U.S. Arrest of Maduro Marks Dramatic Escalation in Venezuela Showdown
By: Sobha Beghoura
The United States has arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife at their residence, marking a dramatic escalation in Washington’s long-running confrontation with Caracas.
In a presidential address, U.S. President Donald Trump said a “large-scale” military operation was carried out inside the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, in coordination between U.S. armed forces and law enforcement agencies.
The pre-dawn operation on Saturday, 3 January, 2026, ended with the arrest of Maduro and his wife and their removal from the country by air.
Trump said he watched the operation unfold “like a television series,” adding that Maduro and his wife were being held aboard a vessel named Hiroshima pending their transfer to New York.
The United States has reinforced its military presence in the Caribbean, deploying the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford along with other warships, fighter jets and long-range bombers.
It is widely believed that U.S. Delta Force special operations troops, supported by Osprey aircraft, carried out a surprise assault in Caracas.
The raid was reportedly preceded by explosions, precision strikes and extensive electronic warfare that disabled radars, air defences and communications systems.
This, analysts say, allowed U.S. aircraft to fly at low altitude over the capital and reach Maduro’s heavily guarded bunker with relative ease in an operation that lasted a single night.
According to Venezuelan sources described as senior officials, as well as statements attributed to Colombian President Gustavo Petro, the U.S. operation included strikes on the port, several military barracks, the presidential palace, El Hatillo airport, a private airport in Caracas, the Higuerote helicopter base, an F-16 fighter base, and the Fort Tiuna complex – the country’s largest military installation.
Fort Tiuna houses the heavily fortified “Casa de los Pinos” bunker in the Guaycaipuro area, where Maduro was residing near the Miraflores presidential palace.
The apparent ease of the operation has fuelled speculation about internal collusion, either from members of Maduro’s inner circle or within the military establishment.
Notably, the presidential palace itself was not directly attacked, suggesting a prior arrangement or the immediate surrender of security forces.
The speed of the operation – reported to have taken as little as 30 minutes – would have been difficult to achieve without internal assistance.
For Venezuela, the arrest of its president by a foreign power marks a watershed moment, raising profound questions about sovereignty, internal cohesion and what comes next for a country already battered by years of political and economic crisis.
