What to know about the US strikes on Venezuela and Maduro’s fall

Published January 3, 2026 10:45am ET



The United States carried out an extraordinary military operation aimed at toppling Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s regime overnight, President Donald Trump announced early Saturday morning.

The U.S. captured Maduro and his wife and flew them out of the country after carrying out strikes on Caracas, Venezuela’s capital city, according to Trump. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said the government is unaware of the whereabouts of Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores after the attack, which entailed at least seven blasts and lasted less than 30 minutes.

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