US attacks Venezuela Highlights: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado calls for release of all political prisoners

Trump shared a new image on his social media, which he claimed showed Venezuelan President aboard the USS Iwo Jima. Trump had earlier told Fox News that the US warship was transporting the Venezuelan leader to the United States.

The image appears to show a man resembling Maduro wearing an eye mask and headphones and dressed in a grey tracksuit.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia ‍Flores ⁠were taken to a ship ​after their capture ‌by U.S. forces ​and will be transported to New ‌York, U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox ‌News ‌on Saturday.

Trump said ‌both ‍Maduro ⁠and ​his wife ⁠had been ⁠indicted in New York.

Trump said on Saturday that American forces involved in the operation to capture Maduro sustained a few injuries but suffered no fatalities. Speaking to Fox News, Trump also signalled a strong US role in Venezuela’s oil sector following the operation. He said Washington would be “very strongly involved” in the country’s energy industry. “We have the greatest oil companies in the world, the biggest, the greatest, and we’re going to be very much involved in it,” he said.

Trump added that Maduro and his wife would be taken to New York.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife had been indicted in the Southern District of New York.

In a statement, Bondi said Maduro faces charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess such weapons against the United States. She did not specify the charges filed against his wife.

“They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” Bondi said.

She also praised the US military for what she described as a successful operation to detain the couple. “A huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers,” Bondi added.

Following the US strikes in Venezuela, the country’s opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado is once again in the news. Earlier in December 2025, she urged Americans to trust the Trump administration’s strategy toward Venezuela.

Machado emerged as the international face of Venezuela’s opposition after winning the Nobel Prize and has since been a vocal supporter of tougher action against the Maduro government. She has previously argued that international intervention, including military measures, was necessary to end what she described as communist rule in the South American country.

The US Department of State first announced a reward of up to $15 million in 2020 for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Nicolás Maduro. The reward was raised to as much as $25 million on January 10, 2025.

On August 7, 2025, the department increased the offer again, to up to $50 million, following the US Treasury Department’s designation of the Cartel of the Suns as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on July 25, 2025. Identified by US authorities as the leader of the Cartel of the Suns, Maduro became the first individual in the history of the Narcotics Rewards Program to have a reward exceeding $25 million placed on him.

In case you have joined our coverage now, here’s what all has happened so far:

– President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and was flying him out of the country

– Trump announced the development on his social media platform, Truth Social, saying the US had carried out a “large-scale strike against Venezuela” in an operation conducted “in conjunction with US law enforcement”

– Speaking to The New York Times after the announcement, Trump praised the mission, crediting extensive planning and the role of US personnel. “It was a brilliant operation,” he said

– Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said in a broadcast on state television that Maduro’s whereabouts were unknown and called on Trump to provide proof that he was alive

– Earlier in the day, the Venezuelan government accused the United States of launching military attacks in Caracas and other regions after large explosions were reported at a military base in the capital

– The government declared a state of emergency, saying the attacks affected Caracas as well as the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, according to the Venezuelan communications ministry

The Russian foreign ministry said on Saturday it was extremely concerned by reports that Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro ‍and ⁠his wife had been forcibly removed from the country during “aggressive actions” ​by the United ‌States.

“We call for immediate clarification of ​this situation. Such actions, if they did indeed take place, constitute an unacceptable violation of the ‌sovereignty of an independent state, respect for which is ‌a key principle of ‌international law,” the ministry said in a ‌statement.

As of August 2025, the US govt had Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros in the list of Most Wanted. The US government announced a $50 million reward on his arrest. “In March 2020, Maduro was charged in the Southern District of New York for narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices,” the US Department of State said.

Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello has urged calm in a televised address and called citizens to trust the country’s leadership. Cabello is considered a close ally of President Maduro.

“Let no one fall into despair. Let no one make things easier for the invading enemy,” Cabello said. He also claimed that bombs had hit civilian buildings.

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday in ‍a ⁠note she was “closely monitoring the situation ​in Venezuela”, ‌also with an aim “to ​gathering information about our fellow citizens” in the ‌country.

Meloni added she was in constant ‌contact with ‌Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio ‌Tajani.

Around ‍160,000 ⁠Italians ​currently live in ⁠Venezuela, most ⁠of them with dual citizenship.

– via Reuters

According to NYT, Venezuelan officials are assessing the loss of lives in the US attack. Officials have told Times that the strikes have resulted in killing of an as-yet unspecified number of people. The United States struck parts of the country following months of pressure with the govt of Venezuela.

Republican US Senator Mike Lee said on Saturday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had told him Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was arrested by US forces and would be brought to the US to face criminal charges.

In a post on X following a phone call with the top US diplomat, Lee said Rubio expected no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro was in US custody, Reuters reported.

In an interview with New York Times after the Venezuela strike, Trump praised what he described as the success of the operation. He credited detailed planning and the efforts of American forces involved.

“A lot of good planning and a lot of great, great troops and great people,” Trump said, calling it “a brilliant operation”.

When asked whether he had sought congressional authorisation before the US military, along with law enforcement agencies, carried out what he earlier described on social media as a “large-scale strike”, Trump declined to respond directly. “We’ll discuss that,” he told NYT, adding that a news conference would be held.

In a post on social media, Trump said he would address the media at 9.30 pm Indian time from Mar-a-Lago.

Germany’s foreign ministry said on Saturday that it was closely monitoring developments in Venezuela with deep concern and had convened a crisis team to assess the situation.

In a written statement, the ministry said it was in constant contact with its embassy in Caracas and that the crisis team would meet later on Saturday for further discussions, Reuters reported.

Spanish foreign ministry says Spain calls for de-escalation, moderation and respect for international law in Venezuela. “Spain offers itself as a negotiator to help find a peaceful solution in Venezuela,” the Spanish foreign ministry said.

Venezuela’s defence minister confirmed that the country will resist presence of foreign troops.

Vladimir Padrino ​said in ‍a video early on Saturday, after US ‍President ⁠Donald Trump said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been “captured” and ​was being ‌removed from the country.

A US attack on ‌the country in ‌the early ⁠morning struck civilian areas, Padrino said, and ‌Venezuela is compiling information about dead and ‍injured people.

The Venezuelan government does not know the ‍whereabouts ⁠of President Nicolas Maduro or ​his ‌wife Cilia Flores, Vice ​President Delcy Rodriguez said on Saturday morning ‌in an audio played on ‌state ‌tv. “We demand immediate ‌proof ‍of ⁠life ​of President ⁠Nicolas Maduro and ⁠the first combatant ‌Cilia Flores,” Rodriguez ‌said.

Russia has issued a statement after Trump confirmed that Venezuelan President Nicolas has been captured and flown out of the country. Russian foreign ministry called the multiple explosions in the country and ‘act of armed aggression’.

According to an Al Jazeera report, in response to the US strikes on Venezuela, neighbouring Colombia has placed its security forces on high alert and activated a “unified command post” in Cúcuta, the main city along the 2,200 km shared border.

The Ministry of Defence has alerted public security forces to neutralize potential attacks by the ELN (National Liberation Army) and other illegal armed groups active along the porous frontier.

The command post is tasked with coordinating aid for a potential surge in migrants. Colombia already hosts nearly 3 million Venezuelans, and officials fear the conflict could trigger a new exodus.

While Colombian President Gustavo Petro does not recognize the Maduro government, his administration strictly opposes US military intervention. Bogota is actively calling on the United Nations and the OAS to intervene and de-escalate the crisis

Venezuela’s ally Iran condemns the U.S. military attack on Venezuela as a blatant violation of its national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Speaking to state TV, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said that the Venezuelan government does not know the whereabouts of President Maduro and wife.

Speaking to Reuters, a U.S. ‌official said ‌on ‌Saturday that Venezuelan ‍President Nicolas ⁠Maduro was ​captured ‌by elite ​U.S. special ‌forces troops,

In a post on X earlier, Petro shared the following claims, which have not been independently verified:

The attack on Saturday comes after months of US military build-up in the region, with the deployment of troops, aircraft and warships. The US government has accused Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro of drug trafficking and working with gangs designated as terrorist organisations.

Senator Brian Schatz, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned against any US military involvement in Venezuela following reports of explosions in Caracas. In a post on X, Schatz said the United States has “no vital national interests in Venezuela to justify war.”

US President Donald Trump, in a post on Truth Social, confirmed that Washington carried out large scale strike against the south American nation and that 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,” he said in a post on Truth Social.

US President Donald Trump was at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, where he has spent an unusually busy holiday period focused on foreign affairs, as reported by CNN.

Venezuela’s government formally accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations across multiple states, rejecting what it terms “military aggression” by Washington.

President Nicolas Maduro has declared a national emergency following the series of attacks, urging “popular mobilization” to defend the country.

The government stated the attacks hit the capital, Caracas, and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira.

The explosions follow months of escalating tension. The US has accused Maduro of involvement in narco-terrorism—charges he denies. While Maduro recently indicated openness to negotiating a drug-trafficking deal, the US has maintained heavy pressure, conducting over 20 air strikes on vessels in the sea near Venezuela since September 2025.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an emergency “Notice to Airmen,” prohibiting US commercial air carriers from operating at all altitudes over Venezuelan airspace. The agency cited “safety-of-flight risks associated with ongoing military activity,” effectively confirming the active conflict zone status.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has posted on social media claiming Venezuela is “under attack,” stating that Caracas is being “bombed with missiles.” He has called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.