Trump announced U.S. plan for Venezuela after capture of Maduro

The United States just conducted one of its most significant military operations in decades.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is now in American custody.

And Trump announced the United States’ plan for Venezuela after the capture of Maduro.

U.S. forces arrest Maduro in Caracas operation

On January 3, U.S. Special Forces arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in an armed strike in Caracas, Venezuela.¹

At least seven explosions rocked the Venezuelan capital around 2 a.m. local time as aircraft flew over the city.²

U.S. forces struck multiple locations including Venezuela's largest military complex at Fuerte Tiuna and installations in La Guaira, Miranda, and Aragua states.³

President Trump shared on Truth Social at 4:21 a.m. that a "large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader" resulted in Maduro's arrest.⁴

Trump later posted an image showing Maduro in custody aboard the USS Iwo Jima with a black blindfold and water bottle.⁵

The operation came after months of escalating rhetoric and kinetic actions.

Since September, the United States conducted airstrikes against alleged narcoterrorists transporting drugs in boats.⁶

On October 2, the Pentagon announced in a memo to Congress that the United States was officially in an armed conflict with the cartels.⁷

In November, the State Department designated Venezuelan-based Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization.⁸

On December 16, Trump designated Maduro's regime as a terrorist organization and announced a blockade with the largest Naval armada "ever assembled in South America."⁹

Trump says America will run Venezuelan government

At a Mar-a-Lago press conference following the operation, Trump described the assault as something "people have not seen since World War 2."¹⁰

"Overwhelming American military power — air, land, and sea — was used to launch a spectacular assault," Trump stated.¹¹

Trump likened the operation to his first term's 2019 killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Operation Midnight Hammer from June that bombed three nuclear sites in Iran.¹²

"Not one piece of military equipment was lost. Not one service member was, more importantly, killed," Trump said.¹³

Trump then announced American plans for Venezuela's future.

"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition," Trump declared. "We want peace, liberty, and justice for the great people of Venezuela."¹⁴

Boots on the ground?

When asked about boots on the ground, Trump stated "We're not afraid of boots on the ground. We had boots on the ground last night."¹⁵

Trump threatened a "second wave" of strikes that would be "much bigger" if needed.¹⁶

He concluded by stating the Western hemisphere was "a much safer place to be" following Maduro's removal.¹⁷

Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained Congress could not be notified about the strike ahead of time as it would have risked the operation.¹⁸

Maduro faces federal charges in New York

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Maduro and his wife have been indicted in the Southern District of New York.¹⁹

Attorney General Pam Bondi detailed the charges against them.

The indictment lists Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States.²⁰

The charges stem from allegations that Maduro ran Venezuela as a criminal enterprise to flood the United States with cocaine.²¹

He is charged with possession of machineguns despite the offense being “committed out of the jurisdiction of any particular State or district of the United States,” according to the indictment.

Operation to claim Orinoco Belt oil follows months of cartel designation process

Trump's Venezuela operation built on actions he took immediately after returning to office.

On January 20, 2025, one of Trump's first executive orders instituted a process for designating cartels as terrorist organizations.²²

The Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua was designated a transnational terrorist organization in February, with sanctions placed on nations receiving Venezuelan oil.²³

The Justice Department has indicted more than 260 Tren de Aragua members since Trump took office.²⁴

Venezuela nationalized its oil industry beginning in the 1970s, seizing assets from U.S. oil companies including ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips.²⁵

Trump has stated America wants compensation for those seized assets.

"We're getting land, oil rights, whatever we had," Trump told reporters. "They took our oil rights — we had a lot of oil there. As you know they threw our companies out, and we want it back."²⁶

The embargo on Venezuelan oil remains in effect despite Maduro's capture.

"The American armada remains poised in position, and the United States retains all military options until the United States demands have been fully met," Trump announced.²⁷

Trump revealed U.S. oil companies would invest "billions" to repair Venezuela's oil infrastructure.²⁸

---

¹ Conservative Brief, "Trump Announces U.S. Will 'Run' Venezuela Following Capture Of President Maduro," January 3, 2026.

² ABC News, "U.S. strikes Venezuela and captures Maduro," January 3, 2026.

³ CBS News, "U.S. strikes Venezuela and captures Maduro; Trump says 'we're going to run the country' for now," January 3, 2026.

⁴ Conservative Brief, Op. cit.

⁵ Ibid.

⁶ Ibid.

⁷ Ibid.

⁸ Ibid.

⁹ Ibid.

¹⁰ Ibid.

¹¹ Ibid.

¹² Ibid.

¹³ Ibid.

¹⁴ Ibid.

¹⁵ NewsNation, "Trump says US will 'run' Venezuela following Maduro's arrest," January 3, 2026.

¹⁶ Conservative Brief, Op. cit.

¹⁷ Ibid.

¹⁷ Ibid.

¹⁸ Ibid.

¹⁹ Ibid.

²⁰ ABC News, "The Latest: US strikes Venezuela, captures Maduro and his wife," January 3, 2026.

²¹ Conservative Brief, Op. cit.

²² Federal Register, "Foreign Terrorist Organization Designations of Tren de Aragua," February 20, 2025.

²³ U.S. Department of Justice, "Justice Department Highlights Nationwide Crackdown on Tren de Aragua," December 20, 2025.

²⁴ Washington Post, "Trump says Venezuela stole U.S. oil, land and assets. Here's the history," December 20, 2025.

²⁵ PBS News, "WATCH: 'We want it back': Trump demands Venezuela return 'land, oil rights' to U.S.," December 18, 2025.

²⁶ Fox News, "Trump gives Mar-a-Lago address to nation after US captures Maduro," January 3, 2026.

²⁷ Ibid.

²⁸ CBS News, Op. cit.