Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López addressed the nation moments after the US strikes denouncing them as an “invasion into Venezuela”

 

“U.S. President Donald Trump announced Saturday morning that Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have been “captured and flown out of the country”, a message that came after a series of explosions hit Caracas.

 

“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement,” President Trump said in a Truth Social statement. He added that further details would follow at a press conference to be hosted later today at Mar-a-Lago.

 

President Trump’s bulletin comes hours after a series of apparent airstrikes hit several locations across the capital city of Caracas and other regions of Venezuela.

 

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shared a copy of Trump’s Truth Social post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

 

Maduro, who has maintained himself in power through a series of sham presidential elections, is actively wanted by U.S. authorities on multiple narco-terrorism charges. The U.S. has an active $50 million bounty on information leading to Nicolás Maduro’s arrest and/or conviction.

 

Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

 

Members of the presidential guard stand outside the Miraflores presidential palace after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

 

U.S. courts accused Maduro in 2020 of being a leading figure, if not the leader of, the Cartel of the Suns, an international cocaine trafficking operation led by top members of the Venezuelan regime that for years sought to “flood” the United States with cocaine to harm its people.

 

The Venezuelan socialist regime has not publicly commented on President Trump’s announcement at press time. The Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional reported that large swatches of Caracas remain without power as of early Saturday morning — with dozens of residents evacuating Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s main military complex.

 

For years, Fuerte Tiuna was believed to house Nicolás Maduro’s personal bunker, among other important facilities of the rogue regime. El Nacional also stated that La Carlota, Venezuela’s main military airport, was hit by the strikes.

 

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López — who is also wanted by the U.S. on drug trafficking charges  — addressed the nation moments after the strikes through a video posted on Instagram, denouncing them as an “invasion” representing “the greatest outrage suffered by Venezuela.”

 

Padrino López rejected the narco-terrorism accusations and claimed that the strikes are part of a “regime change” operation to “submit” Venezuela to the “American Empire.” The video was published moments before President Trump’s announcement.

 

“Desperation is the invader’s ally. Let us avoid chaos and anarchy. They have attacked us, but they will not break us. We will prevail,” Padrino López said, calling for the international community to rally around Venezuela and condemn the United States.”