Trump posts photo of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro in blindfolds, handcuffs

US bombed Venezuela capital, captured Maduro, wife earlier on Saturday

Published: 01:10 PM, 3 Jan, 2026
Featured News, World
Trump posts photo of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro in blindfolds, handcuffs
AFP

President Donald Trump posted a photo Saturday of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in custody on a US naval ship and wearing both a blindfold and handcuffs.

"Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, along with a picture showing Maduro hours after he was snatched by US forces.

The Venezuelan leader had on what appeared to be noise-canceling ear muffs and grey Nike-branded sweatpants and jacket.

Earlier on Saturday, President Trump said that US forces had captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on the South American country. He said he watched live as US special forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a daring raid, saying it looked like "a television show."

"I mean, I watched it, literally, like I was watching a television show. And if you would have seen the speed, the violence," Trump said in a telephone interview with Fox News. "We watched every aspect of it."

"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," Trump said on Truth Social, around two hours after explosions rocked Venezuela's capital Caracas.

US President Donald Trump said Saturday that Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro was captured from a highly guarded "fortress," adding that no Americans were killed in the operation. "He was in a fortress," Trump told Fox News in a telephone interview.

"You know, that we had nobody killed was amazing," he said, adding that a "couple of guys were hit, but they came back and they're supposed to be in pretty good shape."

There was no confirmation from Venezuela's government of the fate of the leftist Maduro, in power since 2013.

His government accused the United States of an "extremely serious military aggression" which follows a months-long campaign of increasing military and economic pressure by Trump.

In a dramatic night of fast-moving events, Caracas was rocked by explosions, accompanied by the sound of helicopters, around 2:00 am (0600 GMT).

The blasts continued for nearly an hour, AFP journalists said.

Trump said he would give a news conference at 11:00 am (1600 GMT) at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, where he is on vacation.

- A 'brilliant' operation -
In a brief phone interview with The New York Times, he hailed a "brilliant" operation which involved "a lot of good planning and lot of great, great troops and great people."

Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, situated in the south of Caracas, and Carlota airbase in the north were among the targets of the strikes.

AFP saw flames and huge plumes of smoke billowing from Fuerte Tiuna.

Blasts were also heard in La Guaira, north of the capital, where Caracas's airport and port are located.

"I felt like (the explosions) lifted me out of bed, and I immediately thought, 'God, the day has come,' and I cried," María Eugenia Escobar, a 58-year-old resident of La Guaira, told AFP.

"Venezuela rejects, repudiates, and denounces before the international community the extremely serious military aggression perpetrated by the current government of the United States of America against Venezuelan territory and people," the government said.

The government said Maduro had declared a state of emergency but the 63-year-old socialist was himself nowhere to be seen.

The defense ministry accused the United States of targeting residential areas and announced a "massive deployment" of its military resources.

The leftist president of neighboring Colombia, Gustavo Petro, called on X for an emergency meeting of the United Nations and said he was deploying troops to the Venezuela border.

As the strikes began in the dead of night, residents of Caracas rushed to their windows and terraces to try to make sense of events.

Others hid in safe, windowless spaces, fearful of breaking glass.

Videos shared on social media showed helicopters silhouetted against the night sky.

Power has been cut in certain parts Caracas, according to residents.

- 'They're bombing' -
Francis Pena, a 29-year-old communications professional living in eastern Caracas, told AFP that he was sleeping and his girlfriend woke him and said "they're bombing."

"I can't see the explosions, but I hear the planes. We're starting to prepare a bag with the most important things at home -- passport, cards, cash, candles, a change of clothes, canned food," Pena said.

Trump, who deployed an aircraft carrier and warships to the Caribbean as part of what he initially presented as an anti-drug smuggling campaign, had repeatedly threatened strikes on Venezuelan soil.

On Monday, he said it would be "smart" for Maduro, whose re-election in 2024 was widely dismissed by the international community as fraudulent, to step down.

He also said the United States had hit and destroyed a docking area for alleged Venezuelan drug boats.

Maduro had said Thursday he was open to cooperation with Washington.

The Trump administration has accused Maduro of heading a drug cartel, but the Venezuelan leader denied any involvement in the narcotics trade, saying Washington was seeking to overthrow him because Venezuela has the largest known reserves of oil on Earth.

In an apparent bid to force him out, Washington in recent weeks informally closed Venezuela's airspace in recent weeks, imposed more sanctions and ordered the seizure of tankers loaded with Venezuelan oil.

US forces have also carried out numerous strikes on boats in both the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September, targeting what Washington says are drug smugglers.

The strikes have killed at least 107 people, according to the US military.

Allies condemn US attack

venezuelausconflictVenezuela's neighbours and allies of its President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday condemned a large scale US strike on the South American country, as Spain offered to mediate for a peaceful settlement.

US President Donald Trump said earlier that US forces had captured Maduro and flown him and his wife out of the country.

The Venezuelan government decried what it termed a "extremely serious military aggression" by Washington and declared a state of emergency as several leaders allied with Caracas denounced the US action.

- Iran -
Iran, which has close links with oil-rich Venezuela, said it "strongly condemns the US military attack on Venezuela and a flagrant violation of the country's national sovereignty and territorial integrity".

- Colombia -
Colombian President Gustavo Petro called it an "assault on the sovereignty" of Latin America which would lead to a humanitarian crisis.

Colombia is a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council this year and leftist leader Petro called for the body to meet "immediately."

- Cuba -
Cuba, a traditional regional ally, denounced what it called "state terrorism against the brave Venezuelan people" according to a statement by President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who urged a "response from the international community" following a "criminal attack" on Caracas.

- Russia -
Russia condemned the US military action as "an act of armed aggression against Venezuela."

"This is deeply concerning and condemnable," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. "The pretexts used to justify such actions are untenable. Ideological hostility has triumphed over businesslike pragmatism," it added.

- Spain -
Spain offered to mediate in the crisis in an attempt to broker a negotiated and peaceful solution.

"Spain calls for de-escalation and restraint," the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding it was "ready to help in the search for a democratic, negotiated, and peaceful solution for the country,"

- Germany -
Germany's foreign ministry told AFP that "we are monitoring the situation in Venezuela very closely and following the latest reports with great concern. The foreign ministry is in close contact with the embassy in Caracas."

Berlin added that the government’s crisis team was in session and "we are coordinating closely with our partners."

- Italy -
The office of Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, said she was "closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela, remaining in constant contact with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, also in order to gather information about our fellow citizens."

-US Democratic senators -
US senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat, said on X: "We have no vital national interests in Venezuela to justify war. We should have learned not to stumble into another stupid adventure by now."

Fellow Democrat senator Ruben Gallego said on X: "This war is illegal, it’s embarrassing that we went from the world cop to the world bully in less than one year. There is no reason for us to be at war with Venezuela."

- Former Bolivian leader Morales -

Former Bolivian president Evo Morales, a close Caracas ally, said on X he "forcefully rejected" the US "bombardment."

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AFP

Agence France-Presse is an international news agency.