U.S. FORCES CAPTURE MADURO, BOUND FOR NYC TO FACE DRUG TRAFFICKING CHARGES

MIAMI - During a nighttime raid in the early morning hours of Saturday, Jan. 3, U.S. forces captured the Venezuelan leader and now deposed President Nicolás Maduro, extricating the South American strongman from a private residence in Caracas, transporting him to the USS Iwo Jima stationed in the Caribbean Sea off the Venezuelan coast.

At 02:00 a.m., a U.S. military operation of integrated forces conducted large-scale airstrikes on key infrastructure sites and military installations, crippling any potential armed Venezuelan response to special operations extricating Maduro from the nation’s capital.

Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, a former President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, was also taken into custody by U.S. operators.

Both Maduro and Cilia Flores were eventually transported to the USS Iwo Jima, which was deployed to the South Caribbean as part of a major transition of military assets of the U.S. Southern Command in 2025 to reduce the flow of illicit narcotics in Latin America.

Maduro and Flores were eventually separated on the amphibious assault ship in the Caribbean Ocean, handcuffed and blinded by DEA agents, and bound for New York City.

According to U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi, Maduro and Flores will face charges for “drug trafficking, Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machine guns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machine guns and Destructive Devices against the United States.”

The charges have been filed by Jay Clayton as part of an unsealed indictment in New York’s Southern District.

Delcy Rodríguez, Executive Vice President of Venezuela and the presumed second-in-command, was presented by Maduro as Interim President earlier this year in the event of a Maduro resignation from power in Caracas.

Rodríguez has reportedly assumed the nation’s presidency and held a press conference in Caracas earlier this afternoon, where she demanded the release of Maduro and Flores by U.S. authorities.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio conducted talks with Rodríguez in the immediate aftermath of the U.S. capture of Maduro.

According to President Trump, Rodríguez offered U.S. authorities “anything you want”, as the administration in Washington vows not to allow anyone in power in Caracas who “does not have Venezuela’s interests at heart.”