President Donald Trump released a photo on Truth Social of detained Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima during the 29 minutes ending at 4:45 p.m. UTC on January 3, 2026, following his U.S. special operations capture in Caracas earlier today, according to X user FaytuksNetwork. A source told X user hunterbidenDem that Maduro is stable. Reuters reported Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez is in Russia, citing four sources familiar with her movements, while her brother Jorge Rodríguez remains in Caracas. X user shashj shared the Reuters article in the reporting window. CBS News reported via X user JenniferJJacobs that the military aircraft carrying Maduro is expected to land today at New York Stewart International Airport, where he is in military custody before transfer to federal authorities. X user KFaulders cited sources stating Maduro is expected at Guantanamo Bay before an FBI plane to New York. House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory Meeks criticized the U.S. operation in an X post shared by ChadPergram, calling Maduro illegitimate but decrying the military action without congressional approval as a violation of international law. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the U.S. action as a violation of sovereignty in a statement posted by MFA_China on X.
