what happened to venezuela president

Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela, has reportedly been captured and removed from the country after a sudden large-scale U.S. military strike on Venezuela in early January 2026.

Quick Scoop: What happened?

• In the early hours of January 3, 2026 (local time), the United States carried out what President Donald Trump called a “large-scale strike” on military and strategic targets in and around Caracas and other Venezuelan cities.

• Trump announced that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been “captured and flown out of the country” in connection with the operation.

• U.S. officials say Maduro is to face drug-related and “narco-terrorism”–linked charges in U.S. courts, particularly in New York, reflecting long‑standing U.S. accusations that his government is tied to large‑scale drug trafficking.

Who is running Venezuela now?

• The situation inside Venezuela is uncertain and contested :
  • Trump has said the U.S. is “going to run the country” or oversee it until some form of “judicious” or “safe” transition can be arranged.

* Venezuela’s foreign minister has publicly insisted that Maduro remains the **constitutional** president and demanded that the U.S. return him to Venezuela, calling his capture a violation of sovereignty.

• Vice President Delcy Rodríguez is formally next in line under Venezuela’s constitution, but reports say she has left the country for Russia, which further clouds who is actually in charge in Caracas.

How did things build up to this?

• The strike and capture come after years of escalating crisis :
  • Since at least 2019, Venezuela has been in a prolonged political standoff, with parts of the international community calling Maduro’s earlier elections fraudulent and recognizing opposition figures as legitimate leaders.

* In 2024 and 2025, Venezuela went through another intense political crisis over elections, protests, and international sanctions, leaving Maduro increasingly isolated but still backed by key state institutions and allies like Russia and Cuba.

• In the months leading up to the strike:
  • Washington ramped up rhetoric portraying Maduro as the head of a “narco-terrorist” regime and announced bounties and legal charges tied to alleged drug trafficking networks.

* There were reports of smaller U.S. operations and drone strikes on Venezuelan facilities, seen as early phases of a pressure campaign that culminated in the January 2026 attack.

How the world is reacting

• Several countries and international actors have condemned or expressed deep concern about:
  • The U.S. bombing campaign on Venezuelan territory.
  • The extraterritorial capture and removal of a sitting head of state.
    Many frame it as a serious violation of Venezuelan sovereignty and international law.

• Others, especially some U.S. allies and regional opponents of Maduro, are more focused on:
  • The opportunity for a political transition.
  • Whether a credible, internationally supervised process can now be put in place after years of authoritarian practices and economic collapse under Maduro.

Forum / discussion angle & context

In online forums and political subreddits over the last few years, debates about “what is going on in Venezuela” have often revolved around a few recurring themes:

• Whether Maduro is best understood as a socialist leader resisting U.S. interference, or as an entrenched autocrat presiding over corruption, repression, and economic free fall.

• The long history of U.S. involvement and coup attempts in Latin America, which leads many users to see any Washington-backed move in Venezuela as part of a pattern of regime change for oil and geopolitical influence.

Those older debates are now being re‑energized and polarized by the 2026 strike and capture, with some commenters framing this as “the CIA finally installing a puppet,” and others arguing that removing Maduro was necessary after years of humanitarian disaster and alleged narco‑state activity.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.