Following the US capture of Nicolás Maduro reported on January 4, new details emerge on the operation's CIA preparation since July 2025, specific bombings causing 80 deaths including a Colombian civilian, and escalating US-Colombia frictions amid Venezuela's political transition under interim President Delcy Rodríguez.
The US operation to extract Nicolás Maduro, building on the initial capture at Forte Tiuna in Caracas, involved months of CIA infiltration into his security and government circles, blending espionage, technology, and airstrikes. Bombings targeted areas like El Hatillo in Miranda state, with a missile hitting a residential home near telecom antennas, contributing to at least 80 deaths among civilians and security forces. Notable victim: Yohana Rodríguez Sierra, a 45-year-old Colombian merchant from Cartagena.
President Donald Trump has framed the action as enabling a 'transition,' with Delcy Rodríguez—appointed interim president by the Supreme Court—expected to implement a US-backed plan, despite resistance from Maduro loyalists. Opposition figures like María Corina Machado and Edmundo González remain sidelined in debates, amid a 7 million-strong diaspora.
Internationally, Colombia's UN representative Leonor Zalabata condemned the incursion as a violation of sovereignty and humanitarian law, rejecting force absent self-defense or UN authorization, and bracing for migrant surges. Tensions peaked with Trump's Air Force One remarks calling President Gustavo Petro a 'sick man' tied to cocaine production and hinting at US action in Colombia. Petro retorted on X against the threats from a leader lacking Latin American democratic credentials.
The fall of Maduro ends 27 years of leftist rule, opening paths to democracy but confronting entrenched issues: criminal networks (ELN, Tren de Aragua), vast untapped oil reserves (303 billion barrels), and hyperinflation (556%). Regional collaboration, including with Colombia, could aid recovery.