U.S. officials have confirmed that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were arrested by American personnel and will be brought to the United States to face criminal charges, following overnight military action in Venezuela early Saturday, 3 January 2026.
The arrests reportedly came after pre-dawn strikes in and around Caracas, where residents described explosions, low-flying aircraft, and smoke rising from key military installations. U.S. Senator Mike Lee said the “kinetic action” observed overnight was carried out to protect personnel executing an arrest warrant for Maduro. In a post on X, Lee wrote that Senator Marco Rubio had informed him Maduro was in U.S. custody and that the military action was defensive in nature.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Boni later confirmed that Maduro and Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. According to Boni, the charges against Maduro include narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess weapons against the United States. Flores is also named in the indictment.
“They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” Boni wrote on X. She praised President Donald Trump for what she described as decisive leadership in pursuing accountability and thanked U.S. military personnel for conducting a “highly successful mission” to capture the two, whom she labeled alleged international narco-traffickers.
The Venezuelan government has strongly condemned the operation, calling it an “extremely serious military aggression” against the country’s sovereignty. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has demanded proof of life for Maduro and Flores, amid growing uncertainty inside Venezuela following the reported arrests.
The situation marks a dramatic escalation in U.S.–Venezuela relations and has sparked international concern over the legal, political, and military implications of the operation.
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