Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will stand trial on criminal charges in the US.
The leader and his wife were captured in a daring operation by US special forces and flown out of Caracas.
Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State said that Maduro would now stand criminal trial, likely on drug trafficking charges.
“He [Mr Rubio] informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant,” Mike Lee, a Republican US Senator, said in a social media post.
Mr Rubio “anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in US custody,” Mr Lee added.
Donald Trump earlier on Saturday hailed a “brilliant operation” to capture Maduro
The US president launched air strikes on Caracas earlier this morning using black hawk helicopters and chinooks, before breaking the extraordinary news that Mr Maduro and his wife had been taken into custody and flown out of the country.
In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump said: “The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country.”
He added that a press conference would be held at 11am at Mar-a-Lago. That’s 4pm in the UK.
“A lot of good planning and a lot of great, great troops and great people,” Mr Trump said.
Footage showed smoke rising above the skyline as the Venezuelan government declared a state of emergency, saying strikes had occurred in Caracas and in the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira.
The bombing raid came after months of threats and warnings from Mr Trump that he would take action if Venezuela did not stop drug-smuggling boats from heading towards America.
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, has shared an old post in which he condemned Nicolás Maduro and his government.
“Maduro is NOT the President of Venezuela and his regime is NOT the legitimate government,” Mr Rubio said in the old post.
“Maduro is the head of the Cartel de Los Soles, a narco-terror organisation which has taken possession of a country. And he is under indictment for pushing drugs into the United States.”
The old statement, which Mr Rubio shared in the form of a screenshot on X, was one of his first social media posts since Donald Trump announced Mr Maduro’s capture.
Earlier on Saturday, Mike Lee, a Republican US Senator said he had been told by Mr Rubio that Mr Maduro would stand trial on criminal charges in the US, likely for drug trafficking.
Trinidad and Tobago’s foreign ministry has shared a statement distancing itself from military operations in Venezuela after providing support to the US military to combat drug trafficking in the Caribbean.
“Trinidad and Tobago is NOT a participant in any of these ongoing military operations. Trinidad and Tobago continues to maintain peaceful relations with the people of Venezuela,” Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the prime minister, wrote on social media.
The twin-island nation has in recent weeks allowed a US warship to dock on its shore, carried out drills with American troops and given US military aircraft permission to transit its airports.
It was revealed last month that the country, which is just seven miles away from Venezuela at its closest point, had approved the installation of a US military radar facility.
Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, said on Saturday that she was “closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela” with an aim to “gathering information about our fellow citizens” in the country.
Venezuela hosts around 160,000 Italian citizens, most of whom have dual citizenship.
The Italian leader added that she is in constant contact with Antonio Tajani, the Italian foreign minister.
Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said she has spoken to Marco Rubio about US strikes on Venezuela.
“The EU has repeatedly stated that Mr Maduro lacks legitimacy and has defended a peaceful transition,” she wrote on X.
“Under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected. We call for restraint.”
“The safety of EU citizens in our country is our top priority,” she finished.
I have spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and our Ambassador in Caracas. The EU is closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela.
The EU has repeatedly stated that Mr Maduro lacks legitimacy and has defended a peaceful transition. Under all circumstances, the principles…
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) January 3, 2026
Venezuela has called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council in response to US strikes on the country, according to Yván Gil Pinto, the country’s foreign minister.
“No cowardly attack will prevail against the strength of this people, who will emerge victorious,” he captioned an image of the letter sent to the UN on Telegram.
Spain has offered to mediate between the United States and Venezuela after US attacks on Caracas and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, who was flown out of the country.
“Spain calls for de-escalation and restraint,” Madrid’s foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that “in this regard ... it is prepared to offer its good offices to achieve a peaceful, negotiated solution to the current crisis”.
Russia has condemned US strikes in Venezuela, saying that “ideological hostility” has prevailed over diplomacy.
“This morning, the United States committed an act of armed aggression against Venezuela. This is deeply concerning and condemnable,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday morning.
“Ideological hostility has triumphed over businesslike pragmatism,” it added.
Sources within the Venezuelan opposition said that Nicolás Maduro’s capture may have been part of a “negotiated exit” between the US and Venezuela, according to Sky News.
On Thursday, Mr Maduro had said that he was open to dialogue with the US “wherever they want and whenever they want”, but there was no public response to the appeal.
Neither the US nor the Venezuelan government have commented on whether there were negotiations between the two sides prior to this morning’s strikes.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/01/03/explosions-venezuela-capital-caracas/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_youtube
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