The Latest: US strikes Venezuela, captures Maduro and his wife

The United States has captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a large-scale military operation

The Latest: US strikes Venezuela, captures Maduro and his wifeBy The Associated PressThe Associated Press

The United States hit Venezuela with a “large-scale strike” early Saturday and said President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country after months of stepped-up pressure by Washington — an extraordinary nighttime operation announced by President Donald Trump on social media hours after the attack.

The legal authority for the strike — and whether Trump consulted Congress beforehand — was not immediately clear. The stunning, lightning-fast American military action, which plucked a nation’s sitting leader from office, echoed the U.S. invasion of Panama that led to the surrender and seizure of its leader, Manuel Antonio Noriega, in 1990 — exactly 36 years ago Saturday.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would face charges after an indictment in New York.

Trump announced the developments on Truth Social shortly after 4:30 a.m. ET (0930 GMT) and said he would host a news conference at 11 a.m. ET (1600 GMT).

Here’s the latest:

Celebrations erupt in Venezuelan community in South Florida

In South Florida, Venezuelans celebrated the news of Maduro’s capture at a rally held outside a South American eatery.

People wrapped themselves in Venezuelan flags, ate fried snacks and cheered as music was playing at the event. At one point, the crowd chanted “Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!”

The rally took place in Doral, Florida, a city of 80,000 people surrounded by Miami sprawl and home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States.

European leaders react to Maduro’s capture by the US

— EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X that she had spoken with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the EU ambassador in Caracas. “The EU has repeatedly stated that Mr Maduro lacks legitimacy and has defended a peaceful transition. Under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected. We call for restraint.”

— Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for “de-escalation and responsibility. International Law and the principles of the United Nations Charter must be respected,” Sánchez wrote on X.

— Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it is “extremely alarmed” and called for “immediate clarification,” according to a statement posted Saturday on the ministry’s Telegram channel. The ministry said such actions, if confirmed, would constitute “an unacceptable infringement on the sovereignty of an independent state.”

— British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the U.K. was not involved in the U.S. operation in Venezuela and that he would seek more information from Trump. Without condemning the U.S. action, Starmer said he always believes that international law should be upheld. “But I think at this stage, fast moving situation, let’s establish the facts and take it from there,” he said.

Reactions in Caracas to US strikes and Maduro’s capture are mixed

At a pro-Maduro protest in the capital, Caracas Mayor Carmen Meléndez joined a crowd that demanded that Maduro be returned immediately.

“Maduro, hold on, the people are rising up!” the crowd chanted. They also said: “We are here Nicolás Maduro. If you can hear us, we are here!” Elsewhere, residents were still taking in the events.

“How do I feel? Scared, like everyone,” said Caracas resident Noris Prada, who sat on an empty avenue looking down at his phone. “Venezuelans woke up scared, many families couldn’t sleep. I have been on the street, I just got back from Maracay, everything is blocked, everything is bad, very bad.”

“They impose the law,” electrician Alfonso Valdez said about the U.S. government. “They are the police of the world … they are assassins.”

Venezuelan opposition leader Machado’s spokespeople decline comment

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado’s spokespeople declined to comment on the U.S. operation.

Machado was last seen in public last month, when she emerged from 11 months in hiding and traveled to Norway, where she was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize.

US attorney general says Maduro and wife to face criminal charges

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi says Maduro and his wife will face criminal charges after an indictment in New York.

Bondi vowed in a social media post that the couple will “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”

Maduro was indicted in 2020 in New York, but it was not previously known that his wife had been.

US indicted Maduro on narcoterrorism charges in 2020

The Justice Department during Trump’s first term in office charged in the several indictments that Maduro had effectively converted Venezuela into a criminal enterprise at the service of drug traffickers and terrorist groups as he and his allies stole billions from the South American country.

The coordinated unsealing of indictments against 14 officials and government-connected individuals, and rewards of $55 million for Maduro and four others, attacked all the key planks of what then-Attorney General William Barr called the “corrupt Venezuelan regime,” including the Maduro-dominated judiciary and the powerful armed forces.

One indictment by prosecutors in New York accused Maduro and socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello, head of the rubber-stamping constitutional assembly, of conspiring with Colombian rebels and members of the military “to flood the United States with cocaine” and use the drug trade as a “weapon against America.”

Read our news report from 2020 on the charges

State Department officials say ‘the tyrant is gone’

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau says the military action and seizure of Maduro marks “a new dawn for Venezuela,” saying that “the tyrant is gone.”

He posted on X hours after the strike. His boss, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, reposted a post from July that said Maduro “is NOT the President of Venezuela and his regime is NOT the legitimate government.”

Sen. Lee says Rubio told him he anticipates no further action in Venezuela

Utah Sen. Mike Lee said Rubio informed him that “he anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody,” the lawmaker posted on social media.

Sen. Lee says Rubio briefed him that Maduro will be tried in US

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted on X that he had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who briefed him on the strike. Rubio told Lee that Maduro “has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States.”

The White House did not immediately respond to queries on where Maduro and his wife were being flown to. Maduro was indicted in March 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges in the Southern District of New York.

Colombia prepares to receive refugees from Venezuela

President Gustavo Petro of Colombia, one of Trump’s fiercest critics, said the Colombian government convened a national security meeting before dawn Saturday and sent security forces to the border in preparation for a potential “massive influx of refugees” from neighboring Venezuela.

He said he’d also call on the U.N. Security Council to consider “the aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and of Latin America.”

“Without sovereignty, there is no nation,” Petro wrote on social media.

Russia calls US action ‘an act of armed aggression’

Russia’s Foreign Ministry condemned what it called a U.S. “act of armed aggression” against Venezuela in a statement posted on its Telegram channel Saturday.

“Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive, let alone military, outside intervention,” the statement said.

The ministry called for dialogue to prevent further escalation and said it reaffirmed its “solidarity” with the Venezuelan people and government, adding that Russia supports calls for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting.

State Department urges Americans in Venezuela to shelter in place

The State Department issued a new travel alert early Saturday warning Americans in Venezuela urging them to “shelter in place” due to the situation.

“U.S. Embassy Bogota is aware of reports of explosions in and around Caracas, Venezuela,” it said without elaboration.

“The U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, warns U.S. citizens not to travel to Venezuela. U.S. citizens in Venezuela should shelter in place.” The embassy in Bogota has been shuttered since March, 2019 but operates remotely.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio retweeted Trump’s announcement without comment, but his deputy, Christopher Landau, posted Trump’s statement, adding that it marked “a new dawn for Venezuela!” “The tyrant is gone. He will now—finally—face justice for his crimes,” Landau said.

Venezuelan VP demands proof of life for Maduro

Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez says, “We do not know the whereabouts of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.” He added: “We demand proof of life.”

Trump says Maduro, wife, captured

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

Explosions rock Caracas

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.”