U.S. Forces Capture Venezuelan Leader in Dramatic Raid

A covert United States military operation has resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, marking a sudden and dramatic escalation in the long-running political crisis. The raid, which involved explosions and gunfire in the capital of Caracas, has upended the leadership of the South American nation.

According to multiple U.S. officials, American forces detained Maduro and took him into U.S. custody [40783][40639]. President Donald Trump announced the operation, stating U.S. forces were involved and that the mission was successful [40783][40497]. Following the capture, President Trump declared the United States is now "in charge" of Venezuela [42095].

The operation unfolded overnight, with residents of Caracas reporting multiple strong explosions and sounds of aircraft [40509][40587]. Witnesses described seeing smoke and experiencing power outages in parts of the city. The cause of the blasts was initially unclear, but they have since been linked to the military action [40639][40448].

Maduro, who leads Venezuela's socialist party, has long been a target of U.S. sanctions and was facing criminal charges from the U.S. government, including accusations of narco-terrorism [40623][41507]. The U.S. had previously offered a multi-million dollar bounty for his capture.

In the immediate aftermath, Venezuela's constitutional line of succession was activated. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was swiftly sworn in as the country's acting president, creating a direct challenge to the U.S. claim of authority [42095]. The status of U.S.-recognized interim president Juan Guaidó remains unclear.

Despite the scale of the operation, top U.S. officials are insisting this does not constitute an act of war against Venezuela. Senator Marco Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson separately stated that the United States is "not at war" with Venezuela, framing the action as a law enforcement operation against criminal drug trafficking networks [41507][42659]. However, the secretive nature of the mission has sparked a political clash in Washington, with leading Democrats criticizing the administration for not consulting Congress [42659].

The situation in Venezuela remains highly fluid. There has been no independent confirmation of Maduro's precise location or the specific charges he will face. The capture represents the most direct U.S. intervention in Venezuela in decades and sets the stage for a complex and uncertain struggle for control of the nation's government.