Nicolás Maduro was captured

Nicolás Maduro was captured in Venezuela by U.S. forces and transferred to New York, where he was held in a federal prison on charges of narcoterrorism and conspiracy. The operation, confirmed by President Donald Trump, marks a historic turn in hemispheric politics.

🛑 Capture in Venezuela

• Date: The operation was performed on Saturday, January 3, 2026.
• Intervening forces: A U.S. special commando, including Delta Force units, executed an action by land, sea and air that lasted less than 20 minutes.
• Location: Maduro was intercepted in Venezuelan territory and initially transferred to the USS Iwo Jima, bound for Guantánamo.
• Official confirmation: Donald Trump posted images of the moment on social media, assuring that the U.S. "will lead the democratic transition in Venezuela."

✈️ Moving to the United States

• Air route: From Guantanamo, Maduro was flown by military plane to an airport in upstate New York.
• Entry into Manhattan: He was later transferred by helicopter to a helipad on the west side of Manhattan, near 31st Street and the Hudson River.
• Custody: A caravan of police vehicles escorted the former president to federal facilities linked to the DEA.

🔒 Brooklyn Prison

• Detention Center: Nicolás Maduro was admitted to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), a federal prison located in the borough of Brooklyn.
• Charges: He faces accusations of narco-terrorism, international conspiracy and drug trafficking, according to judicial sources.
• Conditions: The MDC is a high-security prison that has housed figures such as Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.
• Judicial process: It is expected that in the coming days the formal process before federal courts will begin.

📌 Political implications

• Regional impact: Maduro's capture represents a break in the Bolivarian axis and could accelerate the democratic transition in Venezuela.
• International reactions: Latin American and European governments have asked for procedural guarantees, while Chavista sectors denounce "imperial kidnapping."
• Trump's message: The U.S. president affirmed that "international justice cannot wait any longer" and that "Venezuela will be free."

'Operation Absolute Resolve': The military assault that redrew the geopolitical map in 48 hours

1. THE UNPRECEDENTED EVENT

In an operation that rewrites the manual of contemporary international law, U.S. special forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas during the early hours of January 3. "Operation Absolute Resolve" – carried out with 150 aircraft from twenty bases – represents the first forced extraction of a sitting head of state in Latin America by the United States since the invasion of Panama in 1989.

The key fact: The operational timing (22:46 to 03:29 Washington time) reveals meticulous planning that took advantage of Venezuelan weather windows and surveillance cycles.

2. ANATOMY OF A LIGHTNING OPERATION

Intelligence phase (previous months)

According to statements by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, the CIA and military intelligence agencies carried out:

• Exhaustive surveillance: Movement patterns, habits, security routines of President Maduro
• Architectural replica: Construction of a duplicate of the presidential residence for training
• Vulnerability Analysis: Venezuelan Air Defense Systems, Military Response Times

Execution (night of 2 to 3 January)

22:46: Donald Trump's presidential order from Mar-a-Lago
00:00-01:00: Coordinated takeoff of 150 aircraft (F-22, F-35, B-1, E-2, drones)
01:01 (02:01 Caracas): Delta Force forces arrive at the target
03:29: Maduro and Cilia Flores embarked on USS Iwo Jima

Critical points attacked simultaneously:

• Fort Tiuna (main military base)
• La Carlota Air Base
• Port of La Guaira
• El Volcán antenna station

3. THE OIL FACTOR: THE GEOPOLITICAL COUNTDOWN

Trump's statements on Venezuelan oil offer the fundamental interpretative key:

"We're going to make our big American oil companies [...] invest billions of dollars, repair the oil infrastructure [...] and start generating profits"

Economic contextualization:

• Reserves: 303.22 billion barrels (17% worldwide)
• Current production: <500,000 barrels/day (vs. 3 million in 1998)
• Investment required: Estimated $200-250 billion to recover capacity

Experts consulted point out that this operation coincides with:

1. Renegotiation of the U.S.-China oil agreement U.S.-Saudi Arabia
2. Inflationary pressures due to energy prices
3. Strategy for relocating critical chains outside the Middle East

4. UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

To. On international legality

• Which article of the OAS or UN Charter does the United States invoke?
• Was there authorization from the Security Council?
• How is the announced U.S. "guardianship" articulated?

B. On the situation in Venezuela

• Casualty figures: Only contradictory statements (Venezuelan Vice Presidency vs. Pentagon)
• Reaction of the FANB: Organized Resistance or Institutional Collapse?
• Interim government: Delcy Rodríguez affirms constitutional continuity from undisclosed location

C. The judicial process

• Southern Judicial District of New York: History in Transnational Drug Trafficking Cases
• Precedents cited: Noriega (Panama) and J.O. Hernández (Honduras)
• Procedural Questions: Capture in Foreign Territory Without Extradition

5. INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS: A DIVIDED CONTINENT

Immediate support:

• Lima Group: Colombia, Brazil, Chile issued coordinated communiqués
• Pacific Alliance: Support for "democratic restoration"

Convictions and reservations:

• Mexico: "It flagrantly violates sovereignty and international law"
• Argentina: Urgent call by CELAC and UNASUR
• CARICOM: Internal Division, 7 Countries Reject Unilateral Action

Global players:

• China: "Serious precedent of hegemonism"
• Russia: Urgent meeting of the Security Council
• European Union: Ambiguous communiqué, emphasizes "need for stability"

6. PROJECTED SCENARIOS

Scenario 1: Consolidation of control (40% probability)

• Establishment of pro-U.S. interim government
• Deployment of "stabilization" troops
• Fast start of oil contracts with ExxonMobil, Chevron

Scenario 2: Resistance and protracted conflict (35%)

• Formation of military/paramilitary resistance fronts
• Regional destabilization campaign
• Intervention of external actors (Russia, Iran via proxies)

Scenario 3: Institutional collapse and humanitarian crisis (25%)

• Power vacuum at the state and local level
• Massive migratory wave (potential +3 million in 6 months)
• Internationalization of the conflict via the United Nations