Caracas Mayor Carmen Meléndez called for maximum popular mobilization and active resistance against the U.S. military capture of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores during a speech at the Comprehensive Defense Command between 1:45 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. UTC on January 3, 2026, according to her statement shared by X user camilapress, rejecting the operation as a Yankee imperialist attack on Venezuelan sovereignty. Venezuela closed its border with Brazil, as confirmed by Brazilian Federal Police Director General Andrei Rodrigues, who stated Brazilian immigration posts remain open, per X user eixopolitico. Separately, FBI agents accompanied U.S. special operations forces in the Caracas capture of Maduro, with plans underway to transport him to New York for trial in Manhattan federal court, according to sources briefed on the matter cited by CNN's Evan Perez and Zachary Cohen via X user alaynatreene. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez arrived in Moscow on flight YV3535 approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes before 2:15 p.m. UTC, per X user Arr3ch0. U.S. Vice President JD Vance stated President Trump offered Maduro multiple off-ramps to halt drug trafficking and return stolen oil before the operation, praising U.S. special operators, according to his X post. Argentine President Javier Milei declared Edmundo González Urrutia the real president of Venezuela following Maduro's capture, per X user AlertaMundoNews. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer received no advance notice from President Trump about the U.S. strike and capture, according to PolitlcsUK on X citing Tony Diver. Meléndez's remarks echoed prior denunciations by regime-appointed governors of Bolívar, Yaracuy, and Táchira states against Maduro's arrest, as reported earlier on January 3, 2026.
