by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News January 3, 2026
Venezuelan socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro was captured by U.S. forces after President Donald Trump ordered a “large-scale strike” on strategic targets in Venezuela early Saturday morning.
Trump confirmed that Maduro and his wife were taken into custody and flown by helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima. Maduro was to be transported to New York to face charges.
At least seven explosions could be heard in Venezuela’s capital city of Caracas early Saturday morning, according to The Associated Press, and low-flying aircraft were seen flying over Caracas at about 2 a.m. local time. The helicopters seen flying over Caracas were part of the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the “Night Stalkers.”
Trump told “Fox & Friends Weekend” that Maduro and his wife were captured during an operation on Saturday morning in Caracas.
Fox News host Griff Jenkins asked Trump: “Before we let you go, though, can you tell us where Maduro and his wife are right this second?””
“Well, they’ll be heading to New York,” Trump said. Griffin interjected, “were they taken to a ship first?”
“Yes, the Iwo Jima,” Trump said. “They’ll be heading into New York. The helicopters took them out, and they went by helicopter on a nice flight. I’m sure they loved it, but they’ve killed a lot of people. Even people in their own country. They killed a lot of people to maintain power. He’s a very vicious person.”
A photo shared by Trump showed the dictator in a gray sweatsuit and blindfolded and restrained. He was also holding a plastic water bottle.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau reacted to Trump’s announcement, describing it as a “new dawn for Venezuela.”
“The tyrant is gone,” Landau posted on X. “He will now — finally —face justice for his crimes.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson backed Trump’s decision to arrest Maduro and his wife.
“Today’s military action in Venezuela was a decisive and justified operation that will protect American lives,” Johnson said in a statement on X.
“Nicolas Maduro is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans after years of trafficking illegal drugs and violent cartel members into our country — crimes for which he’s been properly indicted in U.S. courts and an arrest warrant duly issued — and today he learned what accountability looks like,” he continued.
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