President Donald Trump announced Saturday that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had been captured by the U.S. and removed from the country. This comes after months of continued escalation between the Trump administration and Venezuela.
In a press conference, Trump said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were “successfully captured in the dead of night” and praised the military’s capture for putting a stop to the flow of drugs into the United States.
Trump said Maduro destabilized the American hemisphere and was working with foreign powers, including Iran.
“The illegitimate dictator Maduro was the kingpin of a vast criminal network responsible for trafficking colossal amounts of deadly and illicit drugs into the United States. As alleged in the indictment, he personally oversaw the vicious cartel known as cartel de los Solas, which flooded our nation with lethal poison, responsible for the deaths of countless Americans,” he said.
Trump said that the U.S. will temporarily run Venezuela until a transfer of power can happen.
“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition. So we don’t want to be involved with having somebody else get in, and we have the same situation that we had for the last long period of years,” Trump said.
He also said that the military action will pave the way for oil companies to tap Venezuela’s vast reserves and sell “large amounts” to other countries.
He said that not a single U.S. life was lost and not one piece of military equipment was lost in the capture. Trump also said the U.S. was prepared to conduct a “second wave” that was “much bigger” if the first attempt to capture Maduro was unsuccessful.
Maduro and his wife are currently on a ship heading to New York, where they will then face the justice system on U.S. soil, Trump said.
He noted that there are people in Venezuela who will be able to live in peace, and there are Venezuelans in the U.S. that may want to return to their home country now that it’s safer.
The U.S. in recent months has been targeting boats off the coast of Venezuela and conducting strikes, noting that it’s in an effort to curb the flow of fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S.
The legal authority for Saturday’s attack, which is similar to the U.S. invasion of Panama that led to the seizure of leader Manuel Antonio Noriega in 1990, was not immediately clear, The Associated Press reported.
The capture of Maduro was reportedly conducted by FBI agents, in conjunction with the U.S. military.
Attorney General Pam Bondi shared the indictment of Maduro and his wife, accusing them of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy. In a post online, she said they will face the “full wrath of American justice.”
“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,” Bondi said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also delivered remarks at Saturday’s press conference, celebrating the efforts of the military to capture Maduro.
He praised Trump’s leadership and said the president is “deadly serious about stopping the flow of gangs and violence to our country, deadly serious about stopping the flow of drugs and poison to our people, deadly serious about getting back the oil that was stolen from us and deadly serious about re-establishing American deterrence and dominance in the Western Hemisphere.”
“This is America first. This is peace through strength and the United States War Department is proud to help deliver it. Welcome to 2026 and under President Trump, America is back,” Hegseth said.
Vice President JD Vance posted online that Trump had offered several “off ramps” for Maduro but had been clear, “the drug trafficking must stop.”
María Corina Machado, who was named the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, was an opposition leader in Venezuela and attempted to achieve a democratic transition of power with Maduro’s administration. The government blocked her candidacy and the 2024 election in Venezuela was called for Maduro after the National Electoral Council, backed by Maduro, said he won.
She had been in hiding for fear of retribution from the Maduro administration and was recently seen in Norway, where she won the Nobel Peace Prize.
During his press conference, Trump seemed to indicate the U.S. did not plan to help Machado take power.
“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country,” Trump said. “She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”
Global leaders react to Venezuela invasion
Reaction to the invasion was mixed. While opponents to the regime in Venezuela and in the United States celebrated the move, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she “strongly condemns and rejects” the U.S. military action.
Russia also condemned the move, along with leaders in China, Iran, Cuba and Brazil.
Meanwhile, leaders in Ecuador, Peru, Argentina and Panama celebrated Maduro’s removal.
“In light of the events that took place early this morning in Venezuela, my government reiterates our position in favor of democratic trials and in favor of accepting the legitimate wishes of the Venezuelan people, as expressed emphatically at the polls, where Edmundo González was elected,” Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, said on X, according to a translation.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on X that she was, “Following very closely the situation in Venezuela. We stand by the people of Venezuela and support a peaceful and democratic transition. Any solution must respect international law and the UN Charter.”
