Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been captured and flown out of the country following a reported U.S. military operation, according to claims published by dailymail.co.uk and statements attributed to former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Reports said the alleged operation was carried out in the early hours of Saturday by a unit of elite U.S. Delta Force soldiers, who reportedly seized the Venezuelan leader while he and his wife were asleep.
CNN, citing a source, said the operation targeted five locations across Venezuela, including three sites in the capital, Caracas, and resulted in no casualties.
Trump, in a statement released after explosions were reported in Caracas, claimed the United States had “successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela,” adding that President Maduro and his wife had been “captured and flown out of the country.”
He said Maduro would face trial in New York City on alleged drug and weapons charges.
The reported development sparked swift political reaction in the United States. Zohran Mamdani, the newly inaugurated socialist mayor of New York City, condemned the reported capture, describing it as an “act of war.” Mamdani had previously shared a cordial exchange with Trump during a White House meeting in November, despite sharp ideological differences, but on Saturday, he took to X to criticise the action in strong terms.
Beyond political fallout, the reports also described widespread disruption to travel in the Caribbean. Thousands of tourists were said to be stranded after flights were halted following the reported U.S. action against Venezuela.
An American tourist vacationing in the U.S. Virgin Islands told the Daily Mail he was awakened by a text alert from Delta Air Lines notifying him that his flight from St. Thomas to New York had been cancelled. He said he spent nearly 40 minutes on hold with the airline, along with thousands of other travellers scrambling to rebook flights.
According to the tourist, he later learned through news reports that the alleged U.S. military strike had taken place roughly 600 miles away, in Venezuela, while he was ringing in the New Year in the Caribbean.
As of the time of reporting, Venezuelan authorities had not publicly confirmed the claims, and independent verification of the reported capture had not been established.
Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s president since 2013, has been a longstanding adversary of the United States, particularly under the Trump administration. Trump’s government imposed sweeping economic sanctions on Maduro’s government, citing allegations of corruption, human rights abuses, and undermining democracy.
Throughout his presidency, Trump consistently refused to recognise Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader, instead supporting opposition figure Juan Guaidó. Relations were marked by diplomatic tension, sanctions, and U.S.-backed efforts to pressure Maduro to step down, but there were no direct military confrontations between the two nations during Trump’s term.
