President Donald Trump speaks to the press as Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on following US military actions in Venezuela, at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 3, 2026. | Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

After months of escalating US pressure on Venezuela, the crisis reached a dramatic turning point on Saturday with the US capture of President Nicolás Maduro. According to President Donald Trump, Maduro was seized in a late night military operation and transferred to a US naval vessel to be transported to New York to face charges related to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism. The operation reportedly included large-scale military strikes, marking the most direct intervention to date.

While Maduro is now out of power, the political future of Venezuela remains uncertain. Trump said the United States would effectively be “running” the country for the foreseeable future, though he offered few details on what that would entail. Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, has been sworn in, and US officials have suggested a willingness to work with existing regime figures, even as Rodríguez publicly rejected any notion of US control and called for Maduro’s return. As details of the operation continue to emerge, major questions remain. Follow along here for the latest updates and analysis.

Trump says the US is going to “run” Venezuela. What does that mean?How Trump went from boat strikes to regime change in VenezuelaWhy Trump sent in troops to capture Maduro, briefly explainedWhy is the US attacking Venezuela?Who is Nicolás Maduro?

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