Photo source: Prensa Presidencial – Government of Venezuela
Caracas | 05 January 2026
By Themba Khumalo – Azania Newswire
In what is being described as one of the most dramatic escalations in United States–Venezuela relations in modern history, U.S. armed forces launched a covert overnight operation on January 3, 2026, entering Venezuelan airspace and conducting a direct assault on the residence of sitting President Nicolás Maduro.
According to accounts circulating on social media from Venezuelan state sources and eyewitness footage shared widely on social media, U.S. military helicopters descended on the capital Caracas shortly after 02:00 a.m., bombed military and civilian targets, triggering explosions and sustained gunfire across several strategic locations. Residents filmed low-flying helicopters hovering above the city as blasts echoed through the night.
The operation targeted President Maduro’s guarded residence. officials claim that U.S. special forces encountered heavy resistance from presidential security units, including Cuban soldiers assigned to protect the head of state. At least 32 Cuban soldiers were killed during the confrontation and many others including Venezuelans injured from the gunfight and explosions.
President Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were reportedly apprehended after attempting to seek refuge in a fortified bunker on the premises. Both were taken into custody and airlifted out of Venezuela under heavy military escort onto a US Warship on the coastline before being airlifted to New York.
Claims of Regime Change
The Venezuelan government has condemned the operation as an illegal act of aggression and a blatant attempt at regime change. Officials argue the operation was designed to install a pro‑U.S. government that would reverse Venezuela’s socialist and nationalization policies and reopen the country’s vast energy sector to American oil corporations.
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves and the eighth‑largest natural gas reserves globally—resources that have long placed the country at the center of geopolitical tensions.
Following the reported abduction, Venezuela’s Supreme Court moved swiftly to install Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as interim head of state. Addressing the nation alongside the National Defense Council, Rodríguez demanded the immediate and unconditional release of President Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.
This aggression had only one objective: regime change in Venezuela in order to seize our energy, mineral, and natural resources,” Rodríguez said. “The world and the international community must know this truth.
She warned that Venezuela’s armed forces, security agencies, and civilian population were prepared to mobilize nationwide in defense of sovereignty, echoing the resistance doctrine established during the late President Hugo Chávez’s tenure.
Photo source : Valter Campanato/ABr / Nicolás Maduro with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, 9 May 2013. Holding the Photo of Late President Hugo Chavez
Transfer to the United States
According to U.S. officials, President Maduro was flown to U.S. naval assets before being transported to New York, where he was presented in handcuffs under heavy security by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI.
The United States has charged Maduro with narco‑terrorism, alleging that he presided over and benefited from an international drug‑trafficking network involving multiple Latin American criminal organizations. The indictment accuses Maduro and senior Venezuelan officials of collaborating with armed groups, drug cartels, and transnational criminal networks responsible for trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine annually through Venezuela toward the United States.
The U.S. government further alleges that Venezuela’s political and military elite operated under a system known as the “Cartel de los Soles,” facilitating drug trafficking in exchange for political and financial protection.
Trump Administration’s Position
U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking alongside secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and senior military officials at his Mar‑a‑Lago resort on January 3, 2026, described the operation as a decisive strike against what he called a “narco‑terrorist regime.” Trump reiterated longstanding allegations that Maduro enabled drug trafficking, exported criminal gangs to the United States, and contributed to the fentanyl crisis.
Trump also stated that the United States intended to “run Venezuela” temporarily, rebuild its infrastructure, and return control of the oil sector to U.S. corporations—claims that have sparked international alarm. He said that the oil was stolen from USA and that oil conglomerates were ready to invest billions into the oil sector and US security used to protect their interests.
Critics have drawn parallels to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, where allegations of weapons of mass destruction were later proven unfounded, leaving long‑term instability in the region after the invasion and overthrow of Iraq leader Saddam Hussein.
International Reaction
The operation has drawn swift condemnation from several countries. South Africa has called for an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting, describing the incident as a severe violation of Venezuelan sovereignty and international law.
Many global leaders condemned the actions saying it undermined national autonomy, sovereignty of nations and the international rules based order. Others world leaders welcomed the removal of President Maduro with celebrations on the streets of Florida by Venezuelans in the United States.
As global tensions rise, the fate of President Nicolás Maduro and the future of Venezuela’s political order remain uncertain, with fears growing that the region could face prolonged instability.
