{"id":30226,"date":"2026-01-03T16:57:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T21:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=30226"},"modified":"2026-01-03T16:58:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T21:58:22","slug":"usa-capture-venezuela-president-nicolas-maduro-and-his-wife-and-charged-them-with-drug-and-weapons-offences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2026\/01\/03\/usa-capture-venezuela-president-nicolas-maduro-and-his-wife-and-charged-them-with-drug-and-weapons-offences\/","title":{"rendered":"USA capture Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and charged them with drug and weapons offences"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The US has captured Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro after a large scale strike on the South American country, US President Donald Trump has said.<\/b><\/p>\n

Trump said Venezuela’s left-wing president and his wife were flown out of the country in a military operation in conjunction with US law enforcement. They have been charged with drug and weapons offences in New York.<\/p>\n

It comes after explosions were reported across the capital Caracas in the early hours of Saturday morning, including at military bases.<\/p>\n

The Venezuelan government has since demanded proof Maduro is alive. It has also deployed its armed forces and declared a national emergency.<\/p>\n

Maduro’s capture comes after heightened tensions between the two countries, with Washington striking boats in the Caribbean it says are being used to carry drugs.<\/p>\n

The US has accused the Venezuelan president\u00a0<\/b>of being personally involved in drug-smuggling and being an illegitimate leader, while Maduro has accused the US of intimidation.<\/p>\n

Here is what we know so far.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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What do we know about the operation?<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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Maduro was captured by the US army’s Delta force – the military’s top counter terrorism unit – according to the BBC’s US news partner CBS.<\/p>\n

Trump told Fox and Friends on Saturday that Maduro and his wife were taken from “a house that was more like a fortress”. The president said US forces were prepared with “massive blowtorches” to cut through steel, but said Maduro “did not make it into that area of the house”.<\/p>\n

Trump said no US forces were killed and there were “few” injuries in the operation, which he said he watched live.<\/p>\n

Maduro and his wife were then put on a ship on their way to New York, Trump said.<\/p>\n

A CIA source inside the Venezuelan government helped the US track Maduro’s location in the lead-up to his capture, the BBC’s US news partner CBS News reported.<\/p>\n

The human source was part of an extensive network of other intelligence that informed the operation, which was the result of months of planning.<\/p>\n

He said US forces had been “prepared for a second wave” but did not have to conduct one because the first was “so powerful”.<\/p>\n

Republican Senator Mike Lee, who spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said “he [Rubio] anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in US custody, adding that the strikes were “deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Venezuela's<\/picture><\/span>Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores have been captured (Image: Reuters)<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Around 02:00 local time (06:00 GMT), loud explosions were heard in Caracas, while plumes of smoke were seen rising over the city.<\/p>\n

Videos of explosions and helicopters flying overhead have been circulating on social media, but they have not been verified yet.<\/p>\n

It is not known if there have been any casualties.<\/p>\n

The Venezuelan government also said the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira were also hit.<\/p>\n

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Where were the strikes?<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Map<\/picture><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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BBC Verify is working through a number of videos showing explosions, fire and smoke in locations around Caracas to identify exactly which sites were targeted.<\/p>\n

It has confirmed three locations, so far:<\/p>\n

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