Updated: President Donald Trump ordered U.S. special operations forces to launch a helicopter-borne raid on the Venezuelan capital city of Caracas to capture accused drug kingpin, dictator, murderer, and economic destroyer of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, late at night Friday, January 2, 2026. The operation was the culmination of months of preparation and waiting for the perfect window of opportunity. It was a complex law enforcement mission supported by the War Department, officials said.
In March 2020, a federal judge in New York unsealed an indictment against Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan officials, alleging he is the head of a narcotics trafficking ring with ties to U.S.-designated terrorist groups. There was a $25 million reward on Maduro from the Biden Administration.
“We could’ve lost a lot of people last night. We could’ve lost a lot of dignity. We could’ve lost a lot of equipment. The equipment is less important, but we could’ve lost a lot,” Trump said at a press conference from the president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, January 3. He also quipped, about the reward on Maduro the Department of Justice is not now obligated to pay.
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