The United States’ Capturing of Maduro: Justice or Politics?

By: Kate Litman
Edited by: Clark Mahoney and Christina Ding

Striking the early hours of January 3, 2026, U.S. forces under Donald Trump launched “Operation Absolute Resolve” to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife. 

For the past 13 years, Nicolás Maduro has been in office as Venezuela’s president. Maduro was sworn into the presidency on March 8, 2013, shortly after the death of controversial Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. Throughout the elections in 2018 and 2024, Maduro has claimed victory despite polling data showing favoritism towards his opponent. [1]  His leadership has been questioned by Venezuelan citizens and on an international level, leading to more than 50 countries, including the United States, refusing to recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate head of state. 

The Venezuelan opposition towards Maduro has manifested through peaceful protests and a desire to seek sovereignty in different countries. Seeing this as a perception of threat towards his leadership, Maduro ordered the murder or imprisonment of protestors, silencing their ability to express their concerns and limiting their free expression. [2] Venezuelans have been categorized as terrorists and traitors to their country, while determined to restore the peaceful and sovereign state. 

Under Maduro’s leadership, Venezuelans’ freedom and basic human rights have been suppressed significantly. From having to visit supermarkets for basic necessities with government-issued IDs to having to wait in 72-hour-long lines for gasoline, Venezuelans have spent the past decade demanding a new leader who prioritizes their well-being. [2] With Maduro in office, Venezuela’s priorities have transitioned from maintaining a powerful economy through the oil industry to diminishing Maduro’s opposition to ensure his administration would stay in power. 

Before Hugo Chavez took power in 1999, Venezuela had one of the fifth strongest economies in the world due to its oil industry, with a nominal GDP of approximately 91.8 billion. [3] When sworn into office, Maduro repeatedly promised to rebuild Venezuela’s economy after it faced detrimental economic hardships during Chavez’s presidency. In 2013, Maduro’s oath to economic restabilization promised to limit profiteering, strengthen price controls, fix prices, and control imports, alongside other economic changes to defend the people. [4] Nevertheless, Venezuela’s economy has continued to tank under his leadership and has presented soaring crime rates and alarming food shortages in the country. 

Maduro’s rise to power influenced the escalation of the Cartel of the Suns, a violent and corrupt narcoterrorist group. Since 1999, Maduro has been involved in some of the most prolific drug trafficking in the world, distributing tons of cocaine throughout the region and to the United States. [5] The rise of narcoterrorism raised global concerns; under the Trump administration, Maduro was charged by the Southern District of New York in March 2020 for narcoterrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine, and a monetary reward was offered for information leading to his capture— later increased under President Biden. 

Despite Donald Trump running his 2024 campaign on no U.S. involvement in foreign wars, he has consistently suggested his determination to aid Venezuela, fix its broken oil infrastructure, and help rebuild the nation. Since the start of President Trump’s second term, however, the U.S. military has struck Iran, Nigeria, Syria, Yemen, and now Venezuela. [6]

On December 16, 2025, Trump announced orders to block sanctioned oil tankers into Venezuela on the speculation that Venezuela was using oil to fund drug trafficking and other crimes. [7] During Trump’s declaration, Maduro was unaware that Trump’s commandos of the Delta Force had been rehearsing a full-scale extraction to capture Maduro and have him in U.S. custody to face charges for drug trafficking. 

The U.S. Joint Special Operations Command had been monitoring Maduro’s locations in Venezuela and documented the 6-8 locations he rotated between. Upon determining his most common location, they constructed a full-scale model of Maduro’s compound in Kentucky, where the Delta Force commandos rehearsed the extraction. [8]  In the early hours of January 2, 2026, Special Operations aircrafts were instructed to monitor the area to ensure Maduro was in the suspected location, the first step of “Operation Absolute Resolve.”  

Inside Venezuela, the cyberoperation began by cutting power to large swaths of Caracas for U.S. helicopters and planes to approach undetected, allowing the mission to remain a tactical surprise to Maduro. Upon U.S. forces entering Maduro’s compound, his attempt to escape with his wife to a steel-reinforced room was unsuccessful, and forces successfully exfiltrated Venezuela at 3:29am. [9] At 4:21 am, Trump announced the success of their operation and that Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were officially in U.S. custody, facing charges for narcoterrorism. 

As the news rapidly disseminated, Venezuelans across the globe united in celebration of Maduro’s capture, expressing relief that their country would finally be under the control of someone they recognized as their formal leader. Venezuelans emphasized their excitement for finally having a chance to live freely in their country. From the perspective of many, Maduros’ capture came following many years of inaction and indifference. They believe his capture will only allow Venezuela to grow. [10]

Nonetheless, Trump’s statements following Maduro’s capture raise ethical concerns for Venezuela’s future. After announcing that the U.S. would run Venezuela for an unspecified period of time, the opposition has suggested that the U.S. will impose economic leverage on Venezuela’s oil industry. To many, this statement confirms the resolve that Trump’s operation was conducted solely for economic purposes. Yet his justification provides the perspective that the United States was defending itself from the severe threat of Venezuela’s drug trafficking. Under the UN Charter, states have the right to self-defense, and Trump allegedly captured Maduro with the intention of defending the U.S.’s well-being. [10] Moreover, the ‘head of state immunity’ offered in the U.S. charter, which would potentially protect Maduro from criminal prosecution in domestic courts of other states, is not considered applicable since he was not legitimately elected into office. 

With Maduro in jail, the rest of his repressive government still remains in power in Venezuela. His former vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, has now been sworn into office as interim leader. [11] For Venezuelans, Maduro’s regime remaining in power is frightening, as they fear that this will prevent Venezuela from restoring itself. Rodriguez has publicly spoken to recognize the mismanagement that tanked the country and acknowledged the need for the government to foster stronger business relationships, specifically while confronting the challenge of Trump demanding a part of the oil industry. 

Venezuela will not hold elections until the U.S. determines such a time that it can have a safe, proper, and judicious transition. In the meantime, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had provided $50 billion for debt restructuring and large-scale immediate humanitarian assistance for nearly 8-million Venezuelans. [12] With the clarity that Trump’s intentionality has underlying determination for U.S. economic gain, it is clear that capturing Maduro has elated the Venezuelan community and led towards restructuring and regrowth, which Venezuelans have spent the last 13 years praying for. Now, the world still questions whether Maduro’s capture was for U.S. economic gains or for the sovereignty of Venezuelans. 

Notes:

1. “Nicolás Maduro Moros - United States Department of State.” 2025. United States Department of State. April 11, 2025. https://www.state.gov/nicolas-maduro-moros. 

2. Arellano, Fernanda. 2026. “A Glimmer of Hope amid the Darkness: Venezuelans React to Maduro’s Capture | Dominican Star Newspaper.” Dominican Star Newspaper | an ICPA Award-Winning Newspaper. January 28, 2026. https://dominicanstar.com/a-glimmer-of-hope-amid-the-darkness-venezuelans-react-to-maduros-capture/. 

3. Miami Herald Archives. 2026. “Trouble from Start: How Venezuela’s Maduro Rose to Power, and What Happened Next.” Miami Herald. January 3, 2026. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article314138059.html. 

4. López, Virginia. 2013. “Nicolás Maduro Promises to Use New Powers to Rescue Venezuelan Economy.” The Guardian. The Guardian. November 20, 2013. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/20/nicolas-maduro-powers-venezuelan-economy. 

5. Deliso, Meredith. 2026. “What to Know about Nicolas Maduro, the Ousted Venezuelan President.” ABC News. January 6, 2026. https://abcnews.go.com/International/nicolas-maduro-ousted-venezuelan-president/story?id=128913024. 

6. “Venezuela: Who’s in Charge Now? : State of the World from NPR.” 2026. NPR. January 8, 2026. https://www.npr.org/2026/01/08/nx-s1-5671780/venezuela-whos-in-charge-now. 

7. The Associated Press. 2025. “Trump Orders Blockade of ‘Sanctioned Oil Tankers’ into Venezuela.” NPR. December 16, 2025. https://www.npr.org/2025/12/16/nx-s1-5646721/trump-orders-blockade-of-sanctioned-oil-tankers-into-venezuela. 

8. Norman, Greg. 2026. “US Military Details Timeline of Operation to Capture Maduro, Revealing More than 150 Aircraft Involved.” Fox News. January 3, 2026. https://www.foxnews.com/us/us-military-details-timeline-operation-capture-maduro-revealing-more-than-150-aircraft-involved. 

9. Barnes, Julian E, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt. 2026. “Inside ‘Operation Absolute Resolve,’ the U.S. Effort to Capture Maduro.” The New York Times, January 3, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/us/politics/trump-capture-maduro-venezuela.html. 

10. Chotiner, Isaac. 2026. “The Brazen Illegality of Trump’s Venezuela Operation.” The New Yorker. January 3, 2026. https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-brazen-illegality-of-trumps-venezuela-operation. 

11. Jeyaretnam, Miranda, and Chad de Guzman. 2026. “What’s Happening with the U.S. And Venezuela, Explained.” TIME. Time. January 8, 2026. https://time.com/7344628/us-venezuela-trump-maduro-oil-drugs-war-explainer-questions-answered/. 

12. Brockwehl, Alex, Caitlin Talmadge, David G Victor, Elizabeth N Saunders, Kelebogile Zvobgo, Marcela Escobari, Michael E O’Hanlon, et al. 2026. “Making Sense of the US Military Operation in Venezuela.” Brookings. January 5, 2026. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/making-sense-of-the-us-military-operation-in-venezuela/. 

Bibliography:

Arellano, Fernanda. 2026. “A Glimmer of Hope amid the Darkness: Venezuelans React to Maduro’s Capture | Dominican Star Newspaper.” Dominican Star Newspaper | an ICPA Award-Winning Newspaper. January 28, 2026. https://dominicanstar.com/a-glimmer-of-hope-amid-the-darkness-venezuelans-react-to-maduros-capture/. 

Barnes, Julian E, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt. 2026. “Inside ‘Operation Absolute Resolve,’ the U.S. Effort to Capture Maduro.” The New York Times, January 3, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/us/politics/trump-capture-maduro-venezuela.html. 

Brockwehl, Alex, Caitlin Talmadge, David G Victor, Elizabeth N Saunders, Kelebogile Zvobgo, Marcela Escobari, Michael E O’Hanlon, et al. 2026. “Making Sense of the US Military Operation in Venezuela.” Brookings. January 5, 2026. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/making-sense-of-the-us-military-operation-in-venezuela/. 

Chotiner, Isaac. 2026. “The Brazen Illegality of Trump’s Venezuela Operation.” The New Yorker. January 3, 2026. https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-brazen-illegality-of-trumps-venezuela-operation 

Deliso, Meredith. 2026. “What to Know about Nicolás Maduro, the Ousted Venezuelan President.” ABC News. January 6, 2026. https://abcnews.go.com/International/nicolas-maduro-ousted-venezuelan-president/story?id=128913024. 

Jeyaretnam, Miranda, and Chad de Guzman. 2026. “What’s Happening with the U.S. And Venezuela, Explained.” TIME. Time. January 8, 2026. https://time.com/7344628/us-venezuela-trump-maduro-oil-drugs-war-explainer-questions-answered/. 

López, Virginia. 2013. “Nicolás Maduro Promises to Use New Powers to Rescue Venezuelan Economy.” The Guardian. The Guardian. November 20, 2013. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/20/nicolas-maduro-powers-venezuelan-economy.

Miami Herald Archives. 2026. “Trouble from Start: How Venezuela’s Maduro Rose to Power, and What Happened Next.” Miami Herald. January 3, 2026. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article314138059.html . 

“Nicolás Maduro Moros - United States Department of State.” 2025. United States Department of State. April 11, 2025. https://www.state.gov/nicolas-maduro-moros.  

Norman, Greg. 2026. “US Military Details Timeline of Operation to Capture Maduro, Revealing More than 150 Aircraft Involved.” Fox News. January 3, 2026. https://www.foxnews.com/us/us-military-details-timeline-operation-capture-maduro-revealing-more-than-150-aircraft-involved. 

The Associated Press. 2025. “Trump Orders Blockade of ‘Sanctioned Oil Tankers’ into Venezuela.” NPR. December 16, 2025. https://www.npr.org/2025/12/16/nx-s1-5646721/trump-orders-blockade-of-sanctioned-oil-tankers-into-venezuela. 

“Venezuela: Who’s in Charge Now? : State of the World from NPR.” 2026. NPR. January 8, 2026. https://www.npr.org/2026/01/08/nx-s1-5671780/venezuela-whos-in-charge-now.