WASHINGTON — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia were captured by a unit of elite Delta Force soldiers while they slept in their beds.
The illegitimate leader, who will now stand trial in New York City on drugs and weapons charges, was taken in the early hours of Saturday morning, CNN reported.
A source told the network the operation – which struck five Venezuelan sites including three in the country’s capital Caracas – did not result in any casualties.
Trump said the Maduros have been taken to the USS Iwo Jima assault ship and that they’ll later be transported to New York City.
He hailed the operation as ‘brilliant’ in a brief New York Times interview early Saturday.
The president later called into Fox News‘s breakfast show Fox & Friends, excitedly telling its hosts: ‘I mean, I watched it literally l like I was watching a television show. If you would’ve seen the speed, the violence – it was an amazing thing.’
President Trump says he will hold a press conference from his Mar-a-Lago country club in Palm Beach, Florida, at 11:30am ET on Saturday.
Explosions were seen ripping across Caracas during the daring raid, with Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek Saab insisting that ‘innocents’ had been ‘mortally wounded’ by the US operation.
Two days before the raid, Maduro issued a plea for peace to the United States, amid reports he’d begun sleeping in a different place every night in a bid to avoid capture.
Speaking to a Spanish journalist, Maduro said: ‘The American people should know they have a friendly, peaceful people here, and a friendly government as well.
“They should know that our message is very clear: ‘Not War. Yes Peace.'”
During the same interview, Maduro said he’d be willing to work with the US to curtail drug trafficking. Trump claims Maduro is the head of a narcotics cartel which has flooded the United States with illegal substances.
Speaking to The New York Times at 4:30am on Saturday morning, nine minutes after announcing the raid on his TruthSocial website, Trump said: ‘A lot of good planning and lot of great, great troops and great people.
‘It was a brilliant operation, actually.’ Asked if he had consulted Congress prior to authorizing the strike, Trump said: ‘We’ll discuss that.’
Maduro is due to stand trial in Manhattan and will likely be housed in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn – the same federal facility that currently houses alleged United HealthCare CEO murderer Luigi Mangione.
American forces do not appear to have encountered much resistance from the Venezuelan military, despite Maduro claiming he was ready for any attack.
The security-conscious Maduros were having their location tracked by the CIA in the days leading up to their capture, CNN reported. Trump ordered the mission two days ago.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has demanded ‘proof of life,’ suggesting he fears Maduro and Flores may have been killed during the operation.
And the country’s attorney general Tarek William Saab said: ‘Innocent victims have been mortally wounded and others killed by this criminal terrorist attack.’
He called for peaceful protests.
No details have been shared on the number of people killed or wounded during the Delta Force strike.
Trump ran as an anti-war ‘president of peace,’ with the strikes on oil-rich Venezuela likely to anger some of his MAGA base.
The air strikes which exploded in Caracas around the same time were done in support of the US operation to execute an arrest warrant against Maduro, Utah Senator Mike Lee said.
Trump plans to fly Maduro to the United States to stand trial on ‘narco-terrorism’ charges.
President Trump says Maduro and his government have conspired to flood the United States with illegal drugs.
Maduro was indicted in 2020, during Trump’s first term as president, on charges of importing cocaine into the United States.
Trump offered a $15 million reward for his arrest at the time.
That rose to $25 million during the final days of former President Joe Biden’s administration and was doubled to $50 million in August 2025 after Trump began his second term as president.
Trump alleges Maduro is leader of a drug running organization called Cartel de los Soles and has designated the group a foreign terrorist organization.
On Saturday morning, United States Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro ‘will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts’.
She said Maduro will face multiple weapons charges in addition to the drug counts he is facing.
Saturday’s capture sparked international shockwaves. Maduro’s government branded the United States ‘cowardly’ for its capture of their leader.
Russia, a key ally of Venezuela, suggested the United States may have broken international law with its capture of Maduro.
A foreign ministry spokesperson said: ‘We are extremely concerned by reports that Venezuelan President Maduro and his wife were forcibly removed from the country during today’s aggressive actions by the United States.
‘We call for immediate clarification of this situation.’
In recent weeks, the US has been blowing up suspected drug boats sailing through the eastern Pacific Ocean with ties to Venezuela.
Maduro is said to have increased his security in recent weeks and slept in a different bed every night to try and evade attempts to capture him.
The seized leader, who leads the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, was elected in 2013.
He has been branded a corrupt authoritarian who has presided over the economic collapse of his nation, rigged subsequent elections and crushed dissenters.
Trump announced Maduro’s capture on his Truth Social media platform early Saturday, writing: ‘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. There will be a News Conference today at 11 A.M., at Mar-a-Lago. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
By JIMMY McCLOSKEY/Daily Mail
