Donald Trump claims US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during what he described as a large-scale military strike.
Trump claimed in a social media post that Maduro's wife was also apprehended during the operation, which was carried out in conjunction with American law enforcement. Trump stated that he would make a statement later on Saturday morning.
Prior to the explosions in Caracas, the Federal Aviation Administration banned American marketable aeroplanes in Venezuelan airspace due to" ongoing military exertion." The United States didnot incontinently note on its involvement, the targets, or the intent behind the strikes.
People rushed into the thoroughfares after the explosions in Caracas, and others reported hail and seeing the losers on social media. Whether there were victims wasn't incontinently apparent. It was unclear whether further measures were planned, but the alleged attack lasted less than half an hour.
“The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes,”
said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker,
her voice trembling. She was walking briskly with two relatives, returning from
a birthday party.
“We felt like the air was hitting us.”
The explosions coincide with an intensified pressure campaign by the Trump administration on Maduro, who is accused of narco-terrorism in the US. In the first known direct operation on Venezuelan territory since the United States started operations in September, the CIA was responsible for a drone strike last week at a docking area said to be utilized by Venezuelan drug traffickers.
After months of attacks on vessels allegedly carrying drugs, President Donald Trump has been threatening to order strikes on targets on Venezuelan territory. Maduro has denounced American military actions as a blatant attempt to remove him from office.
Requests for comment were forwarded by the Pentagon to the White House, which did not immediately reply to calls or emails.
“People to the streets!”
it said in a statement.
“The Bolivarian Government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack.”
Trump has been spending the last two weeks of the vacation season at his private club in Palm Beach, Florida. Hours before the reported strikes, on Friday night, he was listed to admit an intelligence briefing, according to his public timetable. He did not incontinently respond on social media.
The government of Venezuela prompted its citizens to demonstrate in the thoroughfares.
Maduro declared "a state of external disturbance" and "ordered all national defense plans to be implemented," according to the statement. He is able to suspend people's rights and increase the role of the armed forces because of that state of emergency.
A warning to U.S. citizens in Venezuela was posted on the U.S. Embassy's website, which has been closed since 2019.
The blasts coincide with the Trump administration's intensifying military operations in the area. In an apparent attempt to tighten the grip on the South American nation's economy, the United States has seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela and Trump has ordered a blockade of others.
Since early September, the U.S. military has been striking vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. According to figures released by the Trump administration as of Friday, there have been 35 confirmed boat strikes and at least 115 fatalities.
They came after a significant American military buildup in the waters off South America, which included the arrival of the country's most sophisticated aircraft carrier in November.
In the meantime, pictures of the Venezuelan capital were shown by Iranian official media as it covered the explosions in Caracas on Saturday. Due in part to their mutual hostility toward the United States, Iran and Venezuela have been close for many years.
What evidence has the US provided for the reported large scale strike?
U.S. substantiation for the reported large- scale strike on Venezuela remains limited to statements from President Trump and primary documentations as of January 3, 2026.
Trump's Truth Social post at 4:21 a.m. ET explicitly stated U.S. forces" successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader," claiming Maduro and his woman were" captured and flown out of the Country," crediting Delta Force.
Original reports proved at least six explosions around 2 a.m. original time, black bank awards, power outages, and low- flying aircraft over Caracas, aligning with a rapid-fire night raid under 30 minutes.