Maduro's 'tiger' with designer fashion tastes: Who is Venezuela's VP Delcy Rodriguez?
Hours after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was captured in an audacious US raid, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez insisted he remains the Latin American country’s only leader. In a televised speech, Rodriguez, who is also finance and oil minister, called for calm. Rodriguez denounced Maduro's kidnapping and vowed to defend Venezuela's resources.
Issued on: 03/01/2026 -
By:FRANCE 24
The first explosions were heard in the capital Caracas and surrounding areas shortly before 2:00 am (0600 GMT), continuing until around 3:15 am.
Images on social media showed helicopters silhouetted against the night sky and missiles slamming into targets, creating fireballs and huge plumes of smoke.
Trump said at 0921 GMT on his Truth Social platform that the United States had “successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela” and that Maduro and his wife had been “captured and flown out of the Country.”
Top US General Dan Caine said the goal of “Operation Absolute Resolve” was purely to seize Maduro, with airstrikes clearing the way for helicopters used in the capture raid.
Caine said the operation, involving more than 150 aircraft, followed months of preparation.
– What was hit? –
Fort Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, was among the targets.
The vast base in southern Caracas is home to the defense ministry, a military academy and housing units for thousands of troops and their families.
AFP reporters saw flames and huge plumes of smoke rising from the complex.
At one of the entrances, which was still guarded, an armored vehicle and a truck were pocked with bullet marks.
La Carlota airbase east of Caracas was also targeted. AFP reporters saw an armored vehicle at the base in flames and a burned bus.
Explosions were also reported in La Guaira, north of Caracas, home to a port and an international airport; the north-central city of Maracay; and Higuerote on the Caribbean coast — all within 100 kilometers (60 miles) of Caracas.
– Are there casualties? –
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez accused US forces of firing missiles and rockets at residential areas.
As of Saturday night, Venezuelan authorities had yet to release casualty figures.
Trump, speaking on Fox News program “Fox and Friends,” boasted that no US soldiers had been killed. He later told the New York Post that “many Cubans” who were protecting Maduro had died, the first indication of casualties from the US strikes.
– What has become of Maduro? –
The operation brought the curtain down on 12 years of increasingly authoritarian rule by Maduro, who had a $50 million US bounty on his head.
Trump posted a picture on Truth Social of the Venezuelan leader handcuffed and blindfolded aboard a US naval ship in the Caribbean.
From there he and his wife Cilia Flores were flown to New York to face drugs and weapons charges.
Trump said he followed the operation to capture Maduro live at his Mar-a-Lago estate “like I was watching a television show.”
“He was in a very highly guarded… like a fortress actually,” he said.
He said Maduro tried in vain to escape to a safe space.
Caine said intelligence agents had spent months studying how Maduro “moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore, what were his pets.”
He said the 63-year-old Socialist and his wife surrendered without resistance.
– What next for Venezuela? –
Trump stunned US allies and foes alike by saying the United States would “run” Venezuela during an undetermined transitional period.
He indicated that could involve deploying US troops on the ground.
Venezuela’s opposition leader, Nobel peace laureate Maria Corina Machado, took to social media to proclaim her country’s “hour of freedom has arrived.”
Machado, seen as a hero by many Venezuelans for her dogged resistance to Maduro, called for the opposition’s candidate in the 2024 election to “immediately” assume the presidency.
Streets close to the Miraflores presidential palace were deserted except for checkpoints manned by uniformed gunmen, as residents expressed their shock at a US military strike that left them guessing who was now in charge of the oil-rich nation
Reuters Published 03.01.26, 06:30 PM
Venezuelan security forces patrolled largely empty streets at dawn in the capital, Caracas, on Saturday, hours after loud explosions woke residents to the news that US commandos had bombed the country and captured President Nicolas Maduro.
Colombian police and military personnel stand guard at the border between Venezuela and Colombia, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia, January 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Streets close to the Miraflores presidential palace were deserted except for checkpoints manned by uniformed gunmen, as residents expressed their shock at a US military strike that left them guessing who was now in charge of the oil-rich nation.
29A destroyed anti-aircraft unit at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke streaked the sky, with a dark plume still billowing from the direction of the Port of La Guaira to the north, while another was visible near an air base in the capital.
39A Colombian soldier stands guard at the border between Venezuela and Colombia, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia, January 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Most residents stayed home, devouring the latest information on their phones, while some went to stock up on groceries in case they need to hunker down for a prolonged period.
For supporters of the opposition, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, excitement was also in the air.
49People holding Venezuelan flags react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Doral, Miami, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026. (Reuters)
"My sister, who is in the United States, woke me up with the news; she was crying. We cried together out of happiness," said Jairo Chacin, 39, a mechanic and workshop owner in oil hub Maracaibo, as he waited in a long line to stock up on groceries.
59A cyclist stops to check their phone, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela January 3, 2026. (Reuters)
"I went out to check on my business because I was afraid of looting, but the street is deserted. I wanted to fill up my gas tank, but the service stations are already closed, so I took the opportunity to buy food because we don't know what’s coming. Honestly, I have a mix of fear and joy."
69A destroyed anti-aircraft unit at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump confirmed Maduro's capture after months of pressuring him over accusations of drug-running and illegitimacy in power.
It was the first such US military intervention since the invasion of Panama in 1989 to depose military leader Manuel Noriega.
79People ride a motorbike next to military vehicles as Colombian soldiers patrol the border between Venezuela and Colombia, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia, January 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Soon after the capture of Maduro, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello appeared on state TV standing on the street and wearing a helmet and flak jacket, urging Venezuelans not to cooperate with the "terrorist enemy".
89Passengers wait with their luggage, after flights were delayed and cancelled when the airspace was closed due to U.S. strikes on Venezuela overnight, at Rafael Hernandez International Airport in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico January 3, 2026. (Reuters)
The Venezuelan opposition said in a statement on X that it had no official comment on the events.
The overnight attack began at about 2 a.m. (0600 GMT), according to Reuters witnesses, who saw blasts, aircraft and black smoke across Caracas for roughly 90 minutes.
Video verified by Reuters showed multiple explosions illuminating the night sky, followed by loud blasts. The attack left the southern area of the city, near a major military base, without electricity.
"I couldn’t believe it. I saw it first on social media and then on television. Now, I want to know what will come next," said Nancy Pérez, a 74-year-old woman who went out to a bakery near her home in Valencia, central Venezuela.
One eyewitness video, authenticated by Reuters, captured fire and smoke rising above the Port of La Guaira. The location was confirmed by the port layout, road dividers and buildings, which matched file and satellite imagery.
99Government supporters hold photographs of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez and President Nicolas Maduro, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela January 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Other verified videos captured explosions and smoke at the Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base in eastern Caracas.
Flight radar trackers on Saturday morning showed the airspace over Venezuela was completely empty.
Carmen Marquez, 50, who lives in the east of the capital, said she went to her roof and could hear planes at different altitudes, though she could not see them.
"Flare-like lights were crossing the sky and then explosions could be heard. We're worried about what's coming next. We don't know anything from the government, only what the state television says," she said.
Hours after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was captured in an audacious US raid, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez insisted he remains the Latin American country’s only leader. In a televised speech, Rodriguez, who is also finance and oil minister, called for calm. Rodriguez denounced Maduro's kidnapping and vowed to defend Venezuela's resources.
Issued on: 03/01/2026 -
By:FRANCE 24
File photo: Venezuela's Vice-President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez addresses the media in Caracas, Venezuela on March 10, 2025. © Leonardo Fernandez Viloria, Reuters
Hours after an audacious US military operation removed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power early Saturday, President Donald Trump said the United States would temporarily run Venezuela and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations. Maduro and his wife were reportedly aboard a US warship en route to New York to face prosecution on a Justice Department indictment accusing them of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.
In response, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez insisted that Maduro remains the country’s only president, contradicting Trump’s claims that she had been sworn in. She spoke on state television from Caracas alongside her brother, National Assembly head Jorge Rodriguez, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, and the country’s foreign and defence ministers.
Rodriguez called for calm and unity to defend Venezuela amid what she described as Maduro’s kidnapping, and vowed to defend the nation's resources.
Maduro has previously called Rodriguez a “tiger” for her staunch defence of his socialist government. She works closely with her brother and has been a central figure in Venezuela’s political and economic management for more than a decade.
Caracas native Rodriguez, 56, was born on May 18, 1969, and is the daughter of left-wing guerrilla fighter Jorge Antonio Rodriguez, founder of the revolutionary Liga Socialista party in the 1970s.
Rodriguez's roles as finance and oil minister, held alongside her vice-presidential post, have made her central to Venezuela’s economic strategy and influential in the private sector. She has implemented orthodox economic policies to combat extreme inflation.
She has also called on the US government to provide proof of life for Maduro and his wife, though her exact whereabouts outside the broadcast were previously uncertain.
An attorney who graduated from Universidad Central de Venezuela, Rodriguez rose quickly through the political ranks, serving as Communication and Information Minister from 2013 to 2014. Known for her designer fashion tastes, she was foreign minister from 2014 to 2017, during which she attempted to attend a Mercosur trade bloc meeting in Buenos Aires after Venezuela was suspended.
In 2017, Rodriguez became head of a pro-government Constituent Assembly, which expanded Maduro’s powers. She was named vice president in June 2018, with Maduro describing her as “a young woman, brave, seasoned, daughter of a martyr, revolutionary and tested in a thousand battles".
In August 2024, Maduro added the oil ministry to her portfolio, tasking her with managing escalating US sanctions on Venezuela’s most important industry.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)
Hours after an audacious US military operation removed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power early Saturday, President Donald Trump said the United States would temporarily run Venezuela and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations. Maduro and his wife were reportedly aboard a US warship en route to New York to face prosecution on a Justice Department indictment accusing them of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.
In response, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez insisted that Maduro remains the country’s only president, contradicting Trump’s claims that she had been sworn in. She spoke on state television from Caracas alongside her brother, National Assembly head Jorge Rodriguez, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, and the country’s foreign and defence ministers.
Rodriguez called for calm and unity to defend Venezuela amid what she described as Maduro’s kidnapping, and vowed to defend the nation's resources.
Maduro has previously called Rodriguez a “tiger” for her staunch defence of his socialist government. She works closely with her brother and has been a central figure in Venezuela’s political and economic management for more than a decade.
Caracas native Rodriguez, 56, was born on May 18, 1969, and is the daughter of left-wing guerrilla fighter Jorge Antonio Rodriguez, founder of the revolutionary Liga Socialista party in the 1970s.
Rodriguez's roles as finance and oil minister, held alongside her vice-presidential post, have made her central to Venezuela’s economic strategy and influential in the private sector. She has implemented orthodox economic policies to combat extreme inflation.
She has also called on the US government to provide proof of life for Maduro and his wife, though her exact whereabouts outside the broadcast were previously uncertain.
An attorney who graduated from Universidad Central de Venezuela, Rodriguez rose quickly through the political ranks, serving as Communication and Information Minister from 2013 to 2014. Known for her designer fashion tastes, she was foreign minister from 2014 to 2017, during which she attempted to attend a Mercosur trade bloc meeting in Buenos Aires after Venezuela was suspended.
In 2017, Rodriguez became head of a pro-government Constituent Assembly, which expanded Maduro’s powers. She was named vice president in June 2018, with Maduro describing her as “a young woman, brave, seasoned, daughter of a martyr, revolutionary and tested in a thousand battles".
In August 2024, Maduro added the oil ministry to her portfolio, tasking her with managing escalating US sanctions on Venezuela’s most important industry.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)
What we know about the US attacks on Venezuela
By AFP
January 3, 2026
A plane carrying ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro lands at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York - Copyright AFP Leonardo Munoz
After months of threats and pressure tactics, the United States on Saturday bombed Venezuela and toppled authoritarian left-wing leader Nicolas Maduro, who was seized to face trial in New York.
– How did it start? –
By AFP
January 3, 2026
A plane carrying ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro lands at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York - Copyright AFP Leonardo Munoz
After months of threats and pressure tactics, the United States on Saturday bombed Venezuela and toppled authoritarian left-wing leader Nicolas Maduro, who was seized to face trial in New York.
– How did it start? –
The first explosions were heard in the capital Caracas and surrounding areas shortly before 2:00 am (0600 GMT), continuing until around 3:15 am.
Images on social media showed helicopters silhouetted against the night sky and missiles slamming into targets, creating fireballs and huge plumes of smoke.
Trump said at 0921 GMT on his Truth Social platform that the United States had “successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela” and that Maduro and his wife had been “captured and flown out of the Country.”
Top US General Dan Caine said the goal of “Operation Absolute Resolve” was purely to seize Maduro, with airstrikes clearing the way for helicopters used in the capture raid.
Caine said the operation, involving more than 150 aircraft, followed months of preparation.
– What was hit? –
Fort Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, was among the targets.
The vast base in southern Caracas is home to the defense ministry, a military academy and housing units for thousands of troops and their families.
AFP reporters saw flames and huge plumes of smoke rising from the complex.
At one of the entrances, which was still guarded, an armored vehicle and a truck were pocked with bullet marks.
La Carlota airbase east of Caracas was also targeted. AFP reporters saw an armored vehicle at the base in flames and a burned bus.
Explosions were also reported in La Guaira, north of Caracas, home to a port and an international airport; the north-central city of Maracay; and Higuerote on the Caribbean coast — all within 100 kilometers (60 miles) of Caracas.
– Are there casualties? –
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez accused US forces of firing missiles and rockets at residential areas.
As of Saturday night, Venezuelan authorities had yet to release casualty figures.
Trump, speaking on Fox News program “Fox and Friends,” boasted that no US soldiers had been killed. He later told the New York Post that “many Cubans” who were protecting Maduro had died, the first indication of casualties from the US strikes.
– What has become of Maduro? –
The operation brought the curtain down on 12 years of increasingly authoritarian rule by Maduro, who had a $50 million US bounty on his head.
Trump posted a picture on Truth Social of the Venezuelan leader handcuffed and blindfolded aboard a US naval ship in the Caribbean.
From there he and his wife Cilia Flores were flown to New York to face drugs and weapons charges.
Trump said he followed the operation to capture Maduro live at his Mar-a-Lago estate “like I was watching a television show.”
“He was in a very highly guarded… like a fortress actually,” he said.
He said Maduro tried in vain to escape to a safe space.
Caine said intelligence agents had spent months studying how Maduro “moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore, what were his pets.”
He said the 63-year-old Socialist and his wife surrendered without resistance.
– What next for Venezuela? –
Trump stunned US allies and foes alike by saying the United States would “run” Venezuela during an undetermined transitional period.
He indicated that could involve deploying US troops on the ground.
Venezuela’s opposition leader, Nobel peace laureate Maria Corina Machado, took to social media to proclaim her country’s “hour of freedom has arrived.”
Machado, seen as a hero by many Venezuelans for her dogged resistance to Maduro, called for the opposition’s candidate in the 2024 election to “immediately” assume the presidency.
Trump brushed aside any expectations Machado herself would emerge as leader, claiming she did not have “support or respect” in Venezuela.
Caracas wakes to silence after US strike; shocked Venezuelans unsure what comes next
Streets close to the Miraflores presidential palace were deserted except for checkpoints manned by uniformed gunmen, as residents expressed their shock at a US military strike that left them guessing who was now in charge of the oil-rich nation
Reuters Published 03.01.26, 06:30 PM
Venezuelan security forces patrolled largely empty streets at dawn in the capital, Caracas, on Saturday, hours after loud explosions woke residents to the news that US commandos had bombed the country and captured President Nicolas Maduro.
Colombian police and military personnel stand guard at the border between Venezuela and Colombia, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia, January 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Streets close to the Miraflores presidential palace were deserted except for checkpoints manned by uniformed gunmen, as residents expressed their shock at a US military strike that left them guessing who was now in charge of the oil-rich nation.
29A destroyed anti-aircraft unit at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke streaked the sky, with a dark plume still billowing from the direction of the Port of La Guaira to the north, while another was visible near an air base in the capital.
39A Colombian soldier stands guard at the border between Venezuela and Colombia, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia, January 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Most residents stayed home, devouring the latest information on their phones, while some went to stock up on groceries in case they need to hunker down for a prolonged period.
For supporters of the opposition, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, excitement was also in the air.
49People holding Venezuelan flags react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Doral, Miami, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026. (Reuters)
"My sister, who is in the United States, woke me up with the news; she was crying. We cried together out of happiness," said Jairo Chacin, 39, a mechanic and workshop owner in oil hub Maracaibo, as he waited in a long line to stock up on groceries.
59A cyclist stops to check their phone, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela January 3, 2026. (Reuters)
"I went out to check on my business because I was afraid of looting, but the street is deserted. I wanted to fill up my gas tank, but the service stations are already closed, so I took the opportunity to buy food because we don't know what’s coming. Honestly, I have a mix of fear and joy."
69A destroyed anti-aircraft unit at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump confirmed Maduro's capture after months of pressuring him over accusations of drug-running and illegitimacy in power.
It was the first such US military intervention since the invasion of Panama in 1989 to depose military leader Manuel Noriega.
79People ride a motorbike next to military vehicles as Colombian soldiers patrol the border between Venezuela and Colombia, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia, January 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Soon after the capture of Maduro, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello appeared on state TV standing on the street and wearing a helmet and flak jacket, urging Venezuelans not to cooperate with the "terrorist enemy".
89Passengers wait with their luggage, after flights were delayed and cancelled when the airspace was closed due to U.S. strikes on Venezuela overnight, at Rafael Hernandez International Airport in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico January 3, 2026. (Reuters)
The Venezuelan opposition said in a statement on X that it had no official comment on the events.
The overnight attack began at about 2 a.m. (0600 GMT), according to Reuters witnesses, who saw blasts, aircraft and black smoke across Caracas for roughly 90 minutes.
Video verified by Reuters showed multiple explosions illuminating the night sky, followed by loud blasts. The attack left the southern area of the city, near a major military base, without electricity.
"I couldn’t believe it. I saw it first on social media and then on television. Now, I want to know what will come next," said Nancy Pérez, a 74-year-old woman who went out to a bakery near her home in Valencia, central Venezuela.
One eyewitness video, authenticated by Reuters, captured fire and smoke rising above the Port of La Guaira. The location was confirmed by the port layout, road dividers and buildings, which matched file and satellite imagery.
99Government supporters hold photographs of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez and President Nicolas Maduro, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela January 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Other verified videos captured explosions and smoke at the Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base in eastern Caracas.
Flight radar trackers on Saturday morning showed the airspace over Venezuela was completely empty.
Carmen Marquez, 50, who lives in the east of the capital, said she went to her roof and could hear planes at different altitudes, though she could not see them.
"Flare-like lights were crossing the sky and then explosions could be heard. We're worried about what's coming next. We don't know anything from the government, only what the state television says," she said.
Venezuelan capital quiet, streets empty after US strike
By AFP
January 3, 2026
Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gather in the streets of Caracas after the strongman was captured by US forces and taken to the United States - Copyright AFP Federico PARRA
A lingering smell of explosives hung over Venezuela’s capital Caracas on Saturday as shocked residents took stock after an early-morning US strike that ousted strongman Nicolas Maduro.
While a few hundred Maduro supporters gathered to clamor for his freedom, the streets were otherwise eerily quiet.
“I felt the explosions lift me out of bed. In that instant I thought: ‘My God, the day has come,’ and I cried,” Maria Eugenia Escobar, a 58-year-old resident of the city of six million people, told AFP.
The strikes started around 2:00 am local time, with dozens of detonations that some people at first mistook for fireworks.
Windows rattled from the shockwaves and residents rushed out onto terraces and balconies as military aircraft zoomed overhead.
“It was horrible, we felt the planes flying over our house,” said a resident of the Coche neighborhood, near the city’s largest military complex, which was targeted in the raid.
Residents saw columns of smoke rising from several parts of the city, which was soon cloaked in a fog-like haze.
Witnesses spoke of bombings in La Guaira, Caracas’s airport and port, in Maracay to the west, and in Higuerote to the east.
– ‘Absurd! –
In the aftermath, Venezuelans soon learned their long-ruling leader Maduro was out.
US special forces seized Maduro and took him to face trial in New York.
A few hundred supporters gathered in Caracas to demand news of their leader’s fate.
“Long live Nicolas Maduro,” echoed a rally cry from a hastily erected stage with speakers blaring revolutionary music.
“Long live!” responded the crowd.
Katia Briceno, a 54-year-old university professor, came out to protest against what she described as US “barbarism.”
“How is it that a foreign government comes into the country and removes the president? It’s absurd!” she told AFP.
Apart from the protesters, there were few Venezuelans out, and just occasional cars on the usually bustling streets.
Those who did venture out did so under the watchful eye of black-clad agents patrolling the center with long guns.
Many stores were closed after the attack, while queues formed at others that were letting people in a few at a time.
Damage from the explosions was mostly limited to military installations, where vehicles stood riddled by bullets, others smouldering and charred.
Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino Lopez accused the US forces of attacking civilian areas with missiles and rockets fired from combat helicopters.
President Donald Trump said no US soldiers died in Saturday’s strikes, but the toll on the Venezuelan side remained unknown.
For residents of Caracas, the future is uncertain.
Trump said he was “not afraid of boots on the ground” and mooted the possibility of a “much bigger” second wave of strikes if necessary.
He also said the United States will “run” Venezuela until a political transition occurs.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado insists Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, whom the opposition says won elections in July 2024 in which Maduro claimed victory, “must immediately assume his constitutional mandate” as president.
Trump appeared to scotch any expectation that Machado herself might emerge as Venezuela’s new leader. She does not have “support or respect” there, he said.
Trump indicated he could instead work with Maduro’s deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, saying “she’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.”
Neighboring Colombia was reinforcing its border with Venezuela, using tanks and armed soldiers who normally fight guerrillas to secure the frontier.
Colombian security forces deployed at the main border crossings on the orders of leftist President Gustavo Petro, who has clashed with Trump over his months-long military buildup in the region.
Petro’s government has warned of a potential humanitarian crisis with migrants pouring over the border from Venezuela.
However, on the Simon Bolivar bridge in Villa del Rosaria, the main crossing point, the number of people walking across on Saturday was far below normal.
By AFP
January 3, 2026
Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gather in the streets of Caracas after the strongman was captured by US forces and taken to the United States - Copyright AFP Federico PARRA
A lingering smell of explosives hung over Venezuela’s capital Caracas on Saturday as shocked residents took stock after an early-morning US strike that ousted strongman Nicolas Maduro.
While a few hundred Maduro supporters gathered to clamor for his freedom, the streets were otherwise eerily quiet.
“I felt the explosions lift me out of bed. In that instant I thought: ‘My God, the day has come,’ and I cried,” Maria Eugenia Escobar, a 58-year-old resident of the city of six million people, told AFP.
The strikes started around 2:00 am local time, with dozens of detonations that some people at first mistook for fireworks.
Windows rattled from the shockwaves and residents rushed out onto terraces and balconies as military aircraft zoomed overhead.
“It was horrible, we felt the planes flying over our house,” said a resident of the Coche neighborhood, near the city’s largest military complex, which was targeted in the raid.
Residents saw columns of smoke rising from several parts of the city, which was soon cloaked in a fog-like haze.
Witnesses spoke of bombings in La Guaira, Caracas’s airport and port, in Maracay to the west, and in Higuerote to the east.
– ‘Absurd! –
In the aftermath, Venezuelans soon learned their long-ruling leader Maduro was out.
US special forces seized Maduro and took him to face trial in New York.
A few hundred supporters gathered in Caracas to demand news of their leader’s fate.
“Long live Nicolas Maduro,” echoed a rally cry from a hastily erected stage with speakers blaring revolutionary music.
“Long live!” responded the crowd.
Katia Briceno, a 54-year-old university professor, came out to protest against what she described as US “barbarism.”
“How is it that a foreign government comes into the country and removes the president? It’s absurd!” she told AFP.
Apart from the protesters, there were few Venezuelans out, and just occasional cars on the usually bustling streets.
Those who did venture out did so under the watchful eye of black-clad agents patrolling the center with long guns.
Many stores were closed after the attack, while queues formed at others that were letting people in a few at a time.
Damage from the explosions was mostly limited to military installations, where vehicles stood riddled by bullets, others smouldering and charred.
Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino Lopez accused the US forces of attacking civilian areas with missiles and rockets fired from combat helicopters.
President Donald Trump said no US soldiers died in Saturday’s strikes, but the toll on the Venezuelan side remained unknown.
For residents of Caracas, the future is uncertain.
Trump said he was “not afraid of boots on the ground” and mooted the possibility of a “much bigger” second wave of strikes if necessary.
He also said the United States will “run” Venezuela until a political transition occurs.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado insists Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, whom the opposition says won elections in July 2024 in which Maduro claimed victory, “must immediately assume his constitutional mandate” as president.
Trump appeared to scotch any expectation that Machado herself might emerge as Venezuela’s new leader. She does not have “support or respect” there, he said.
Trump indicated he could instead work with Maduro’s deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, saying “she’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.”
Neighboring Colombia was reinforcing its border with Venezuela, using tanks and armed soldiers who normally fight guerrillas to secure the frontier.
Colombian security forces deployed at the main border crossings on the orders of leftist President Gustavo Petro, who has clashed with Trump over his months-long military buildup in the region.
Petro’s government has warned of a potential humanitarian crisis with migrants pouring over the border from Venezuela.
However, on the Simon Bolivar bridge in Villa del Rosaria, the main crossing point, the number of people walking across on Saturday was far below normal.
Shock, disbelief in bombed Venezuelan port
By AFP
January 3, 2026
The port of La Guaira was one of several areas in or near Caracas struck by jets during a stealth US mission to seize Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro - Copyright AFP Pedro MATTEY
Patrick FORT
Twelve hours after the United States bombed Venezuela during an operation to oust President Nicolas Maduro, the smoke continued to seep from hangars in the port of La Guaira north of Caracas.
La Guaira was one of several areas in or near Caracas struck by jets during a stealth mission to snatch Maduro and whisk him out of the country.
Deformed shipping containers, their contents spilling onto the docks, bore testimony to the force of the strikes that US officials said were designed to clear the way for helicopters to swoop in on Maduro’s hiding place.
There were no reports of casualties in the area.
Firefighters used an excavator to remove broken glass and gnarled metal strewn across the site as policemen with pump-action rifles patrolled on motorbike to prevent looting.
Curious onlookers filmed the scene on their smartphones, many still incredulous at the speed and magnitude of the day’s events. In a little over an hour, US forces removed an authoritarian leader who had stubbornly clung to power through years of US sanctions and coup plots.
The blasts blew out the windows of public buildings on La Guaira’s seafront and ripped the roofs off several houses.
“Psssh, first we saw the flash and then the explosion,” said Alpidio Lovera, a 47-year-old resident, who ran to a hill with his pregnant wife and other residents to escape the strikes.
His sister Linda Unamuno, 39, burst into sobs as she recalled a nightmarish night.
“The blast smashed the entire roof of my house,” she said.
Unamuno’s first thoughts were that La Guaira was experiencing another natural disaster, 26 years ago after a landslide of biblical proportions swept away 10,000 people, many of them washed out to sea.
“I went out, that’s when I saw what was happening. I saw the fire from the airstrikes. It was traumatizing,” she sobbed, adding she “wished it on no-one.”
Alirio Elista, a pensioner whose water tank was damaged in the strikes, said those who cheered the US intervention for bringing down the unpopular Maduro “don’t know what they’re talking about.”
He said he believed news of Maduro’s capture was “fake” — despite US President Donald Trump having posted a picture of him blindfolded and handcuffed on a US warship.
Like many in Venezuela, the 68-year-old expressed nostalgia for the heyday of the Caribbean country between the 1950s and 1970s, when it was flush with oil riches.
In the past decade Maduro ran the economy into the ground, causing rampant inflation and widespread shortages of fuel, medicine and some basic foodstuffs.
Elista’s pension of under half a dollar a week “doesn’t pay for anything,” he complained.
“We’re hungry,” he said.
But unlike Trump, he had few illusions of a quick fix for the country’s ills.
The Republican leader outlined his vision Saturday of US oil companies pouring into Venezuela to repair crumbling infrastructure — and reap the rewards with surging oil revenues.
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves but its output has tanked in recent years due to a US oil embargo and chronic underinvestment.
“We’ll need at least 15 years to get back to where we were,” Elista predicted.
By AFP
January 3, 2026
The port of La Guaira was one of several areas in or near Caracas struck by jets during a stealth US mission to seize Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro - Copyright AFP Pedro MATTEY
Patrick FORT
Twelve hours after the United States bombed Venezuela during an operation to oust President Nicolas Maduro, the smoke continued to seep from hangars in the port of La Guaira north of Caracas.
La Guaira was one of several areas in or near Caracas struck by jets during a stealth mission to snatch Maduro and whisk him out of the country.
Deformed shipping containers, their contents spilling onto the docks, bore testimony to the force of the strikes that US officials said were designed to clear the way for helicopters to swoop in on Maduro’s hiding place.
There were no reports of casualties in the area.
Firefighters used an excavator to remove broken glass and gnarled metal strewn across the site as policemen with pump-action rifles patrolled on motorbike to prevent looting.
Curious onlookers filmed the scene on their smartphones, many still incredulous at the speed and magnitude of the day’s events. In a little over an hour, US forces removed an authoritarian leader who had stubbornly clung to power through years of US sanctions and coup plots.
The blasts blew out the windows of public buildings on La Guaira’s seafront and ripped the roofs off several houses.
“Psssh, first we saw the flash and then the explosion,” said Alpidio Lovera, a 47-year-old resident, who ran to a hill with his pregnant wife and other residents to escape the strikes.
His sister Linda Unamuno, 39, burst into sobs as she recalled a nightmarish night.
“The blast smashed the entire roof of my house,” she said.
Unamuno’s first thoughts were that La Guaira was experiencing another natural disaster, 26 years ago after a landslide of biblical proportions swept away 10,000 people, many of them washed out to sea.
“I went out, that’s when I saw what was happening. I saw the fire from the airstrikes. It was traumatizing,” she sobbed, adding she “wished it on no-one.”
Alirio Elista, a pensioner whose water tank was damaged in the strikes, said those who cheered the US intervention for bringing down the unpopular Maduro “don’t know what they’re talking about.”
He said he believed news of Maduro’s capture was “fake” — despite US President Donald Trump having posted a picture of him blindfolded and handcuffed on a US warship.
Like many in Venezuela, the 68-year-old expressed nostalgia for the heyday of the Caribbean country between the 1950s and 1970s, when it was flush with oil riches.
In the past decade Maduro ran the economy into the ground, causing rampant inflation and widespread shortages of fuel, medicine and some basic foodstuffs.
Elista’s pension of under half a dollar a week “doesn’t pay for anything,” he complained.
“We’re hungry,” he said.
But unlike Trump, he had few illusions of a quick fix for the country’s ills.
The Republican leader outlined his vision Saturday of US oil companies pouring into Venezuela to repair crumbling infrastructure — and reap the rewards with surging oil revenues.
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves but its output has tanked in recent years due to a US oil embargo and chronic underinvestment.
“We’ll need at least 15 years to get back to where we were,” Elista predicted.
Key Trump quotes about US operation in Venezuela
By AFP
January 3, 2026
US President Donald Trump has said Washington will "run" Venezuela until a "safe" political transition can take place - Copyright AFP Jim WATSON
In a wide-ranging press conference on Saturday, US President Donald Trump on Saturday explained the operation to extract Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro from Caracas, said Washington would temporarily “run” the country, and warned neighboring Colombia to be wary.
Here are the highlights of the press conference, in Trump’s own words:
– On what comes next for Venezuela –
“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”
“The people that are standing right behind me, we’re going to be running it. We’re going to be bringing it back.” (Behind him were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, senior aide Stephen Miller, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and top US General Dan Caine)
– On working with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez –
“She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again, very simple.”
– On Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado –
“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country. She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”
– On Venezuela’s oil industry –
“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country.”
“Very importantly, the embargo on all Venezuelan oil remains in full effect. The American armada remains poised in position, and the United States retains all military options until United States demands have been fully met and fully satisfied.”
– On further US military action in Venezuela –
“We are ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so.”
“We’re not afraid of boots on the ground if we have to have. We had boots on the ground last night at a very high level, actually.”
– On wider US plans in Latin America –
“Under our new national security strategy, American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again.”
“We want to surround ourselves with good neighbors. We want to surround ourselves with stability. We want to surround ourselves with energy. We have tremendous energy in that country. It’s very important that we protect it. We need that for ourselves.”
– On Colombian President Gustavo Petro –
“He’s making cocaine and they’re sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his ass.”
Pets, planes and a ‘fortress’: inside Trump’s raid on Maduro
By AFP
January 3, 2026
US President Donald Trump watched "Operation Absolute Resolve" unfold from a makeshift situation room at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida - Copyright US President Donald Trump's TRUTH Social account/AFP HANDOUT
Danny KEMP
President Donald Trump watched a live feed of US forces dramatically seizing Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, the climax of a meticulous, months-long operation.
From American spies in Caracas to a picture of the leftist leader blindfolded and handcuffed, here is a blow-by-blow account of how “Operation Absolute Resolve” stunned the world.
– ‘What he ate’ –
US intelligence agents had been secretly monitoring leftist Maduro’s every movement since August, despite his widely reported efforts to regularly change locations as tensions mounted with Washington.
“How he moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore — what were his pets,” Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine said Saturday as he described the surveillance.
The mission also involved months of “pinpoint” planning and rehearsal. Trump said US forces built a replica house identical to the one where Maduro was staying.
The US military was ready by early December but waited for a window of “aligned events,” including the weather. Trump said he initially ordered the mission four days ago, but held off for the right conditions.
– ‘Good luck and Godspeed’ –
At 10:46 pm Washington time on Friday (0346 GMT Saturday), Trump gave the order to go.
“He said to us — and we appreciate it Mr President — ‘Good luck and Godspeed.’ And those words were transmitted to the entire joint force,” said Caine.
More than 150 US military aircraft then took off from land and sea, including fighter jets, reconnaissance planes, drones — and the helicopters that would form the crucial core of the mission.
The helicopters carrying the “extraction force” for Maduro took off into the darkness, flying at just 100 feet (33 meters) above the surface of the ocean, said Caine.
Fighter jets provided air cover while US satellite and cyber capabilities blocked Venezuelan radars.
– ‘Knew we were coming’ –
The first explosions began to rock Caracas just before 2 am (0600 GMT), according to AFP correspondents.
As the world wondered if it was the start of a widespread bombing campaign of Venezuelan targets, US aircraft were in fact only striking Venezuelan air defenses to allow the helicopters to get to their target.
“They knew we were coming,” Trump told a press conference, referring to the tensions that had been building for months. “But they were completely overwhelmed and very quickly incapacitated” as US aircraft returned fire.
One US chopper was hit but remained operational and made it home afterwards.
The helicopters finally popped over the hills surrounding Caracas, and believing that the extraction team had maintained the element of surprise, landed at Maduro’s compound at 2:01 am Caracas time (0601 GMT).
– ‘Like a fortress’ –
Trump said he watched the climax of the operation on a live feed.
Pictures released by the White House showed him sitting in a makeshift situation room at his Mar-a-Lago resort with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA chief John Ratcliffe, Caine and other officials.
“I watched it, literally, like I was watching a television show,” Trump told Fox and Friends.
The US president described Maduro’s compound as “a fortress.”
“It had steel doors, it had what they call a safety space where it’s solid steel all around. He didn’t get that space closed, he was trying to get into it, but he got bum-rushed so fast that he didn’t get into that,” he told Fox.
“We were prepared with massive blowtorches to get through the steel, but we didn’t need them.”
Trump said no US personnel were killed — but said Maduro “could have been” had he or Venezuelan forces tried to resist.
– ‘Gave up’ –
Caine said Maduro and his wife “gave up” and were taken into custody by law enforcement officers on the mission. The pair face US drugs and terrorism charges.
The US helicopters crossed the Venezuelan coastline at 3:29 am and the couple were taken aboard the USS Iwo Jima.
Trump then broke the news in a post on Truth Social at 4:21 am Washington time.
Minutes later, a senior White House official sent an AFP reporter a message consisting of emojis for a muscled arm, a fist and fire.
The first the world would see of Maduro — blindfolded, cuffed, wearing ear protectors and a Nike tracksuit — came in a later Trump social media update, posted without comment.
By AFP
January 3, 2026
US President Donald Trump has said Washington will "run" Venezuela until a "safe" political transition can take place - Copyright AFP Jim WATSON
In a wide-ranging press conference on Saturday, US President Donald Trump on Saturday explained the operation to extract Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro from Caracas, said Washington would temporarily “run” the country, and warned neighboring Colombia to be wary.
Here are the highlights of the press conference, in Trump’s own words:
– On what comes next for Venezuela –
“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”
“The people that are standing right behind me, we’re going to be running it. We’re going to be bringing it back.” (Behind him were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, senior aide Stephen Miller, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and top US General Dan Caine)
– On working with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez –
“She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again, very simple.”
– On Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado –
“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country. She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”
– On Venezuela’s oil industry –
“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country.”
“Very importantly, the embargo on all Venezuelan oil remains in full effect. The American armada remains poised in position, and the United States retains all military options until United States demands have been fully met and fully satisfied.”
– On further US military action in Venezuela –
“We are ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so.”
“We’re not afraid of boots on the ground if we have to have. We had boots on the ground last night at a very high level, actually.”
– On wider US plans in Latin America –
“Under our new national security strategy, American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again.”
“We want to surround ourselves with good neighbors. We want to surround ourselves with stability. We want to surround ourselves with energy. We have tremendous energy in that country. It’s very important that we protect it. We need that for ourselves.”
– On Colombian President Gustavo Petro –
“He’s making cocaine and they’re sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his ass.”
Pets, planes and a ‘fortress’: inside Trump’s raid on Maduro
By AFP
January 3, 2026
US President Donald Trump watched "Operation Absolute Resolve" unfold from a makeshift situation room at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida - Copyright US President Donald Trump's TRUTH Social account/AFP HANDOUT
Danny KEMP
President Donald Trump watched a live feed of US forces dramatically seizing Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, the climax of a meticulous, months-long operation.
From American spies in Caracas to a picture of the leftist leader blindfolded and handcuffed, here is a blow-by-blow account of how “Operation Absolute Resolve” stunned the world.
– ‘What he ate’ –
US intelligence agents had been secretly monitoring leftist Maduro’s every movement since August, despite his widely reported efforts to regularly change locations as tensions mounted with Washington.
“How he moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore — what were his pets,” Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine said Saturday as he described the surveillance.
The mission also involved months of “pinpoint” planning and rehearsal. Trump said US forces built a replica house identical to the one where Maduro was staying.
The US military was ready by early December but waited for a window of “aligned events,” including the weather. Trump said he initially ordered the mission four days ago, but held off for the right conditions.
– ‘Good luck and Godspeed’ –
At 10:46 pm Washington time on Friday (0346 GMT Saturday), Trump gave the order to go.
“He said to us — and we appreciate it Mr President — ‘Good luck and Godspeed.’ And those words were transmitted to the entire joint force,” said Caine.
More than 150 US military aircraft then took off from land and sea, including fighter jets, reconnaissance planes, drones — and the helicopters that would form the crucial core of the mission.
The helicopters carrying the “extraction force” for Maduro took off into the darkness, flying at just 100 feet (33 meters) above the surface of the ocean, said Caine.
Fighter jets provided air cover while US satellite and cyber capabilities blocked Venezuelan radars.
– ‘Knew we were coming’ –
The first explosions began to rock Caracas just before 2 am (0600 GMT), according to AFP correspondents.
As the world wondered if it was the start of a widespread bombing campaign of Venezuelan targets, US aircraft were in fact only striking Venezuelan air defenses to allow the helicopters to get to their target.
“They knew we were coming,” Trump told a press conference, referring to the tensions that had been building for months. “But they were completely overwhelmed and very quickly incapacitated” as US aircraft returned fire.
One US chopper was hit but remained operational and made it home afterwards.
The helicopters finally popped over the hills surrounding Caracas, and believing that the extraction team had maintained the element of surprise, landed at Maduro’s compound at 2:01 am Caracas time (0601 GMT).
– ‘Like a fortress’ –
Trump said he watched the climax of the operation on a live feed.
Pictures released by the White House showed him sitting in a makeshift situation room at his Mar-a-Lago resort with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA chief John Ratcliffe, Caine and other officials.
“I watched it, literally, like I was watching a television show,” Trump told Fox and Friends.
The US president described Maduro’s compound as “a fortress.”
“It had steel doors, it had what they call a safety space where it’s solid steel all around. He didn’t get that space closed, he was trying to get into it, but he got bum-rushed so fast that he didn’t get into that,” he told Fox.
“We were prepared with massive blowtorches to get through the steel, but we didn’t need them.”
Trump said no US personnel were killed — but said Maduro “could have been” had he or Venezuelan forces tried to resist.
– ‘Gave up’ –
Caine said Maduro and his wife “gave up” and were taken into custody by law enforcement officers on the mission. The pair face US drugs and terrorism charges.
The US helicopters crossed the Venezuelan coastline at 3:29 am and the couple were taken aboard the USS Iwo Jima.
Trump then broke the news in a post on Truth Social at 4:21 am Washington time.
Minutes later, a senior White House official sent an AFP reporter a message consisting of emojis for a muscled arm, a fist and fire.
The first the world would see of Maduro — blindfolded, cuffed, wearing ear protectors and a Nike tracksuit — came in a later Trump social media update, posted without comment.
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