At a Glance
- President Trump shared an unverified photo of captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3
- Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were seized overnight after U.S. military strikes on Venezuelan targets
- The couple is aboard the USS Iwo Jima bound for New York
- Why it matters: Trump says the U.S. will now “run” Venezuela and restart oil exports, raising questions about long-term American involvement
President Donald Trump posted what he claims is an image of a captured Nicolás Maduro aboard a U.S. Navy ship, hours after ordering airstrikes across Venezuela that led to the detention of the Venezuelan president and first lady.
The Capture
Trump uploaded the photo to Truth Social on Saturday, Jan. 3, showing a figure in large glasses and headphones said to be Maduro, 63, restrained aboard the USS Iwo Jima. The vessel is now transporting Maduro and Cilia Flores, 69, to New York, according to Trump’s caption.
U.S. special forces located Maduro as he tried to seal a safe-room door, Trump told reporters, adding that the door “wasn’t safe because we would have had it blown up in about 47 seconds.”
Military Strikes
U.S. aircraft hit multiple Venezuelan sites overnight:
- Fuerte Tiuna military base
- La Carlota airbase
- El Volcán signal antenna
- La Guaira Port on the Caribbean coast
Venezuela’s government says more than 110 people have died since the strikes began and denounced Washington for seeking to “seize Venezuela’s strategic resources.” Defense plans have been activated nationwide, with officials urging mass mobilizations against what they call an imperialist attack.
Trump’s Venezuela Plan
Speaking after the raids, Trump declared, “We’re going to run the country right. It’s going to be run very judiciously, very fairly. And it’s gonna make a lot of money.”
He accused Maduro of:
- Drug trafficking
- Using oil revenue to fund crime
- Driving migration to the U.S.
Maduro has denied the allegations, according to prior reports cited by the article.
Key Takeaways
- Trump confirms U.S. boots-on-ground operations and is unapologetic about further deployments
- Confiscated oil tankers and renewed production could shift global crude markets
- Venezuela’s political future now hinges on Washington’s next moves, not Caracas
With Maduro in U.S. custody, Trump promises swift oil sales abroad, setting the stage for a prolonged American administrative role in Venezuela.
