Times draws on over a century of Venezuela reporting after Trump announced Maduro’s capture

New York Times reporters were on the ground in Caracas in the early hours of Jan. 3, when Anatoly Kurmanaev messaged colleagues that the city was under attack and, at 4:21 a.m., President Trump announced on social media that the United States had captured Nicolás Maduro. The Times has reported from Venezuela since at least the 1880s, covering episodes from early travel dispatches and the country’s oil boom after 1914 to Charles Lindbergh’s 1928 visit.

The paper established a Caracas bureau around 1970 and covered major moments such as the 1989 Caracazo riots and the rise of Hugo Chávez in 1999; Simon Romero later moved to Caracas and served as bureau chief during the Chávez era. Reporters have continued to work despite increasing risks.

Nicholas Casey was barred from re-entering Venezuela in October 2016 and reported from Colombia, while coverage since Nicolás Maduro’s election has documented economic collapse, shortages and stark inequality, including reporting in 2020 on Maduro supporters living in luxury. Over the past year, The Times has also reported on escalating tensions with the United States, including Mr.

Trump’s invocation of a 1798 law, deadly U.S. strikes on boats, the seizure of two tankers carrying Venezuelan oil and a U.S. military buildup off Venezuela’s shores. The early hours on Jan.

Key Topics

World, Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela, Caracas, Donald Trump, Anatoly Kurmanaev