On January 3, 2026, the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, was captured (or, in his words, “kidnapped”) by the United States. Maduro was formally accused by the United States Department of Justice of working with terrorist organizations—like FARC, Sinaloa, Zetas, Tren de Aragua—to traffic cocaine, and in exchange provide weapons to those organizations.
This, combined with months of escalating tensions between Venezuela and the U.S., led to the creation of operation “Absolute Resolve,” which aimed to capture Maduro. According to President Trump, the operation was practiced several months ahead in a replica building. Then, the actual operation was carried out on January 3.
The capture involved the deployment of approximately 150 aircraft and the disablement of Venezuela’s air defence systems, which culminated in a quick 30-minute raid and easy capture of Maduro and his wife. In the next few weeks, Maduro will go to court in New York on charges of involvement in narco-terrorism.
As of right now, Venezuela’s Vice President, Delcy Rodríguez, has assumed the role of acting president in Venezuela. And according to Trump, she has offered her support to Washington because “she really doesn’t have a choice.”
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