Mapping US attacks in Venezuela: Timeline of Nicolás Maduro's capture
In a surprise early morning attack, U.S. air and naval forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Saturday, Jan. 3. They landed Saturday evening in New York, where they face criminal drug charges, U.S. officials said.
President Donald Trump announced Maduro's capture on Truth Social at 4:21 a.m.
“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolás Maduro,” Trump posted. He said Maduro and his wife were flown out of the country.
No U.S. casualties were reported.
In a two-hour operation, Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured by special military forces and taken by helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship, Trump told “Fox and Friends” Saturday morning. They were later transferred to a plane that took them to New York.
Where did US forces strike in Venezuela?
Can't see our graphics? Click here to reload the page.
Maduro, his wife and adult son are facing federal drug trafficking charges in the Southern District of New York, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Maduro was indicted there in 2020, but new charges were recently filed. A 25-page indictment including drug and weapons charges was released Saturday.
How was Maduro captured?
Maduro was seized by a team that included elite U.S. special forces, including the U.S. Army’s Delta Force, a U.S. official told Reuters.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, in a news conference at 11 a.m. Saturday, said the operation involved more than 150 aircraft and personnel from the U.S. military and intelligence agencies, including the CIA, National Security Agency, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
It took months of intelligence work "to find Maduro and understand how he moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore, what were his pets," Caine said. Plans were finalized in early December.
Here is how the operation unfolded, according to news reports and a Saturday press conference with President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Caine from Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida:
10:46 p.m. Friday: Trump gives go-ahead for the mission.
"Over the course of the night, aircraft began launching from 20 different bases on land and sea across the Western hemisphere," Caine says at the news conference. "In total, more than 150 aircraft bombers fighters, intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, and rotary wing aircraft were in the air last night."
Early Saturday: U.S. helicopters, protected by fighter jets, enter Venezuelan airspace. They fly low, about 100 feet above the Caribbean.
1:01 a.m.: U.S. forces arrive at Maduro's compound, the Fort Tiuna military installation in Caracas. Ground forces are deployed to find Maduro. The helicopters, which provide air support, come under fire. One is hit but remains flyable.
In a phone interview with "Fox & Friends" earlier Saturday morning, Trump says Maduro tried to evade U.S. forces by entering a steel safety room. He's unable to close the door, and he and his wife surrender. They're taken into custody by Justice Department officials. Other helicopters are called in to remove Maduro, his wife, and American officials.
3:29 a.m.: The returning helicopters are reporting back over water.
"There were multiple self-defense engagements as the force began to withdraw out of Venezuela," Caine says.
4:21 a.m.: Trump posts notice of the mission on Truth Social.
Images from within the country later showed explosions, burning vehicles and plumes of smoke rising over the capital, Caracas, and other locations. Witnesses reported the sounds of low-flying jets.
Did anyone die in Venezuela attack?
No U.S. military members were killed during the Jan. 3 strikes on Venezuelan military bases, Trump said. However, the Washington Post reported Jan. 6 that about a half-dozen were injured, some with gunshot wounds.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said some civilians and members of the Venezuelan military were killed, but official numbers have not yet been released.
The New York Times reported that at least 40 people were killed in the attack, based on a conversation with an anonymous senior Venezuelan official. The death toll was later estimated at 75 people, according to unidentified officials cited by the Post.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said later that Rubio told him Maduro would stand trial on criminal charges in the U.S. and that no further action was anticipated inside Venezuela.
What happens next? US will 'run' Venezuela, Trump says
Trump said his administration will determine who will be in charge of the country. He declined to endorse Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025, to lead the country.
In the news conference, Trump said the U.S. will "run" Venezuela until "we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition." No details were provided on how the U.S. planned to manage Venezuela. Trump did not say how soon and for how long the U.S. will run the country.
"I'd like to do it quickly, but it takes a period of time," Trump said. "We're rebuilding. We have to rebuild their whole infrastructure."
CONTRIBUTING Michael Collins, Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Davis Winkie, Francesca Chambers, Bart Jansen, Hannah Phillips, Jeanine Santucci, Eduardo Cuevas, Spencer Elliot, Josh Meyer, and Mike Snider, USA TODAY
SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Reuters; Department of Defense