Following the U.S. military operation launched early on January 3, 2026, President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured by Delta Force. Donald Trump labeled Maduro a narcoterrorist and vowed U.S. direction of Venezuela until a safe transition. New details reveal bombings across Caracas, civilian casualties, panic buying, and international calls for restraint.
Bombings targeted Caracas, the Fuerte Tiuna military base, and La Guaira port, with social media videos showing fires, missiles striking residential areas, and smoke over defense headquarters. Maduro appears handcuffed, blindfolded, and hooded in circulated images. The raid capped four months of U.S. pressure, including strikes on narco-boats killing over 100.
Caracas streets emptied amid explosions, with long supermarket lines for water and food; power outages persisted. Witnesses reported at least one death in a coastal residential blast. The government declared a state of emergency, urged armed resistance, but fell silent post-overflights; Chavista militias patrolled areas like 23 de Enero.
Spain's Pedro Sánchez offered mediation, rejecting illegal intervention, while EU's Kaja Kallas called for UN Charter respect and peaceful transition despite Maduro's disputed legitimacy. In Spain, leftists decried 'imperialist aggression'; rightists backed action against the dictatorship. Questions swirl over opposition leader María Corina Machado's role in post-2024 election transition.