Donald Trump has said the US “captured” Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, and flew them out of the South American country during a pre-dawn assault on Caracas and the surrounding region. “It was a brilliant operation, actually,” the US president told the New York Times after witnesses in Venezuela reported a series of explosions. View image in fullscreen Nicolás Maduro attending a military event in La Guaira with his wife, Cilia Flores, in late December. Crowds of Maduro supporters gathered in downtown Caracas, some carrying pictures of the captured president, others embracing tearfully. Since August, Trump has ordered a massive military buildup off Venezuela’s northern coast and conducted a series of deadly airstrikes on supposed “narco boats”.

Source: The Guardian January 03, 2026 14:40 UTC