VENEZUELAN leader Nicolas Maduro has been indicted and will face a criminal trial in the US after he was captured in a special forces operation.
Maduro, 63, will face the “full wrath of justice” on US soil after he was snatched from Caracas amid “large-scale” airstrikes on the capital.
Multiple explosions ripped through the capital and other sites after the US launched overnight strikes using Black Hawk helicopters and Chinooks.
Delta Force, the US military’s elite special mission unit, reportedly extracted Maduro and wife Cilia Flores during the “brilliant operation”.
The pair were piled into a military helicopter after being found inside a heavily-secured compound asleep thanks to constant monitoring by CIA spies, CBS News reports.
The dictator and his partner were indicted on several charges in New York, US attorney general Pam Bondi confirmed.
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She said the Venezuelan president faces charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices as well as conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the US.
What we know about the strikes so far…
- Donald Trump launches US airstrikes on Venezuela
- Maduro captured by US military and flown out of the country
- Maduro and his wife to face a criminal trial
- At least seven explosions reported across Caracas overnight
- Power shut off across parts of the capital
- Civilian and military sites reportedly hit
Bondi said: “They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.
“On behalf of the entire U.S. DOJ, I would like to thank 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 conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers.”
The pair were flown out of the country and taken to USS Iwo Jima – a huge aircraft carrier stationed in the Caribbean – and are on their way to New York.
Maduro could appear in court as early as Monday.
Confirming that President Maduro had been “flown out of the country” this morning, Trump hailed the “successful” blitz following escalating tensions.
Trump has spent the past few months waging a “war on drugs” with Venezuela.
He has accused Maduro of running a “cartel” and flooding the US with narcotics – mainly cocaine and fentanyl – even placing a $50million bounty on his counterpart’s head.
Maduro has been “emptying his prisons and insane asylums” to allow hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants to enter the US, Trump said earlier this year.
Speaking to Fox NewsTrump said Washington will have now have a say as to who runs Venezuela going forwards.
He said: “Well be involved in it very much as to who will govern the country.
“We can’t take a chance in letting somebody else run and just take over what he left.”
He reportedly gave the order to snatch the couple two days ago.
Trump said the attacks came as part of “a brilliant operation”.
He told the New York Times: “A lot of good planning and a lot of great, great troops and great people.”
No one died in the operation but a few US forces were injured, Trump said.
The US president is due to hold a press conference at 11am (4pm UK time) at Mar-a-Lago with more details.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau confirmed that Maduro will “finally face justice for his crimes”.
President Maduro declared a state of emergency when the bombs first dropped as he accused Trump of attacking civilian and military sites.
A series of huge explosions hit Caracas just before 1am this morning as Trump’s air force descended on the capital.
Witnesses on the ground said they heard the terrifying buzz of low-flying airplanes before eruptions lit up the city.
Columns of smoke and flames could be seen in videos recorded at the scene.
From bus driver to captured president – who is Nicolas Maduro?
MADURO, 63, has been Venezuela’s president since 2013 when he took over from Hugo Chavez – widely considered to be his mentor.
Born in Caracas, the hard-left leader was a bus driver before he started his political career in Venezuela.
He became a trade union leader and then later served as Chavez’s foreign minister and vice president.
Maduro was narrowly elected president after Chavez died from cancer
Unlike Chavez, a hugely popular leader during his reign, Maduro is far from a man of the people.
He is widely considered an authoritarian leader and is seen by many in the West as a tyrant.
He was in charge when Venezuela’s economy collapsed in the 2010s, has brutally cracked down on any protesters and is accused of election rigging.
The US claims both the 2018 and 2024 national elections should be voided over the interference claims.
In recent years, tensions have ramped up between Maduro and America for several reasons, with drugs and migration being the main two.
In 2018, militants attempted to assassinate Maduro by sending explosives-laden drones over the top of a rally he was addressing on a Caracas avenue.
At least seven explosions were reported in a matter of minutes.
Venezuela’s government said it “rejects, repudiates and denounces” the “extremely serious military aggression” by the US.
They added that all social and political forces should “activate mobilisation plans”.
Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino announced the immediate deployment of military forces across the country as he called for a united front against “the worst aggression” ever against Venezuela.
Vice President Delcy Rodriguez warned the US that it must send proof of life of Maduro immediately.
Power in the south of the capital was shut off after the first explosions were reported at around 1:50am.
The Generalísimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base is said to have been impacted, along with another one of the targets.
A strike reportedly also hit Fort Tiuna which is where the Venezuelan ministry of defense is stationed.
El Volcan and the The Guaira Port – one of the main ports in Venezuela – were also struck, say local reports.
Venezuela’s military was seen patrolling Maduro’s presidential palace after reports of the strikes were first heard.
Armoured vehicles were spotted rolling towards the heavily guarded Miraflores property.
President Trump has repeatedly promised to launch land operations in Venezuela.
He has spent the past few months urging President Maduro to flee the nation or face the wrath of the US military.
Iran – another of Trump’s global enemies – condemned the “American military attack”.
Russia also called the US military action as “deeply concerning and condemnable”.
Over in the UK, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said America’s allies are dealing with a “fast moving situation”.
He is yet to speak to Trump but said: “I will want to talk to the president, I will want to talk to allies.”
How Maduro could finally be toppled
TYRANT Nicolas Maduro dodged regime change in 2025 by the skin of his teeth – but the despot now faces a ticking timebomb.
Donald Trump’s multiple overnight airstrikes on Caracas has sent Maduro scrambling as he declared a state of emergency.
The US president has been cranking up his military expansion in the Caribbean and has been threatening land strikes for months.
Caracas is now set to buckle within the first quarter of 2026 under the Don’s ballooning pressure, Venezuela expert Cesar Alvarez Velasquez said.
The Latin American organised crime analyst told The Sun: “The pressure the US is applying on the Maduro regime is not sustainable for Venezuela, in terms of the capacity and the capability that Caracas has.”
He added: “This pressure can’t go longer than the first quarter of 2026.”
“If we don’t see results during the first quarter, I would think
on the American side, it will look like a failure.”
Trump has continually turned up the heat on Maduro over the past few months as he seeks to topple the Venezuelan dictator.
Most strikingly, the President has ordered a massive military buildup in Venezuela’s naval backyard – which includes thousands of troops, menacing warships and the world’s largest aircraft carrier.
There is now mounting speculation that Maduro could be taken down by a coup from within his own circle – or even assassinated by US forces.
Geopolitics expert Brian Fonseca said Trump’s campaign is a “long march” for Washington, which has left the Venezuelan pariah “fighting for survival”.
Read more here.
The overnight strikes mark the second time in just days that Trump has launched ground strikes on Venezuela.
Secret strikes on a drug port in Maracaibo were reported on Christmas Eve.
The drone attacks were hailed by Trump as a “very hard blow” to tyrant Maduro’s regime.
Trump has remained tight-lipped over how he pulled off the overnight strikes with some inside sources claiming it was actually carried out by CIA operatives.
The US president has previously authorised the use of covert CIA action in Caracas as part of a pressure campaign on Maduro.
Trump is expected to spend the first part of 2026 with a main goal of ending Maduro’s reign of power in the South American nation.
Trump is said to be aiming to bankrupt Maduro’s cartel through strikes on drug boats, shipping warehouses and air bases.
Maduro has been accused of funding his nation through the use of drug sales across to the US.
But in recent months, the US has been able to plug many of these cocaine deliveries from taking place.
A naval and air blockade has been imposed off the coast of Venezuela, meaning any vessel trying to smuggle narcotics is quickly targeted.
This has left drugs piling up at storage points – the exact spots where the CIA is expected to continue to hit in the coming weeks and months.
The US hopes as the money drains out of Venezuela then it will weaken Maduro’s control over the army and his generals before they turn on him.
Maduro has been attempting to ramp up international support in recent weeks.
He has called on Vladimir Putin to help fund any looming war efforts.
Just hours before the airstrikes, the president even met with a Chinese delegation in Venezuela who had visited on behalf of Xi Jinping.
US-Venezuela tensions
TENSIONS exploded in 2025 after the US launched a series of deadly boat strikes near Venezuela, claiming they targeted drug traffickers.
Donald Trump has long spoken of his desire to enact force to take on drug cartels, which he accuses Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of actively backing.
Maduro has denied the allegations, and the last few months have seen teetering escalations deteriorate into a tense standoff.
The US has positioned naval destroyers and soldiers around Maduro’s waters, while the Venezuelan dictator has ordered mass mobilisation of troops.
The latest strikes came as the US ramped up its military presence in the Caribbean.
President Donald Trump later threatened land attacks, declared Venezuelan airspace “closed” on November 29, seized a Venezuelan-linked oil tanker in December and then ordered a blockade of oil ships, aiming to choke off the country’s oil trade.