Name: Donald Trump says US has 'captured' Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife | BBC News
Uploaded: 2026-01-03T16:57:02.000Z
Duration: 19 min 24 s
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A remarkable statement by President Trump on a social media post saying that the US has carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country.

Basic passive voice

This operation was done in conjunction with US Law enforcement.

An incredible development in this and one that seems to have not have been expected by Venezuelan authorities.

We still don't know where President Maduro and his wife will be now.

All we know from President Trump's statement is that they were captured and flown out of the country.

We have not heard anything from Venezuela about that.

But let's look now at who is the Venezuelan president?

Nicolas Merrimack Maduro, a former bus driver and union leader.

Nicolas Maduro has led Venezuela since 2013 following the death of his mentor Hugo Chavez.

In 2024, he was declared president for a third term in an election widely denounced as rigged.

The opposition says its leader won that election by a landslide.

Donald Trump blames Maduro for the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants in into the U.S. 8 million people are estimated to have fled the country since 2013 due to economic crisis and repression.

President Trump has also focused on fighting the influx of drugs into the U.S.

he's alleged that Maduro is himself involved in the drug trade.

Maduro denies being a cartel leader and accuses the US of using its war on drugs as an excuse to depose him and to get access to Venezuela's vast oil reserves.

Well, with me now is our global affairs reporter, Mimi Swaby.

Mimi, an incredible turn of events that we have been following this morning.

How significant is that latest development?

The announcement of President Trump that President Maduro and his wife have been captured and flown out of the country following this large scale strike.

Many inside and outside of Venezuela wouldn't leave it true only a matter of hours, if not days ago.

The idea that there would be land strikes was something that has been warned for a long time.

Now, however, it was thought by many that it was more of psychological warfare than it would actually happen.

We've seen more than 35 strikes on alleged vessels carrying drugs from both Venezuela and on the other side of the continent in the Pacific Ocean, killing more than 110 people.

But to actually go into the country itself, do land strikes there and now allegedly capture Mr.

Maduro and his wife and remove him from Venezuela is an unprecedented move.

Maduro's tactic to hunker down and really repel any psychological warfare which has been Increasingly aggressive in the past few months, since we saw that first strike on a boat in the South Caribbean Sea on 2nd September.

For him to be removed, we don't know where, how or any details yet is and will come is a huge shock to many Venezuelans.

People I've been speaking to in the country said that they heard multiple explosions or huge, huge fires.

Remember, Caracas is a valley, so that sound would have echoed around the city, being incredibly frightening.

And that kind of onslaught of noise came for about 90 minutes and then an eerie silence.

So this news will really have unnerved people even further.

I mean, we heard there was a state of emergency in place.

Mr. Maduro's government, his alleged legitimate government, has declared a state of commotion.

So no one can leave their house to try and understand what's happened anymore.

Many people probably won't want to leave their house.

But it really does show the level of uncertainty.

If this post on Truth Social can be believed.

So it will come at a time where many Venezuelans will be panicking and largely in shock.

Tell us a little bit about the power structure in Venezuela.

This will, of course, leave a power vacuum in the short term.

But what is the structure that would have surrounded President Maduro?

I mean, we have heard from the Venezuelan Defense Minister, Padrino, saying that some strikes, some of those US Strikes hit civilian areas.

That is something that came from the Venezuelan Defense Minister.

So what is the kind of the political structure that would have surrounded President Maduro?

President Maduro has a very small and loyal circle, immediate circle around him.

You've got the defense Minister, the foreign minister, individuals that are incredibly loyal and have kind of echoed the sentiment of violation towards Venezuela's sovereignty and seen any move by the US as an act of aggression and ruin really repelled it.

The military are President Maduro's greatest asset, and

they have largely protected and ensured his kind of cement cementation in power.

For many years now, President Trump has alleged that Mr.

Maduro heads something called the Cartel de los Soles.

And that has been thought to be by many a cartel which has really got roots in the military, both former and present military officials.

Soles, meaning sun, is a symbol which military officials wear to show their rank.

So those sons, the more sons, the large the sun, the higher the rank.

That is something that has been kind of said by the US and used an excuse to push more action against Mr.

More largely now this is something that the Venezuelan government has denounced, saying it doesn't even exist.

And we've heard that from other countries as well.

The kind of exact form, if it's true exactly what the US Says or if it exists at all is something that is up to debate.

The truth perhaps somewhere in the middle.

Maduro's circle is incredibly loyal, but he does heavily rely, like I said, on that military protection.

And many will think that unless the military turns against him that there will be no regime change.

Now, he may have left a vacuum in place here, but

we don't know if other officials have been wounded, if they are still in Venezuela.

Many details are still yet to be be discovered.

Mimi Swaby there with some more on that huge breaking news that's come through in the past few minutes that the US President Donald Trump has said that the US has captured the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

It says the United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country.

This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement.

That breaking news that's just come through in the past few minutes.

Let's speak to our BBC producer in Caracas, Vanessa Silva.

Vanessa, how much has this breaking news filtered through to people on the ground there?

Well, for us it's all rumors is a lot of messages around WhatsApp this moment but we have not official confirmation of anything of that.

Just few minutes ago the Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino just made a statement, call it criminal aggression by United States and he mentioned that among the targets was fortetuna, the main military compound here in Caracas.

And there were also other objectives in at least other three states of the country.

They say that they struck civilian residential areas within missiles and rockets.

But for now we have, we have done seeing reports of civilian casualties or something like that.

I live quite near the military air base here in Caracas.

I just wake up almost at 2am in the morning with a huge bang.

Everything was vibrating, my heart was pumping, I was shaking.

I just jumped to the window and I was able to see something in flames in the middle of the Runway of the East Militar Air Base.

So you know, the, the noise was huge, was impressive for us.

And after that we start, everyone start to call to share messages, to share videos from different parts of the country.

I was able to listen other explosions not so near the first one.

And also I was able to listen airplanes or or helicopters?

It was more like an airplane flying over the city.

And Vanessa, just going back to the news of the capture of President Maduro and his wife that has been announced by President Trump.

Just tell us a little bit more about the presidential home.

Where did President Maduro live and how accessible would he have been?

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Donald Trump says US has 'captured' Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife | BBC News

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