UPDATE: President Donald Trump Claims Nicolás Maduro Captured
President Donald Trump announced early Saturday that Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of Venezuela following a U.S. operation.
In a statement posted at approximately 3:21 a.m. CST, Trump said the United States had “successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela” and that the operation was conducted in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement.
Trump said additional details will be provided during a news conference scheduled for 11 a.m. ET today at Mar-a-Lago.
Multiple explosions and low-flying aircraft were reported in Venezuela early Saturday after the United States carried out strikes, according to Fox News reporting.
BREAKING: US attacks Venezuela, sources tell FOX News. pic.twitter.com/kLL3Q2T4cL
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 3, 2026
Witnesses cited by Reuters and The Associated Press said blasts were heard around 2 a.m. local time in the capital, Caracas, with smoke rising from at least one military facility and power outages reported near another base. Venezuelan officials said additional incidents occurred in the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira.
U.S. officials did not immediately provide on-the-record confirmation. The Pentagon referred questions to the White House, which declined to comment.
Shortly before the explosions, the Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency notice barring U.S. commercial and private flights from Venezuelan airspace and nearby Curaçao, citing “safety-of-flight risks associated with ongoing military activity.”
Residents described being jolted awake by the blasts.
“The whole ground shook. We heard explosions and planes,” said Caracas resident Carmen Hidalgo, according to The Associated Press. “We felt like the air was hitting us.”
🚨#BREAKING: Reuters reports that U.S. ground forces and United States Air Force assets are currently on the ground and active in and around Caracas, Venezuela. Multiple explosions have been reported and observed across the capital as operations continue. pic.twitter.com/96mTpvxmQX
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) January 3, 2026
Maduro Declares Emergency
President Nicolás Maduro declared a national emergency and ordered defense forces mobilized, calling on supporters to take to the streets in response to what his government described as U.S. “military aggression.”
The declaration allows expanded use of the armed forces and temporary suspension of certain civil liberties.
Venezuelan officials accused Washington of attempting to seize the country’s oil and mineral resources, a claim the U.S. government has not publicly addressed.
Pressure Campaign Built Over Months
The overnight explosions come after months of escalating U.S. action against Venezuela tied to narcotics trafficking and oil exports.
Since early September, the U.S. military has carried out strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. According to figures released by the Trump administration, at least 35 vessels have been struck, with more than 115 people killed.
President Donald Trump has justified the campaign as a necessary escalation against transnational drug cartels and has warned repeatedly that land-based operations inside Venezuela were possible.
In recent weeks, the U.S. has also seized sanctioned Venezuelan oil shipments and imposed a blockade on oil tankers entering or leaving the country.
Context From Prior Reporting
The developments follow a series of allegations made by former senior Venezuelan intelligence and military officials now convicted in U.S. federal court, who have described the Maduro government as operating a state-directed narco-terrorism network.
In December, The Dallas Express published two letters sent to President Donald Trump by former Venezuelan military intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal Barrios and retired Major General Clíver Alcalá Cordones. In the letters, the former officials alleged the Venezuelan government coordinated cocaine trafficking, expanded and exported the criminal gang Tren de Aragua, and maintained ties with foreign adversaries, including Iran and Hezbollah. The Dallas Express noted at the time that it had not independently verified all underlying allegations contained in the letters.
The Dallas Express also reported in December on whistleblower materials provided to U.S. authorities describing extensive Iran–Venezuela cooperation across finance, energy, mining, and military-linked projects. No U.S. agency has publicly confirmed the contents or conclusions of those materials.
Talks Offered One Day Earlier
The reported attacks followed remarks by Maduro just one day earlier indicating he was open to negotiating with Washington on drug trafficking and oil. In a pre-recorded interview aired Thursday, Maduro accused the U.S. of seeking regime change and access to Venezuela’s oil reserves through a sustained military pressure campaign that began with a major U.S. deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.
Maduro has been charged in the United States with narco-terrorism.
International Attention Growing
Iranian state television aired footage of the explosions in Caracas, reflecting Tehran’s close political and economic ties to Venezuela.
As of early Saturday, the U.S. government had not publicly acknowledged conducting strikes on Venezuelan territory, and details surrounding the reported attacks remained limited.
This is a developing story. The Dallas Express will continue reporting as additional information is confirmed.
