The U.S. military launched strikes against Venezuela as part of an operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, President Donald Trump announced on Saturday.
Speaking to Fox News on Saturday morning, Trump said U.S. forces had sustained “a few injuries” during the operation, which he watched in real time.
“That we had nobody killed was amazing,” Trump said. “I think we had nobody killed, I have to say because a couple of guys were hit, but they came back, and they’re supposed to be in pretty good shape.”
He added that U.S. forces “lost no aircraft” even though one helicopter was “hit pretty hard.”
Currently, Maduro and his wife are being held aboard the amphibious assault ship assault ship USS Iwo Jima, and they will be transferred to New York, said Trump, who is expected to hold a news conference at 11 a.m. Saturday morning at Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
President Trump first announced the mission on Truth Social at 4:21 a.m. on Saturday: “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. Details to follow.”
The president’s comments came after multiple explosions were reported on Saturday in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas. Airstrikes hit the city for roughly an hour, hitting several sites, including military installations, in a widespread attack by American forces on Venezuela. Reuters, citing an American official, as well as the Wall Street Journal and CBS reports that the United States carried out the attacks in Venezuela.
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The Pentagon directed all questions to the White House. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared President Trump’s statement on social media.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) posted on X that he had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday about the operation to capture Maduro.
“He informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant,” Lee wrote. “This action likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack.”
Lee added that Rubio told him he does not expect any further action now that Maduro is in custody.
Both Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York, Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced on Saturday. Maduro faces charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and other offenses, Bondi posted on social media.
Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez issued a statement on state television saying the government does not know where Maduro or his wife currently are and demanding “proof of life,” the Associated Press reported.
Multiple outlets including CBS News and the BBC reported helicopters flying low across the city amid the explosions, which began just before 3 a.m. local time on Saturday. Footage shared by al-Jazeera English showed helicopters flying through the city. There is no indication of how many people were killed or injured in the bombardments.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, the first apparent regional leader to comment on the explosions, reported on X that the city was being attacked with missiles, although he did not identify the attacker. Explosions were reported around the densely packed city, including in Fort Tiuna, home to the headquarters of the Ministry of Popular Power for Defense, which oversees Venezuela’s armed forces.
Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Affairs directly accused the United States of the attack.
“President Nicolas Maduro has ordered all national defense plans to be implemented at the appropriate time and under the appropriate circumstances,” Yván Gil Pinto, Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, wrote in an official government statement on Telegram. Gil said that in addition to Caracas sites in the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira were also hit. More than 3 million people live in the dense urban area of Caracas. Maduro has declared a state of national emergency.
CBS News reports that President Trump gave the green light for land strikes in December, before Christmas.
The United States has repeatedly accused the Venezuelan government, headed by Maduro, of being involved in the trade of illegal drugs. It has designated several drug trafficking groups, including a possibly nonexistent cartel allegedly led by Maduro, as a foreign terrorist organization. Since September, the U.S. has carried out at least 35 airstrikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, accused of being drug smuggling ships. More than 100 people have died from these strikes. In the last month, the U.S. also enacted a blockade of oil tankers coming or going from Venezuela.
The explosions came a week after President Donald Trump told a radio host that the United States had “hit” a coastal facility in Venezuela allegedly used for drug trafficking. He affirmed the attack on Dec. 29, but gave no other details. The New York Times, CNN and The Intercept have confirmed there was a strike in December on Venezuelan soil, although the full nature of it remains unclear.
The United States currently has approximately 15,000 personnel in the Caribbean, including several ships amassed at sea. That armada includes the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and its supporting strike group, as well as several warships. Additionally, the U.S. military has multiple fighter jets stationed in the area as well as the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, carrying the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. The Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, a special operations helicopter unit, has also been in the region in recent months training.
UPDATE: 01/03/2026; This story has been updated with statements from President Donald Trump, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
