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New Delhi: US captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife on Saturday on charges of drug trafficking and illegal arms possession. The two were subsequently flown to New York. The dramatic move marks the end of a decade-long rule and the beginning of a new chapter for the people of Venezuela.
The incident draws an ironic parallel, as Maduro had earlier openly challenged former US President Donald Trump to apprehend him. The 63-year-old leader, addressing a public gathering, had said, “Come get me. I will wait for him here in Miraflores. Don’t be late, coward.” The remarks came after the US announced a reward of $50 million for his capture.
Following the arrest, the White House posted a video on X mocking the Venezuelan leader. The 61-second clip combined footage of Maduro’s past taunts with visuals from the raid that led to the arrest of both Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The video also included moments from Trump’s press briefing on Venezuela strikes, during which US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Maduro “had his chance—until he didn’t.” “He f****d around and found out,” Hegseth was heard saying in the clip, which quickly went viral.
US officials said Maduro and Flores were arrested during a pre-dawn operation at their residence inside Caracas’ heavily fortified Fort Tiuna military compound, where they were reportedly asleep at the time. The couple has been accused of “narco-terrorism,” importing large quantities of cocaine into the United States, and possessing illegal weapons. They are currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Details of the operation revealed months of intensive surveillance and planning under what Trump described as “Operation Absolute Resolve.” Elite US units, including the Army’s Delta Force, were involved in the mission, which reportedly took around 30 minutes to complete.
Trump said US forces had even built a replica of Maduro’s residence to rehearse the raid and that he watched the operation unfold live. “I watched it, literally, like I was watching a television show,” Trump said, calling Maduro’s compound “a fortress.”
Explaining the decision, Trump said his administration had been preparing action against Venezuelan drug cartels for weeks, deploying significant naval and aerial assets in the Caribbean, including the USS Gerald R. Ford. He accused Maduro of leading a drug cartel and cited illegal migration and Venezuela’s oil industry as key factors behind the aggressive US posture.
Maduro has consistently denied involvement in narcotics trafficking, claiming the United States was attempting to overthrow him to gain control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, the largest known in the world.
