01/03/2026
President Trump announced that U.S. forces had carried out “a large scale strike against Venezuela” and were flying President Nicolás Maduro and his wife out of the country early Saturday morning.
A senior White House official said the operation was greenlighted by President Trump a “few days ago.” The operation was carried out by the United States’ Delta team—among other unnamed U.S. miltary groups— around 2:00 AM local time Tuesday.
In a brief phone interview between The New York Times and Trump after the announcement around 4:30 AM ET, he celebrated the operation, though tired.
“A lot of good planning and lot of great, great troops and great people,” he said. “It was a brillant operation, actually.”
According to Attorney General Pam Bondi via Twitter, Maduro faces several federal charges after he and his wife Cilia Flores were indicted in the Southern District of New York.
Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek Saab condemned the U.S. attacks.
“Innocent victims have been mortally wounded and others killed by this criminal terrorist attack,” he said.
Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said he did not know where Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were and demanded that the U.S. show “proof of life” to verify their claims of “capture.”
The operation blasted several airports, a cargo port, and military bases across the northern states of Aragua, La Guaira, Miranda and the capital state of Caracas.
U.S. officials say no Americans had been killed in the strikes but refused to comment on any injuries or casualties of Venezuelan military personnel or civilians.
Venezuelan officials have declared a state of emergency and called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations.
***A press conference is expected this morning at 7:00 AM Pacific Time***
