REGIME CHANGE: Trump Confirms Capture of Maduro in U.S. Military Operation

WASHINGTON — January 3, 2026 — The Maduro regime has fallen. President Donald Trump confirmed on Saturday that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife have been "captured and flown out of the country," a historic development that definitively ends Maduro’s occupation of the presidency.

The announcement follows a chaotic pre-dawn operation in Caracas involving low-flying aircraft and explosions near Fort Tiuna, confirming a significant escalation in U.S. military strategy. The capture not only marks the permanent removal of Maduro from office—effective January 3—but also establishes that open military engagement between the United States and Venezuela has occurred within the 2026 window.

Operational Escalation: 2025 to 2026 The capture represents the culmination of a rapid intensification of force. While the U.S. Southern Command had engaged in limited kinetic action in late 2025—specifically the confirmed December 26 strike against a drug trafficking facility—the January 3 operation marks a shift to regime-altering warfare.

Reports from Caracas indicate the operation began at approximately 2:00 a.m. local time, with strikes on military infrastructure preceding the extraction. The direct involvement of U.S. forces and aircraft in Venezuelan territory satisfies the definition of "military engagement" involving the use of force, distinct from mere posturing or warning shots.

The End of the Standoff Maduro’s removal resolves the diplomatic freeze stemming from the disputed July 2024 election, in which the U.S. recognized opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia as the victor. Despite a $50 million Department of Justice bounty and the designation of his government as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization," Maduro had retained power until this morning.

This event constitutes a permanent removal from office, closing the door on any potential negotiated resignation or scheduled transition. The window for diplomatic talks with Maduro as a head of state—which he had requested as recently as January 1—is now firmly shut.

What Comes Next: Custody and Contact With Maduro in U.S. custody, the focus shifts to the legal and political handling of the deposed leader. The dynamic has moved from diplomatic negotiation to prisoner processing. Immediate attention will turn to whether President Trump will personally interact with Maduro in January. While previous speculation centered on summit-style negotiations, any potential "meeting" or "talk" would now occur within a custodial context, raising new questions about the nature of engagement between the administration and the former Venezuelan president.

Meanwhile, a power vacuum exists in Caracas. The Trump administration is expected to move quickly to facilitate a transition to the González Urrutia government, aiming to stabilize the country following the extraction operation.