Nicolás Maduro Captured by US Forces
The operation followed Venezuela's disputed July 2024 presidential election, in which opposition candidate Edmundo González presented tally evidence of a landslide win while the government-controlled electoral council declared Maduro the victor. The United States escalated oil-trade sanctions and built up its Caribbean military presence from August 2025 before the January 2026 raid ended 27 years of Chavista rule (1999-2026). The Trump administration framed the operation as law enforcement backed by the military, citing both Maduro's narco-terrorism indictment and access to Venezuela's roughly 300-billion-barrel oil reserves as strategic objectives. Cuba, Russia, and Colombia's government condemned it as an illegal violation of Venezuelan sovereignty; UN officials and international law scholars raised concerns under the UN Charter.
- Year: 2026 CE
- Category: Military
