Venezuela conflicts

In the wee hours of January 3rd 2026 the United States initiated a military strike on Venezuela capturing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Thus the “Operation Absolute Resolve” was born, beginning around 2 a.m. local time when the explosions took place. Infrastructure across northern Venezuela was bombed by US Armed Forces. Nicolás Maduro’s compound was a heavily secured hideout within Fuerte Tiuna, which is Venezuela’s biggest military base in Caracas. The U.S. Delta forces captured Maduro before he could lock himself safely in the steel room. He and his wife Flores were flown to New York City with slight injuries to face trial. They had been allegedly faced with charges of narcoterrorism. Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty to all charges in Manhattan federal court on January 5th.

The US President and his administration justified the capture as a “law enforcement action with military support” stating Donald Trump had “inherent constitutional authority” to do so. The Vice President of Venezuela denounced the capture as a kidnapping, and officials in the country said 23 Venezuelan security officers were killed during the invasion. And 32 Cuban military and intelligence agencies were killed as well. The raid has been said to have violated the UN Charter and Venezuela’s sovereignty. Trump and his administration stated that access to Venezuelan oil was the main reason for the invasion. While Trump tried saying the US would “run” Venezuela until there was somebody in power Rodríguez was sworn in as acting president on 5 January 2026.