MADURO AND HIS WIFE CAPTURED BY THE UNITED STATES

In an operation carried out by U.S. special forces in the early hours of January 3, 2026, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured and transferred to New York to face narcoterrorism charges, for which they have been indicted since 2020 in the Southern District of Manhattan.

President Trump announced the capture in a morning interview on Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program and later at a press conference at the White House.

He stated that they had been waiting for the opportunity to carry out the operation for two or three days, until the possibility arose today.

At the press conference, Trump reaffirmed the Monroe Doctrine, indicated that they have a second attack against Venezuela prepared if necessary; blamed Maduro for the flow of drugs into the United States and the deaths caused by them (which must have made the leaders of the Mexican cartels smile); and stated that the United States “will run Venezuela until it is safe,” in addition to stating that US oil companies will return to the country to “rebuild its oil industry,” insisting that the United States had been stripped of all that infrastructure by the Venezuelan socialist government (the Venezuelan oil industry was nationalized half a century ago by President Carlos Andrés Pérez, not by Maduro or Chávez).

Trump indicated that Marco Rubio had already spoken with vicepresident Delcy Rodríguez (who apparently had already taken office as president) and that she agreed that the United States government should take charge of Venezuela, as a kind of protectorate.

As for the military operation, although Trump stated that the possible Venezuelan response was eliminated, it seems almost impossible that several Black Hawk helicopters entered Venezuelan airspace undetected, flew over Caracas without being attacked by any aircraft, helicopters, or anti-aircraft weapons from the Venezuelan Air Force or Army (supposedly only one helicopter was slightly damaged by ground fire), reached Maduro's residence, where a small contingent of his guards tried to prevent their capture but were quickly subdued, without any members of the US special forces being killed; and then removed Maduro and his wife from their bedroom to take them to the United States.

Everything seems to indicate that negotiations took place between the Trump administration and the heads of the Venezuelan armed forces to allow the operation virtually without interference. This puts those military leaders (it's still unknown whether Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino agreed) in a better position to negotiate their situation when a power transition occurs in Venezuela.

Delcy Rodríguez demanded "proof of life" from the United States for Maduro and his wife; and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino placed the Venezuelan armed forces on high alert (a bit late, I would say) in response to the aggression suffered at the hands of the United States.

So far, it doesn't appear that the structure of the Venezuelan government has collapsed, only that Maduro and his wife are no longer in power.

Negotiations have already begun between the United States and Rodríguez to form a joint government (perhaps with the opposition), or some kind of transitional government, until new presidential elections are held.

This is a very hard blow for the Latin American left, which continues to decline and faces a US government determined to act without restraint in its sphere of influence, and a Latin American right wing that, faced with the failure of several left-wing governments (Bolivia, Chile, Honduras), has been regaining ground and winning several presidential elections. This year will see two more very important elections in Colombia and Brazil, where the left will be put to the test once again.