Trump claims Maduro Captured as US Launches Shock Military Crackdown on Venezuela
Donald Trump has claimed that US forces have captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro following what he described as large-scale American military strikes inside Venezuela, dramatically escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas.
In a series of posts on social media, the US president said that Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, had been removed from Venezuela and flown out of the country. Mr Trump did not disclose where the pair had been taken, saying only that they were now “out of Venezuela and no longer in control.”
The claims have not been independently verified, and Venezuelan authorities have yet to confirm Maduro’s detention. However, Venezuela’s Defence Minister, Vladimir Padrino López, issued a defiant response, warning that the country’s armed forces would “defend national sovereignty at all costs.”
The alleged capture comes after months of mounting US pressure on the Maduro government, which the Trump administration accuses of fuelling illegal migration, drug trafficking and organised crime affecting the United States.
Why has Trump targeted Venezuela?
Mr Trump has repeatedly blamed Nicolás Maduro for the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants in the US, linking the exodus to what he describes as economic collapse and repression under the socialist government in Caracas.
An estimated eight million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2013, making it one of the largest migration crises in modern history.
Without presenting evidence, Mr Trump has claimed that Mr Maduro “emptied his prisons and insane asylums” and deliberately “forced criminals” to migrate northwards.
He has also placed heavy emphasis on combating the flow of drugs into the US, particularly fentanyl and cocaine. The president has designated two Venezuelan-based criminal networks — Tren de Aragua and the so-called Cartel de los Soles — as Foreign Terrorist Organisations.
Mr Trump has alleged that the Cartel de los Soles is led by Maduro himself, a claim the Venezuelan leader has vehemently denied. Analysts, however, argue that the group is not a single cartel but a label used to describe corrupt officials who allow drugs to transit through Venezuela.
Earlier this year, Mr Trump doubled the US reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest and announced plans to designate the Venezuelan government itself as a terrorist organisation.
Maduro has accused Washington of using the “war on drugs” as a pretext to overthrow him and seize control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
How has the US increased pressure on Caracas?
Since beginning his second term last January, Mr Trump has dramatically intensified the US campaign against Venezuela.
In September, American forces began intercepting and striking vessels accused of smuggling drugs from South America. More than 30 such strikes have been reported in the Caribbean and Pacific, with over 110 people reportedly killed.
The White House argues that the US is engaged in a non-international armed conflict against drug traffickers conducting “irregular warfare” against America.
However, legal experts have raised serious concerns, with some arguing the strikes do not meet the definition of lawful military targets. A former chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court told the BBC that the campaign could amount to a “systematic attack against civilians during peacetime.”
The White House has rejected the criticism, insisting the operations were carried out “in line with the laws of armed conflict” to protect Americans from drug cartels “bringing poison to our shores.”
In October, Mr Trump revealed that he had authorised covert CIA operations inside Venezuela and threatened land-based strikes against what he termed “narco-terrorists.” He later claimed that the first of those strikes took place on December 24, targeting a dock allegedly used to load drug-running boats.
Naval blockade and military build-up
The US has also tightened economic pressure by imposing a “total naval blockade” on sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, cutting off the Maduro government’s main source of foreign revenue.
Washington has deployed around 15,000 troops to the Caribbean, alongside aircraft carriers, guided-missile destroyers and amphibious assault ships. Among them is the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier.
US helicopters operating from the vessel were reportedly involved in the seizure of an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast on December 10. The US said the ship was transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran, while Caracas condemned the move as “international piracy.”
Is Venezuela flooding the US with drugs?
Counternarcotics experts say Venezuela plays a relatively limited role in global drug trafficking, acting mainly as a transit route rather than a producer.
According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, nearly three-quarters of cocaine entering the US travels via the Pacific, with only a small proportion coming through the Caribbean.
Fentanyl, which Mr Trump has described as a “weapon of mass destruction,” is produced mainly in Mexico and enters the US almost entirely through land routes at the southern border. Venezuela is not listed as a source country in the DEA’s 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment.
Who is Nicolás Maduro?
Nicolás Maduro rose to power under Hugo Chávez and has ruled Venezuela since 2013. A former bus driver and trade unionist, he consolidated control over state institutions, including the courts and electoral council.
In 2024, Maduro was declared the winner of a disputed presidential election, despite opposition claims that their candidate, Edmundo González, won by a landslide.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was barred from standing, later received the Nobel Peace Prize for her campaign for democratic change. Venezuelan authorities have branded her a fugitive.
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Trump claims Maduro Captured as US Launches Shock Military Crackdown on Venezuela