Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife captured and indicted, US says

Picture of fire at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, after a series of explosions were heard in Caracas on January 3, 2026. — Picture of fire at Fuerte Tiuna, a Venezuelan military complex, after a series of explosions were heard in Caracas. Luis JAIMES / AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump says the US has captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Venezuela said the US had carried out strikes on Caracas early Saturday.
In a statement, Caracas said it rejected and denounced the "extremely serious military aggression."

President Donald Trump said the United States has captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro following strikes on Venezuela.

In a post on Truth Social on Saturday morning, Trump said the US had carried out a "large scale strike" on the South American nation and flown Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, out of the country.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi has said that Maduro and Flores have now been indicted in the Southern District of New York.

Maduro has been charged with "Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States," she said.

Tensions have been building between Maduro and the US in recent months, with Trump repeatedly threatening military action against Venezuela over alleged drug trafficking networks in the country. Caracas has maintained that Washington's true goal is to overthrow the Venezuelan government.

A news conference is set to be held from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida from 11 a.m. ET.

Fire at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, is seen from a distance after a series of explosions were heard in Caracas on January 3, 2026. — A fire at Venezuela's Fuerte Tiuna military facility in Caracas. AFP via Getty Images

Venezuela said the US had carried out strikes on Caracas and the coastal states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira early Saturday.

Videos circulating on social media appear to show helicopters flying over the capital as multiple explosions ring out in the background.

In a statement, Maduro's government said the US had targeted both military and civilian areas and called on "all social and political forces" to reject the attacks.

"The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejects, repudiates, and denounces before the international community the extremely serious military aggression perpetrated by the current Government of the United States of America," the statement continued.

It added that the aim of the attack was for the US to "seize Venezuela's strategic resources, particularly its oil and minerals, in an attempt to forcibly break the nation's political independence."

Vladimir Padrino, Venezuela's defense minister, said in an update that the government is now gathering information about the number of casualties.

Business Insider has contacted the White House and the Pentagon for comment.

This is a developing story. Check back for details.