Daily Brief Special Report: U.S. and Venezuela (Jan. 3, 2026)

The U.S. military, under orders from President Donald Trump, carried out large-scale airstrikes and ground operations in Venezuela overnight in which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured and taken out of the country.

• Venezuela has announced a national state of emergency and said that it rejects and denounces "military aggression."
• U.S. officials say the military operations have been suspended, having achieved their goals.
• U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi says both Maduro and his wife have been charged in the Southern District of New York with "Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States."
• Colombian President Gustavo Petro has reportedly ordered the deployment of forces along his country's border with Venezuela in preparation for possible unrest and a surge in Venezuelan refugees following the U.S. attacks.
• International responses to the U.S. action have generally been of a "need for de-escalation" nature, but several national and international organization leaders have stressed the need for compliance with international law.
• Reports cite members of the U.S. Congress as saying they notified of the action only after military operations had begun and that Trump administration officials have said the operations were justified under President Trumps authority under Article II of the U.S. Constitution.

UPDATES:

10:35am ET | The U.S. Justice Department has released its superseding indictment against Nicolas Maduro, his wife, his son, and others, saying those charged have used "illegally obtained authority" to "transport thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States." [full indictment]

11:13 am ET | Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado said in a statement today that opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González, who is widely seen as having actually won the 2024 election against Maduro, should be installed as Venezuela's new president and that the military should support him.

12:08 pm ET | In an 11:40 am ET address and press conference this morning U.S. President Donald Trump said:

• The U.S. plans to be actively involved in the formation of a new government in Venezuela and in the operation of the South American country's oil industry.
• That the United States will "run the country" [Venezuela] "until there is a safe, judicious transition."
• The U.S. is ready and willing to conduct follow-up attacks on Venezuela, if necessary.
• U.S. oil companies will take over and improve Venezuela's oil production infrastructure.
• That restaurants are opening across Washington, DC, as a result of Trump having deployed the National Guard in the city.
• That the drug trafficking and oil industry seizures by Venezuela were in opposition to American foreign policy.

12:25 pm ET | U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that members of Congress were not informed ahead of the operation, saying "This is just not the kind of operation that you can give advance notice of" due to security considerations. President Trump added that "Congress tends to leak."

3:16 pm ET | In a video statement broadcast across Venezuela today, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez condemned the U.S. attack, demanded the immediate release of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, and said Venezuela would "never be a colony of any nation" and will defend its independence and resources.

6:23 pm ET | Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife have arrived in New York, where they are expected to be held in a New York City detention center over the weekend and to be arraigned on drug- and weapons-related charges in a federal court as early as Monday.