Picture of fire at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, after a series of explosions in Caracas on January 3, 2026. Picture: Luis JAIMES / AFP President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a “large-scale strike” on the South American country. “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,” Trump said on Truth Social.
In a brief phone interview withThe New York Times, Trump hailed the “brilliant” operation. “A lot of good planning and a lot of great, great troops and great people,” the paper quoted Trump as saying. Venezuela accused the United States of an “extremely serious military aggression” after explosions rocked the capital Caracas in the early hours of Saturday, following a months-long pressure campaign by President Donald Trump.
US media outlets, including Fox News and CBS News, reported that the United States was conducting military strikes on the Caribbean country, in a dramatic escalation that Venezuelans had feared for weeks. The White House and Pentagon have not commented on the alleged attacks. The blasts, accompanied by the sound of planes flying over the city, were heard around 2:00 am (06: 00 GMT, 08:00 in SA) Saturday, an AFP journalist said.
Read Full Article on The Citizen
[paywall]
Explosions were also heard in La Guaira, north of the capital, where Caracas’s airport and port are located. “Venezuela rejects, repudiates, and denounces before the international community the extremely serious military aggression perpetrated by the current government of the United States of America against Venezuelan territory and people,” the government of leftist President Maduro said. The Venezuelan leader also declared a state of emergency.
[/paywall]
