A video surfaced showing deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro under US custody following a large-scale American military operation, as Washington signalled it would temporarily oversee Venezuela’s transition.
A video surfaced showing deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro arriving in US custody following a large-scale American military strike on Venezuela early on Saturday. US officials said the operation resulted in Maduro and his wife being captured and removed from the country, marking a decisive moment in Washington’s intervention.
The White House Rapid Response account reposted a video reportedly recorded earlier at the DEA headquarters in Manhattan, which it said showed Maduro being “perp walked”, reinforcing official claims that he is now under US control.
Perp walked.pic.twitter.com/34iIsFUDdG
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 4, 2026
US officials said
Maduro and his wife were transported via helicopter to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The US president confirmed after the strikes that Maduro had been captured and would be brought to the United States to face charges.
Trump signals control over Venezuela and oil reserves
At a Mar-a-Lago news conference on Saturday morning, hours after ordering a military strike in
Venezuela and the capture of the country’s president and his wife, President Donald Trump described the action as an anti-drug law enforcement operation.
His Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said, “At its core, this was an arrest of two indicted fugitives of American justice.” He added that the US was going to “run the country” temporarily, even if that required troops on the ground, that American companies would soon begin selling Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, and that the move was part of a broader strategy to assert US dominance in the Western Hemisphere.
While Trump said the US would “make Venezuela great again”, he offered few details when repeatedly pressed on the specifics of America’s role, including any possible timetable.
Venezuela’s opposition leader, María Corina Machado, has meanwhile called for an opposition candidate to assume power.
Supreme Court names interim president in Caracas
In Caracas, Venezuela’s
Supreme Court ruled that Delcy Rodríguez, who had been serving as Maduro’s vice president, should assume the role of interim president. According to Reuters, the court said the move was necessary “to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the Nation”.
The court said it will debate the matter further to “determine the applicable legal framework to guarantee the continuity of the State, the administration of government, and the defense of sovereignty in the face of the forced absence of the President of the Republic”, Reuters reported.
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