US strikes Venezuela, says its leader Maduro has been captured and flown out of country

ASSOCIATED PRESS, CARACAS, JAN 3, 2025: The United States hit Venezuela with a "large-scale strike" early on Saturday and said its President, Nicolas Maduro, had been 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.

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.

"We demand proof of life," Venezuela's Vice-President, Delcy Rodriguez, said on state TV. Trump announced the developments on Truth Social shortly after 4:30 am 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 had threatened for months 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. 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. An 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."