Maduro “Effed Around & Found Out”; Trump Says ‘We Will Run Venezuela’ Until Safe Transition After Operation ‘Absolute Resolve’

Summary:

• Operation ‘Absolute Resolve’: US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an early morning raid and sent him to the US to face criminal charges.

• No servicemembers or military equipment was lost

• US Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted.

• Trump: “We’re going to stay [in Venezuela] until such time as the proper transition can take place.”

• Caine: “Operation Absolute Resolve, was discreet, precise, and conducted during the darkest hours of January 2nd”

• Hegseth: Maduro “effed around and found out”

• Trump: “[Colombia’s Pedro] is making cocaine and they’re sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his ass,” 

• Rubio: “if I were in power in Cuba, I’d be very worried right now” 

• Maduro has arrived on US soil

Así bajan a Nicolás Maduro del avión que aterrizó en la Base de la Guardia Nacional Aérea en el aeropuerto Internacional Stewart en Nueva York, como un criminal. pic.twitter.com/570JJQRtPK

— Isa Mejía (@isamg6) January 3, 2026

The international reaction has been predictably mixed.

• Brazil, Russia, Colombia, Mexico, and Cuba rejected the US military action, with some calling for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

• EU leadership shrugs after long lecturing the world on the so-called “rules-based order”…

• US Democrats have raised questions over the legality of the strikes

• Trump dismissed his congressional critics as “weak and stupid people.”

• This operation will be justified as executing the criminal warrant and responding to an international drug cartel, a very similar legal framework to the one used against Noriega in 1989. There is precedent supporting that earlier operation, which will now be used to defend the actions in Venezuela.

Trump: “The Monroe Doctrine is a big deal, but we’ve superseded it by a lot. They’re now call it the Donroe Doctrine, but I don’t know.” 

Watch President Trump’s address to the nation here:

*  *  *

President Trump discussed the military action in Venezuela with perhaps the most notable aspect of his address being the confirmation that the US will run Venezuela until a safe transition can be undertaken:

• *TRUMP: AT MY DIRECTION, US CONDUCTED OPERATION IN VENEZUELA

• *TRUMP: AIR, LAND, SEA USED TO LAUNCH ASSAULT ON CARACAS

• *TRUMP: ASSAULT WAS TO BRING MADURO TO JUSTICE

• *TRUMP: US SUCCESSFULLY CAPTURED MADURO ‘IN DEAD OF NIGHT’

• *TRUMP: CALLS MADURO A DRUG ‘KINGPIN’

• *TRUMP: MADURO WILL STAND TRIAL ON AMERICAN SOIL

• *TRUMP: NO AMERICAN SERVICEMEMBER WAS KILLED

• *TRUMP: NOT A PIECE OF AMERICAN EQUIPMENT WAS LOST

• *TRUMP: WILL STAGE SECOND, LARGER ATTACK IF NEEDED, BUT PROBABLY NOT NECESSARY NOW

• *TRUMP: WE WILL RUN VENEZUELA UNTIL WE CAN DO SAFE, PROPER, JUDICIOUS TRANSITION

• *TRUMP: CAN’T TAKE A CHANCE THAT SOMEONE TAKES OVER VENEZUELA

• *TRUMP SAYS MACHADO DOESN’T HAVE RESPECT TO LEAD VENEZUELA

• *TRUMP: NO CONTACT WITH MACHADO

• *TRUMP: REPEATS CLAIM THAT VENEZUELA SEIZED, SOLD AMERICAN OIL

• *TRUMP: US OIL COMPANIES WILL SPEND BILLIONS ON INFRASTRUCTURE

• *TRUMP: PARTNERSHIP WITH US WILL MAKE VENEZUELANS RICH, SAFE

• *TRUMP: VENEZUELANS WILL BE HAPPY

• *TRUMP: REASSERTING AMERICAN POWER IN ‘OUR HOME REGION’

• *TRUMP: US RETAINS ALL MILITARY OPTIONS UNTIL DEMANDS MET

• *TRUMP: WE HAVE SUPERCEDED MONROE DOCTRINE

• *TRUMP: WHAT HAPPENED TO MADURO CAN HAPPEN TO OTHERS IN VENZ.

• *TRUMP SAYS ‘NOT AFRAID’ TO DEPLOY TROOPS TO VENEZUELA IF NEEDED

The Venezuela operation “was one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military,” Trump said.

“Not a single American service member was killed, and not a single piece of American equipment was lost, many helicopters, many planes, many people involved in that fight,” Trump also said.

President Trump described Maduro’s capture during a press briefing Saturday at Mar-a-Lago, describing it as an “extraordinary military operation,” adding that no U.S. service members were killed in the process.

“Overwhelming American military power, air, land and sea was used to launch a spectacular assault, and it was an assault like people have not seen since World War II,” Trump said.

“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said Saturday at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

“So we don’t want to be involved with having somebody else get in, and we have the same situation that we had for the last long period of years.”

“We can’t take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesn’t have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind,” Trump said Saturday in a news conference in Palm Beach, Florida.

“We’re going to stay until such time as the proper transition can take place.”

Additionally, President Trump said Saturday he would allow American oil companies to head into Venezuela to tap its massive crude reserves:

“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,” Trump told a press conference.

 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the military operation required months of planning.

“Nicolás Maduro had his chance, just like Iran had their chance. Until they didn’t and he didn’t.” Hegseth said.

“He effed around and he found out.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro “effed around and found out” after the U.S. conducted an operation in Venezuela’s capital city capturing Maduro and his wife.

More: https://t.co/kbHXTU8ZPl pic.twitter.com/qxp5cLEiuK

— NewsNation (@NewsNation) January 3, 2026

General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, explained the operation: 

“This operation, known as Operation Absolute Resolve, was discreet, precise, and conducted during the darkest hours of January 2nd.”

He said it followed months of preparation and rehearsal.

“It was the culmination of months of planning and rehearsal, an operation that, frankly, only the United States military could undertake.”

President Trump also said Saturday that his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro – with whom he has sparred in recent months – should “watch his ass” after the US military operation to seize Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

“He’s making cocaine and they’re sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his ass,” Trump told a press conference.

Petro described Washington’s actions as an “assault on the sovereignty” of Latin America and said they would result in a humanitarian crisis.

Finally, Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to directly threaten the leaders of Cuba:

 “if I were in power in Cuba, I’d be very worried right now” 

Rubio and Trump then proceed to issue open threats against Colombia and Cuba – “if I were in power in Cuba, I’d be very worried right now” (Rubio) pic.twitter.com/gx6HZ0b6CU

— Jorge Martin ☭ (@marxistJorge) January 3, 2026

The Venezuelan capital of Caracas was hit with overnight shock and awe after military operations resulted in extensive infrastructure damage and power outages. The scope of the operation is not yet clear, but a US official told Reuters Saturday morning on condition of anonymity that the strikes were indeed being carried out by the US military. Initial reports suggested not only US airstrikes but also Special Operations troops on the ground in Caracas. 

.@POTUS on the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro: “The team did an incredible job… There’s no other country on Earth that can do such a maneuver.” pic.twitter.com/sbfEyVDgUf

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 3, 2026

The explosions across the capital city came after President Donald Trump deployed a navy task force to the Caribbean and raised the possibility of ground strikes against Venezuela over the past week. It would appear that these threats were not idle. 

TRUMP COMPARES MADURO’S CAPTURE TO IRAN’S SOLEIMANI, ISIS

TRUMP: PLANNED TO GET MADURO 4 DAYS AGO, BUT WEATHER WAS BAD

TRUMP ON CARTELS: SOMETHING WILL TO HAVE TO BE DONE WITH MEXICO

TRUMP: MADURO TRIED TO NEGOTIATE AT THE END, I SAID NO

VENEZUELA VICE PRESIDENT DELCY RODRIGUEZ IS IN RUSSIA: REUTERS

TRUMP SAYS MADURO NOW ON A US SHIP AND BEING TAKEN TO NEW YORK

As Jonathan Turley reports, this operation will be justified as executing the criminal warrant and responding to an international drug cartel, a very similar legal framework to the one used against Noriega in 1989. There is precedent supporting that earlier operation, which will now be used to defend the actions in Venezuela.

Full-scale military operations appear to be underway against Venezuela, with dozens of helicopters with the U.S. Army spotted over the capital of Caracas. pic.twitter.com/kIqfbGjOK4

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) January 3, 2026

Venezuela’s “hour of freedom” has arrived, wrote Venezuelan dissident Maria Corina Machado in a post on X, with opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez saying “we are ready for the reconstruction of our nation.”

María Corina Machado’s statement calls for enforcing a democratic transition in Venezuela.

Venezuelans,

The HOUR OF LIBERTY has arrived!

As of today, Nicolás Maduro faces international justice for the atrocious crimes committed against Venezuelans and against citizens of many other nations. In the face of his refusal to accept a negotiated solution, the government of the United States has fulfilled its promise to uphold the law.

The time has come for Popular Sovereignty and National Sovereignty to prevail in our country. We will restore order, free the political prisoners, build an exceptional nation, and bring our children back home.

We have fought for years, we have given everything, and it has been worth it. What had to happen is now happening.

This is the hour of the citizens. Those of us who risked everything for democracy on July 28. Those who elected Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate President of Venezuela, who must immediately assume his constitutional mandate and be recognized as Commander-in-Chief of the National Armed Forces by all the officers and troops who serve in it.

Today we are ready to enforce our mandate and take power. Let us remain vigilant, active, and organized until the Democratic Transition is achieved. A transition that needs EVERY ONE of us.

To Venezuelans inside the country: be prepared to act on what we will very soon communicate through our official channels.

To Venezuelans abroad: we need you mobilized, engaging governments and citizens around the world, and committing them now to the great task of rebuilding the new Venezuela.

In these decisive hours, receive all my strength, my trust, and my affection. We remain alert and in contact.

VENEZUELA WILL BE FREE!

We go forward hand in hand with God, until the end.

[Signature]

María Corina Machado

Maduro has already been indicted in federal court in New York, per a statement from AG Pam Bondi.

Trump took to his Truth Social account to announce that Venezuelan socialist leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been captured and were en route by air out of the country.

Additionally, President Trump has posted an image of Maduro on board the Iwo Jima, from which he will reportedly be transferred to an FBI plane at Guantanamo Bay heading to New York…

In late 2025, Trump reportedly gave Maduro an ultimatum via phone: resign immediately, and Trump would offer safe passage for Maduro, his wife, and son, but Maduro refused, demanding amnesty and control over the military, which the U.S. rejected.

Frightening footage from Caracas.

Imagine you are having some drinks with your friends on a Friday night at a bar and then this happens pic.twitter.com/VMg28c22pd

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) January 3, 2026

Suspicions of a larger US action have been escalating for weeks as the Trump Admin pursued targeted strikes against alleged drug smuggling ships running like the Pony Express from Venezuela to waiting couriers in the Caribbean.

🚨 Excellent footage showing how coordinated and precise U.S. strikes were inside Venezuela

The woman in the background proclaims “My God” as she watchespic.twitter.com/4VQ4AqOrk2

— Ian Miles Cheong (@ianmiles) January 3, 2026

This was part of a broader campaign by Trump to oust Maduro, who is accused of corruption, drug trafficking, and helping to engineer the US migrant crisis, which resulted in numerous incidents of Venezuelan cartel militants (Tren de Aragua) engaging in kidnapping, torture, and murder on US soil.  Maduro continued to deny any government involvement in the spread of these cartels and rejected evidence that his government benefits from billions of dollars in drug money transferred by cartels from the US into the Venezuelan economy.

Critics assert that the operation goes against Trump’s campaign promise to end the “forever war” policies of establishment elites (libertarians will probably be furious).  However, from Trump’s perspective, eliminating a hostile communist regime that is a key ally of China and Russia in the western hemisphere fits directly into the administration’s “America First” policy. 

🚨WOW: Venezuelan citizen records explosions in Caracas Venezuela just meters away from him as he drives his car. pic.twitter.com/kJFEvZl7Je

— Andrew (@AllegedlyDrew) January 3, 2026

If the accusations against Maduro are true, then his government would represent a long-term threat to the stability of the US. And, it would appear that a “forever war” is not in the cards with Maduro in custody. 

Furthermore, Venezuela is not the only country south of the border that protects the activities of drug cartels. It’s not the only country that helps migrants flood into the US.   

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has made multiple threats against the US in response to the strict border security and deportations.  She is also suspected of shielding cartel operations from US interference.  Sheinbaum is likely questioning her life decisions today as it becomes clear that Trump was not bluffing about replacing Maduro. 

There is the issue of global political tensions with China and Russia and unrest in America as leftist activists once again exploit the event as an excuse to organize street mobs (as soon as the weather warms up, of course). 

Then there is the question of the fast-approaching midterm elections.  Trump will need to present clear justifications to the American people for grabbing a foreign leader.    

If Trump stumbles on this, Democrats will seize on every opportunity label him a warmonger.  They will assert that Trump is empire-building, trying to steal oil, and that Venezuela is “just the beginning.”  Keep in mind, these are the same people who tried to rally Americans to support WWIII against Russia over Ukraine, but that fact will be glossed over in favor of the narrative that the Dems will “bring peace and stability.” 

On the other hand, many conservatives are taking a “F*ck Venezuela” approach and argue that it’s high time something was done about an abusive and corrupt communist enclave in America’s backyard.  Only time will tell if Trump’s actions garner favor or anger from his voter base.