U.S. Senator Tom Cotton stated just before 12:15 p.m. UTC on January 3, 2026, that he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who confirmed Venezuelan President NicolƔs Maduro is in U.S. custody in Caracas to face trial on drug trafficking and narco-terrorism charges from an indictment nearly six years ago, according to Cotton's X post. Cotton commended President Trump and U.S. troops for the operation, stating Maduro ran a vast drug-trafficking operation. He urged Venezuela's interim government to end drug trafficking and collusion with Iran and Cuba to rejoin the civilized world, per the same X post shared in the past 30 minutes. An unverified video testimony from a self-identified Second Sergeant Major of the Venezuelan Armed Forces (FAN) at Fuerte Tiuna military base described leaving a "killing zone" where "large units were attacked" during the reporting window from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. UTC, according to an X post by abelandia. These developments follow U.S. officials' earlier confirmations today of Maduro's capture by Delta Force for U.S. trial, as reported by Secretary Rubio to Senator Mike Lee and in prior updates.
