Donald Trump announced this morning the US had launched an attack on Caracas.

16:30, Sat, Jan 3, 2026 Updated: 17:00, Sat, Jan 3, 2026

A picture appearing to show Nicolas Maduro

A picture appearing to show Nicolas Maduro after he was taken by US forces (Image: TRUTH SOCIAL/DONALD TRUMP)

Donald Trump has shared a photograph of President Nicolas Maduro onboard the USS Iwo Jima, hours after the United States launched a military strike on Venezuela, and captured Maduro and his wife. The image, posted on the social media platform, Truth Social, was accompanied with the caption "Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima." and was posted from the US President's account.

The man, claimed by the President to be Mr Maduro, can be seen wearing a dark cover in front of his eyes and headphones on his ears.

The US launched a series of airstrikes on the country, following months of rising tensions between the two nations, over alleged drug trafficking through the Caribbean from Venezuela. A daring raid was carried out by United States Special Operations forces, including the unit involved in the killing of al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden. Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in New York for drug and fun offenses.

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Mr Trump released the image online as he spoke at a press conference at his Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago. During the conference he told the media "we are going to run the country". In a separate post, the President shared a 1 minute 24 second video, which appeared to be a montage of clips of the military strikes which shook the country early Saturday morning. The montage of footage was accompanied by a song of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son," initially an antiwar song from the Vietnam war about how the children of the wealthy avoided the draft.

Venezuela's opposition leader, María Corina Machado, applauded the US military strikes which have seen the removal of the socialist Dictator, Nicolas Maduro saying: "We have fought for years, given everything, and it has been worth it".

The operation in South America took place in the dead of night, and will now see the South American dictator face charges in a US court. He is accused of leading a group called the 'Cartel of the SUns', a collection of senior generals and officials who American prosecutors saw took millions in bribes from guerilla leaders in nearby Columbia for over two decades, and facilitated the movement of cocaine through Venezuela into the US and Europe.

Speaking at the press conference on Saturday afternoon, Mr Trump said that the oil industry in Venezuela had gone "bust" as he claimed that the US companies will need to go in and "start making money for the country". He also warned that the US was "ready" to launch a second, larger attack on the country that Mr Trump branded a "second wave".

He thanked the armed forces for their "breathtaking speed, power, precision and competence", and claimed that no US servicemen were killed in the operation that brought Maurdo down. Mr Trump also announced that the Americans would "run" the country until "such a time that we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition" of power.