A U.S. military operation culminated on Saturday, January 3, 2026, with the capture and extradition of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, following bombings in Caracas that included at least seven explosions. At the same time, a New York judge unsealed an expanded indictment accusing him of leading a narcotrafficking network. The Venezuelan government accuses the United States of seeking to seize its oil resources.
On January 3, 2026, around 2:00 a.m., Caracas experienced at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft overflights as part of a U.S. operation that resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro. Witnesses like 21-year-old office worker Carmen Hidalgo described the panic: “The whole ground shook. It's horrible. We heard explosions and planes in the distance.” The blasts were reported at Fuerte Tiuna, the Defense Ministry headquarters, and La Carlota Air Base.
The Venezuelan government denounced the bombings as an attack to seize resources like oil and minerals. Colombian President Gustavo Petro demanded urgent UN and OAS meetings, posting on X: “They are bombing Caracas right now. Alert the world, they have attacked Venezuela. Bombing with missiles.”
This action is part of a U.S. military campaign started in September 2025, with 35 confirmed attacks on smuggling vessels by January 2, causing at least 115 deaths. Donald Trump justified the operations as necessary to stop drug flows, declaring an “armed conflict” with cartels. The previous Friday, Venezuela expressed openness to negotiate against narcotrafficking but accused the U.S. of forcing a regime change for its oil reserves.
Simultaneously, a federal judge in New York's Southern District, Alvin K. Hellerstein, unsealed a superseding indictment expanding the 2020 charges against Maduro. It accuses him of leading the “Cartel of the Suns,” a network that used the Venezuelan state to traffic 200-250 tons of cocaine annually to the U.S. over two decades. Added charges include narcoterrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and weapons offenses, implicating his wife Cilia Flores, a son, and Diosdado Cabello, totaling six defendants. Alliances include FARC, ELN, Sinaloa Cartel, Zetas, and Tren de Aragua, using diplomatic passports and protected routes.
The indictment describes Maduro's government as illegitimate, citing challenges to his 2018 and 2024 elections and non-recognition by over 50 countries. In September 2025, Marco Rubio called him a “fugitive of justice” and raised the reward to $50 million. Precedents include trials of Manuel Antonio Noriega and Juan Orlando Hernández in the U.S.
