US strikes in Caracas and reported capture of Maduro escalate tensions as outcome remains unclear

The United States carried out strikes in Caracas targeting military infrastructure and President Donald Trump announced that Venezuela's leader, Nicolás Maduro, has been captured and flown out of the country. Trump said Maduro now faces weapons and drugs charges; his exact whereabouts are unknown and Venezuelan colleagues have demanded proof he is alive.

The operation marks a dramatic escalation: Washington has not conducted direct military intervention inside a Latin American capital on this scale since its 1989 invasion of Panama. The strikes follow months of US military buildup in the region, including warplanes, thousands of troops, helicopters and a large warship, and dozens of strikes on suspected drug trafficking vessels that the US says killed at least 110 people.

The US has long accused Maduro of leading a criminal trafficking organisation, a charge he denies. Washington has designated under the label 'Cartel de los Soles' a group of Venezuelan elites it alleges run illegal activities such as drug trafficking and illegal mining. For Venezuela's government, the intervention confirms long-held claims that the US seeks regime change.

The US long stopped recognising Maduro as president after the 2024 elections were widely dismissed by international observers as neither free nor fair.

Key Topics

World, Nicolás Maduro, Donald Trump, Venezuela, Drug Trafficking, Maria Corina Machado