A destroyed armored vehicle sits at La Carlota airport in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after explosions were reported at the site. (Ariana Cubillos/AP)
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Saturday said the United States will control Venezuela for an unspecified period and is “not afraid” to have military forces on the ground after a nighttime operation resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
“It was an assault like people have not seen since World War II,” Trump said during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla. “We’re going to run the country until such a time we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition. And we are ready to stage a second and much larger attack, if we need to do so.”
The president was asked several times about having U.S. troops on the ground in Venezuela.
“We’re not afraid of boots on the ground,” Trump said.
Trump, during an interview with Fox News before the news conference, said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were placed on the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, to be taken to New York, and they were removed from Venezuela by helicopter.
The U.S. had for months built a large force of Navy and special operations forces off Venezuela’s coast. The force includes the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and strike group, the Iwo Jima and thousands of Marines.
Trump said the U.S. wanted to conduct the operation four days ago but waited until they “had the perfect weather.” No U.S. forces were killed but one aircraft was hit as well as a “couple of guys.”
“It was just the right time to do it. We had to do it,” the president said.
CBS News reported the Army’s elite Delta Force was involved in the operation. The helicopter assault was conducted by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.
U.S. Special Operations Command, which coordinates U.S. special operations around the world, and U.S. Southern Command, responsible for defense of American interests in Central and South America, did not respond to requests for comment Saturday.
The legal authority for the attack was not immediately clear. The stunning American military action, which plucked a nation’s sitting leader from office, echoed the U.S. invasion of Panama that led to the surrender and seizure of its leader, Manuel Noriega, in 1990 — exactly 36 years ago.
Trump was joined at the news conference by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. When asked who would be running Venezuela, Trump said it would “largely be run by people standing behind me.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla. (Alex Brandon/AP)
“What we witnessed last night was sheer guts and grit, gallantry and glory of the American warrior,” Hegseth said. “Nicolás Maduro had his chance … until he didn’t. He f’ed around and found out.”
Operation Absolute Resolve began in the darkest hours of Friday and extended into the early hours of Saturday after months of planning, Caine said. More than 150 aircraft — including B-1 bombers, F-22, F-18, E/A-18 and F-35 fighter jets, E-2 surveillance planes, rotary aviation and “numerous remotely piloted drones” — were launched from 20 U.S. bases. The youngest crew member was 20, and the oldest was 49.
“This was an audacious operation that only the United States could do,” Caine said.
During the operation, the U.S. helicopters came under fire, Caine said. U.S. forces responded with “overwhelming force and self-defense,” he said.
“There’s simply no match for American military might,” Caine said.
U.S. special forces arrived at Maduro’s compound at 1:01 a.m. EST. The force began to withdraw out of Venezuela and was over the water at 3:29 a.m. EST, the chairman added.
One U.S. aircraft was hit during the operation but remained flyable throughout the mission and returned home safely, Caine said.
Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, told the Associated Press that some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed.
Maduro attempted to escape during the operation, Trump added, but could not because U.S. forces moved too quickly. Maduro “made it to the door,” which he described as “a very heavy door,” but could not close the door, the president added.
Rubio said members of Congress were informed of the operation following its conclusion.
Republican Sens. Mike Lee, of Utah, and Tom Cotton, of Arkansas, posted on X before the press conference that they had conversations with Rubio about the operation.
“The Administration’s actions in Venezuela prove that this has never been about a war on drugs or protecting Americans. This is about regime change and a personal feud with President Maduro,” Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, of Virginia, the top Democrat of the Military and Foreign Affairs Oversight Subcommittee, said in a statement. “President Maduro was a violent ruler who oppressed democracy in his country, but his capture in this manner will not stop the flow of drugs or promise anything other than more instability in Venezuela, and potentially another forever war started under false pretenses.”
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a retired Air Force general and member of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement the operations last night “are great for the future of Venezuelans and the region.”
“My main concern now is that Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan. Freedom and rule of law were defended last night, but dictators will try to exploit this to rationalize their selfish objectives,” Bacon added.
Vice President JD Vance said that Trump offered Maduro “multiple off ramps” before the operation in Venezuela.
“Maduro is the newest person to find out that President Trump means what he says,” Vance said in a post on X. “Kudos to our brave special operators who pulled off a truly impressive operation.”
A photo of Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima posted by U.S. President Donald Trump on Truth Social on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2025. (U.S. President Donald Trump via Truth Social)
Vance also said that he did not believe the operation was illegal.
“Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism,” Vance wrote. Maduro was indicted by federal prosecutors in 2020. “You don’t get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife were indicted in New York. Bondi vowed in a social media post that the couple would “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”
“For over 25 years, leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States,” the 25-page indictment says.
The indictment was filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. In addition to Maduro and his wife, the indictment also charges Maduro’s son, Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra, Minister of the Popular Power for Interior, Justice and Peace Diosdado Cabello Rondon, former Minister of the Interior and Justice Ramon Rodriguez Chacin, and leader of Tren de Aragua, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores.
Maduro, 63, has been the president of Venezuela since 2013. He was the hand-picked successor of the country’s former leader, Hugo Chávez, and was narrowly elected president following Chávez’s death.
Maduro was sworn in for a third term in January 2025 following a 2024 election widely condemned by international observers and the opposition as fraudulent.
Trump this year designated several drug cartels as terrorist organizations, including Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua. His administration has asserted that the U.S. is in an “armed conflict” with cartels and will treat their members as combatants.
Since early Sept. 2, the U.S. has conducted 35 known strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats and killed at least 115 people.
“President Trump is deadly serious about stopping the flow of gangs and violence to our country, deadly serious about stopping the flow of drugs and poison to our people. Deadly serious about getting back the oil that was stolen from us and deadly serious about reestablishing American deterrence and dominance in the Western Hemisphere,” Hegseth said.
Stars and Stripes reporter Corey Dickstein contributed to this report.
