reports of explosions in and around Caracas, Venezuela.”

The United States has warned its citizens not to travel to Venezuela for months, citing the risk of “unjust detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary application of local laws, crime, civil unrest, and poor health infrastructure.”

Shortly after the United States launched attacks in Venezuela, Democratic Senator Rubén Gallego of Arizona wrote in X: “This war is illegal.”

The senator, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, called it “the second unjustified war in my lifetime.”

Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah also expressed skepticism, saying in a post on

In recent months, congressional Democrats and some Republicans have rejected the Trump administration’s military buildup in the region, forcing votes in the House and Senate on measures that would have prevented the United States from attacking Venezuela without congressional approval.

These measures have been voted against.

The Venezuelan government called on its supporters to take to the streets following the US military attacks early Saturday.

“People to the street!” the statement said. “The Bolivarian Government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack.”

The statement said President Nicolás Maduro had “ordered that all national defense plans be implemented” and declared a “state of external disturbance.” This state of emergency gives him the power to suspend the rights of the people and expand the role of the armed forces.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado told News themezone in mid-December that she “absolutely” supported President Trump’s strategy in the country.

“We, the Venezuelan people or, we are very grateful to him and his administration, because I think he is a defender of freedom in this hemisphere,” Machado said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

At that time, the president’s strategy was limited to attacks on suspected drug trafficking ships, the seizure of an oil tanker, and economic and diplomatic measures. pressure, but not ground strikes.

When asked if he would welcome US military action in Venezuela, Machado he didn’t rule it out“I will welcome more and more pressure to make Maduro understand that he has to go.”

Machado, a former lawmaker who was disqualified from running in Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, received the Nobel Peace Prize this year and collected it in Norway after a Risky departure by water from Venezuela. He dedicated the award to Mr. Trump.

Read more here.

David Smolansky, spokesman for Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, told News themezone that the following locations were among those affected:

• Fuerte Tiuna — the main military base in Caracas
• La Carlota: the main air base of Caracas
• El Volcán — signal antenna
• Puerto de La Guaira: a seaport on the Caribbean coast

As the United States carries out strikes in Venezuela, the Federal Aviation Administration banned U.S. commercial air carriers from operating at all altitudes over Venezuela, citing “flight safety risks associated with ongoing military activity.”

The advisory was issued at 2 a.m. local time in Caracas (1 a.m. Eastern time) on Saturday and was due to end at 1 a.m. Caracas time on Sunday.

The order does not apply to military or foreign aircraft.

Before the US attacks began, Maduro said in an interview on Venezuelan state television earlier this week that he was willing to talk to the United States about drug trafficking, oil and immigration issues.

The Venezuelan president said he was ready for talks “wherever and whenever they want” and suggested he was open to an agreement to combat drug trafficking or US investment in Venezuela’s oil sector.

Maduro has alleged for weeks that the United States seeks his overthrow.

“What are they looking for? It is clear that they seek to impose themselves through threats, intimidation and force,” he said this week.

Maduro, 63, has maintained his grip on power in Venezuela since 2013, when he became president after the death of leader Hugo Chávez.

Maduro has survived several serious threats to his control of the presidency, most recently in 2024, when he ran for a third term. The Venezuelan government declared Maduro emerged victorious, a result that was denounced by opposition leaders and international observers, who accused the regime of stealing votes.

USA acquaintance the opposition candidate, Edmundo González, as the winner, and imposed sanctions against electoral officials for alleged manipulation of the result.

Despite global outcry, Maduro was jury for his third term in January.

President Trump repeatedly warned In recent months, his government could attack accused drug traffickers traversing Latin America by land “very soon,” marking an escalation in the US military campaign of lethal attacks in alleged drug boats.

“We’re going to start doing those strikes on land as well,” Trump told reporters during a Dec. 2 Cabinet meeting when asked about the administration’s strikes at sea. “You know, the land is a lot easier… And we know the routes they take. We know everything about them. We know where they live. We know where the bad guys live. And we’re going to start on that very soon too.”

He said at the time that any country where illicit drugs are produced or trafficked could be targeted, not just Venezuela.

Read more here.

In a statement early Saturday morning, the Venezuelan government said it “repudiates and denounces to the international community the very serious military aggression” by the US government.

Venezuela said the attacks targeted civilian and military sites in the city of Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira.

The government vowed to defend itself against the apparent attacks and accused the United States of seeking regime change.

“The entire country must be active to defeat this imperialist aggression,” the government statement said, adding a call for an immediate meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

US officials confirmed to News themezone that President Trump had ordered attacks in Venezuela shortly after reports of explosions and low flying planes in the country’s capital, Caracas, in the early hours of Saturday morning. Initially, US officials had only said they were aware of the reports.

President Gustavo Petro of neighboring Colombia said in a social media post that someone was “bombing Caracas right now,” without saying who.

“Alert the entire world, they have attacked Venezuela by bombing with missiles,” he said, calling for a United Nations meeting.

Smoke could be seen billowing from the hangar of a military base in Caracas, and another military facility in the capital lost power, The News reported.

President Trump gave the green light to the US military to conduct ground attacks in Venezuela days before the actual operation occurred, according to two US officials who spoke to News themezone on condition of anonymity to discuss national security matters.

Military officials discussed carrying out the mission on Christmas Day, but U.S. airstrikes in Nigeria against ISIS targets took priority, the sources said.

The days after Christmas opened more attack opportunities for American military officers, but the operation was suspended due to weather conditions. Officials said the US military wanted weather conditions that were advantageous to the success of the mission.

President Trump ordered strikes on sites inside Venezuela early Saturday morning, including military facilities, U.S. officials told News themezone.

The Pentagon referred all requests for comment to the White House.

President Trump has not committed to determining whether the goal of his military buildup is to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He he told reporters on December 22 It would be “intelligent” for Maduro to leave power, but “it depends on him what he wants to do.”

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles has been more direct about the president’s intentions, telling Vanity Fair in November: “He wants to keep blowing up ships until Maduro cries uncle.”

Trump said in mid-December that Venezuela was “completely surrounded by the largest Navy ever assembled in the History of South America.”

“It will only get bigger, and the impact on them will be like nothing they have ever seen before, until such time as they return to the United States of America all the oil, land and other assets they previously stole from us,” he posted on Truth Social on December 16.

Since early September, the US military has carried out more than 30 attacks against Alleged vessels dedicated to drug trafficking. in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing more than 110 people. He The first of those attacks.on September 2, sparked additional controversy when it emerged that the army launched a follow-up strike after detecting two survivors. Critics in Congress have called for an investigation into If that constitutes a war crime.

Then, on December 10, the U.S. They seized an oil tanker called the captain off the coast of Venezuela. The mission was launched from USS Gerald R. Fordan aircraft carrier that has been in the area for weeks as part of a broader buildup of U.S. forces in the region, sources told News themezone.

Attorney General Pam Bondi released a 45-second video of the operation on X, showing armed personnel descending to the ship’s deck from a helicopter. He said the United States executed a seizure order on the ship and that it was “used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.”

Less than a week later, President Trump announced a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. United States later He seized a second tanker. off the coast of Venezuela on December 20, and later chased a third tanker who refused to be approached and fled.

In what could be the first known ground attack of the campaign, Trump said at the end of December The United States “destroyed” a “large facility” that was allegedly linked to drug trafficking. He described the target as a “dock area where boats are loaded with drugs,” but did not specify its location or offer many more details.

The Venezuelan government has criticized operations at sea, calling the seizures oil tankers as acts of “piracy” and accusing the Trump administration of seeking regime change.

The United States has claimed that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is complicit in armed criminal gangs that traffic drugs to the United States; accusations that Maduro has rejected.

The Trump administration has officially designated two groups as international terrorist organizations that it says are linked to the Maduro regime: the Cartel of the Suns and the gang Aragua Trainwho are accused of international drug trafficking and violent attacks.

Some experts have questioned the designations. Analysts say the Cartel of the Suns It is not a singular organization.but refers to elements within the Venezuelan government accused of collusion with drug cartels.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in May on News themezone’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that the administration believes the Aragua Train is used as a tool of the regime, contradicting an assessment by the National Intelligence Council.

“There is no doubt in our minds, in mine and in the FBI’s assessment that this is a group that the Venezuelan regime uses, not only to try to destabilize the United States, but to project power.” blond said.

Maduro and several of his top lieutenants were charged in a US federal court in 2020 with narcoterrorism and drug trafficking, which he denied. “Maduro very deliberately used cocaine as a weapon” to harm the United States, prosecutors alleged.

Over the summer, the Trump administration doubled the reward for Maduro’s arrest to 50 million dollars.

In recent months, the United States has increased the pressure on the Maduro regime in Venezuela in multiple ways, including extensive military strengthening in the region, live fire exercises and deadly strikes on alleged drug trafficking ships in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

There are currently about 15,000 US troops in the region. About 11 warships were in the Caribbean Sea as of Dec. 30, Navy officials told News themezone, including the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s most advanced aircraft carrier.

The U.S. naval buildup in the Caribbean also includes five guided-missile destroyers, two guided-missile cruisers, one amphibious assault ship and two amphibious transport port ships, officials said.

There are also several dozen American fighter jets. stationed in Puerto Rico. And this month, the United States moved aircraft designed to transport special forces, including CV-22 Ospreys and C-17 cargo planes, to the region, a source familiar with the matter told News themezone.