Donald Trump claims Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and wife captured in US strike

Caracas: US President Donald Trump struck a triumphant note over the capture of Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, saying he had watched live as US forces seized the Venezuelan leader from a "fortress."

"I've never seen anything like this. I was able to watch it in real time," the 79-year-old Republican said in a telephone interview with Fox News.

"I watched it, literally, like I was watching a television show. And if you would have seen the speed, the violence."

Charged with narco terrorism

US Attorney General Pam Bondi on Saturday announced that captured Venezuelan incumbent president Nicolas Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism and would face US justice.

In a post on X, she said, "Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States. They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts. On behalf of the entire U.S. DOJ, I would like to thank President Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American People, and a huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international Narco- traffickers."

The Attorney General's remarks come as US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that the US had carried out a large strike against Venezuela during which the incumbent President Maduro and his wife "were captured and flown out of the country".

Earlier in the day...

The operation was announced by Trump on social media hours after the attack.

Multiple explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through Caracas, the capital, as Maduro's government immediately accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations. The Venezuelan government called it an "imperialist attack" and urged citizens to take to the streets.

It was not immediately clear who was running the country, and Maduro's whereabouts were not immediately known. Trump announced the developments on Truth Social shortly after 4:30am ET.

Maduro, Trump said, "has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country. This operation was done in conjunction with US Law Enforcement. Details to follow." He set a news conference for later Saturday morning.

The explosions in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, early on the third day of 2026 - at least seven blasts - sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report hearing and seeing the explosions. It was not immediately clear if there were casualties. The apparent attack itself lasted less than 30 minutes, but it was unclear if more actions lay ahead, though Trump said in his post that the strikes were carried out "successfully."

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ban on US commercial flights in Venezuelan airspace because of "ongoing military activity" ahead of the explosions.

The strike came as the Trump administration has escalated pressure on Maduro, who has been charged with narco-terrorism in the United States. The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels - the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US began strikes in September.

Trump for months had threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land following months of attacks on boats accused of carrying drugs. Maduro has decried the US military operations as a thinly veiled effort to oust him from power.

Some streets in Caracas fill up

Armed individuals and uniformed members of a civilian militia took to the streets of a Caracas neighbourhood long considered a stronghold of the ruling party. But in other areas of the city, the streets remained empty hours after the attack. Parts of the city remained without power, but vehicles moved freely.

Video obtained from Caracas and an unidentified coastal city showed tracers and smoke clouding the landscape sky as repeated muted explosions illuminated the night sky. Other footage showed an urban landscape with cars passing on a highway as blasts illuminated the hills behind them. Unintelligible conversation could be heard in the background. The videos were verified by The Associated Press.

Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas, while another military installation in the capital was without power.

"The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes," said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, her voice trembling. She was walking briskly with two relatives, returning from a birthday party. "We felt like the air was hitting us."

Trump is at his private club in Palm Beach, Florida, where he has spent the past two weeks for the holiday season. His public schedule showed he was set to receive an intelligence briefing on Friday evening, hours before the reported strikes. He offered no immediate comment on social media.

Venezuela's government responded to the attack with a call to action. "People to the streets!" it said in a statement. "The Bolivarian Government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack."

The statement added that Maduro had "ordered all national defence plans to be implemented" and declared "a state of external disturbance." That state of emergency gives him the power to suspend people's rights and expand the role of the armed forces.

The website of the US Embassy in Venezuela, a post that has been closed since 2019, issued a warning to American citizens in the country, saying it was "aware of reports of explosions in and around Caracas."

"US citizens in Venezuela should shelter in place," the warning said.

Inquiries to the Pentagon and US Southern Command since Trump's social media post went unanswered. The FAA warned all commercial and private US pilots that the airspace over Venezuela and the small island nation of Curacao, just off the coast of the country to the north, was off limits "due to safety-of-flight risks associated with ongoing military activity."

US Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted his potential concerns, reflecting a view from the right flank in the Congress. "I look forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force," Lee said on X.

-With inputs on ANI, AFP