January 3rd, 2026, in the night sky, 150 U.S. aircraft were seen over Caracas at 2:00 AM. “Operation Absolute Resolve” had begun. A surgical military strike to take the president of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro, and his wife.
The neighborhood of “El Silencio” was the first to hear the U.S. Air Force’s advance as it flew past them. Witnesses described green tracers illuminating the sky as U.S. special forces targeted military air bases to support the advance of the air force.
At the Miraflores Palace, the fighting was violent, with reports saying there were around 75-100 deaths. News outlets were calling it “international vandalism,” with U.S. officials saying it was a clinical apprehension.
As the morning sun hit the city, the “Casa Militar” guards had been neutralized. At 4:30 A.M., Maduro and his wife were confirmed to be taken aboard USS Iwo Jima and were being processed and transported to New York, this is where the iconic photo with the president in a grey sweatsuit with headphones was taken.
As the morning ended, the People’s World newspaper described the actions taken by the U.S as an “act of state terror,” with the now empty streets being filled with Maduro’s supporters demanding his release.
Two days after Maduro was captured, Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as acting president, said Al Jazeera. She immediately denounced the Abduction of the president, claiming Venezuela would never be a colony again.
Still, with such swift action from the new government, and laws such as the Amnesty Law, which released around 400 prisoners, and the Oil Privatization law, which has already generated around a billion dollars for the U.S., many people believe it was a coordinated effort between the U.S. government and the new government in Venezuela.
But why did the U.S. decide to invade Venezuela? FCNL says that the Trump administration stated that the regime change in Venezuela was not an act of war, but a law enforcement operation carried out by U.S. armed forces. They use the criminal indictment of President Maduro and his wife for drug-related offences.
Many leaders in the UN immediately condemned the actions taken in Venezuela by the U.S., with CNBC saying, “Russia and Iran broadly condemned the U.S. attack on Venezuela early Saturday, while elsewhere, world leaders called for an immediate meeting of the UN Security Council.”
Former President Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty to charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy. Still, as of February 2026, NBC reports that he has not yet been convicted of any crimes and is still in custody of the U.S. at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
