Primer: Maduro’s Capture
On Saturday, January 3, the United States performed a raid on Caracas, Venezuela, capturing President Nicolàs Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. 150 U.S. aircraft were dispatched early Saturday morning, clearing the way for helicopters delivering troops to the capital. Maduro and his wife were captured, flown out by helicopter, and taken aboard the U.S.S. Iwo Jima to New York City. Over 80 civilians and soldiers were killed in the attack, excluding any Americans.
Upon his arrival in the U.S., Maduro was charged with narco-terrorism and conspiracy to transport cocaine. President Trump argues Maduro conspires with drug trafficking groups such as Tren de Aragua to smuggle cocaine through U.S. borders. This indictment follows a series of military strikes on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since September 2025, killing 115 civilians suspected of drug smuggling. Legal experts have labeled these attacks as “illegal extrajudicial killings,” as they ignore laws forbidding the targeting of civilians who don’t pose an immediate threat. However, the Trump administration defends these actions due to their “formal armed conflict” with drug cartels. Trump has also announced his plans to “run” Venezuela for the foreseeable future and largely take over their oil industry.
President Trump has said he is focusing on drugs killing Americans, however, the leading drug killing Americans is Fentanyl, which is primarily produced in Mexico with chemicals from China. The charges against Maduro target his involvement in cocaine trafficking, but experts say Venezuela is not a major player in movement of cocaine, and the little that does flow through Venezuela mostly ends up in Europe, as opposed to the United States. Beyond the debatable legitimacy of the charges, a panel of experts appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council stated the raid on Caracas blatantly violates Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter, which “unequivocally prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State.” In addition to accusations of breaking international law, many democrats and American legal experts say Trump’s actions at least required congressional preapproval.
Despite global condemnations of the strike, many Venezuelans have celebrated Maduro’s capture, blaming his leadership for their economic decline and governmental corruption. Maduro was first elected after Hugo Chavez’s death in 2013, however his victories have been disputed in 2018 and 2024. During his leadership, he has militarised the government, filling many high-ranking positions with current or retired officers. In June 2023, he even banned opposing candidate, María Corina Machado, from running for office. This combination of military and political power creates a government where civilians have little democratic control and struggle to effectively protest despite severe humanitarian crises. Venezuela currently ranks 178th in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, and therefore many believe that Maduro’s capture was more than warranted in order to bring in a new and improved government.
"El Vicepresidente Nicolas Maduro instala sesión extraordinaria de Cancilleres de Petrocaribe el Alba- TCP" by chavezcandanga is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.