Operation Absolute Resolve: US Military Captures Venezuelan President Maduro

On January 3, 2026, US Special Operations forces launched Operation Absolute Resolve against Venezuela. Over 150 aircraft participated in strikes disabling Venezuelan air defenses before a Delta Force team raided President Nicolás Maduro's compound in Caracas. Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured and flown to New York to face federal charges of narco-terrorism, cocaine trafficking, and weapons offenses. The Venezuelan Interior Ministry reported over 100 killed; seven US service members were injured. The operation—the most direct US military intervention in Latin America since the 1989 Panama invasion—was condemned by Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, and Spain as a violation of the UN Charter. The Trump administration characterized Maduro as a 'narco-terrorist' whose removal was necessary to protect US national security.