U.S. Delta Force operators dragged Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores from their bedroom in Caracas at approximately 5 a.m. UTC on January 3, 2026, capturing the couple while sleeping, U.S. officials confirmed to CNN reporters Kevin Liptak and Stefano Pozzebon in the past 29 minutes, according to posts by Natasha Bertrand and Global Mil Info on X. President Donald Trump stated he watched the raid in real time, praising the U.S. team's "incredible job" and professionalism, adding "there's no other country on Earth that can do such a maneuver," per comments shared by RapidResponse47 on X during the reporting window ending at 2:45 p.m. UTC. Two U.S. Department of Justice and FBI aircraft departed their bases in the past 29 minutes following Maduro's capture, with N874TW heading from Fort Lauderdale toward Puerto Rico and N119NA flying southbound, according to ADS-B tracking reported by TheIntelFrog on X. Venezuelan troops were observed patrolling Caracas streets and harassing civilians in the reporting window, per video shared by visionergeo on X. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas stated the EU is monitoring the situation, noting Maduro lacks legitimacy and calling for restraint while prioritizing EU citizens' safety, according to her X post. The raid details align with prior confirmations of Maduro's capture by U.S. special operations forces in Caracas earlier on January 3, as stated by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, with plans to transport him to New York for trial on narco-terrorism charges.
