Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been captured and transported to the United States following a dramatic military operation, marking an unprecedented escalation in international relations.
Dramatic Capture and Manhattan Procession
In the early hours of Saturday, 3 January 2026, US special forces executed a high-risk mission codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve. The team successfully extracted Maduro and his wife from their bedroom within a fortified military installation in Venezuela. The operation was supported by extensive air strikes, with Black Hawk helicopters reportedly bombarding areas of Caracas during the extraction.
The captured leader was then flown to the USS Iwo Jima, a massive aircraft carrier stationed in the Caribbean, before being transported to a US military installation and onward to New York.
"Happy New Year" in Handcuffs
Footage released by The White House's official rapid response account shows a handcuffed Maduro being paraded through the Manhattan headquarters of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The images reveal the Venezuelan strongman grinning as he was flanked by two agents.
In a surreal moment, Maduro attempted to speak English to officers, reportedly saying "good night" and "Happy New Year." He was heard questioning himself in Spanish, "Es buenas noches, no?" (That's good night, right?), before repeating the phrase with greater enthusiasm.
At the DEA facility, he was formally charged with narco-terrorism and weapons violations, allegations he has repeatedly denied in the past.
High-Security Detention in Brooklyn
Following the processing, American media outlets confirmed Maduro was moved to the high-security Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. This prison has previously housed notable inmates including Ghislaine Maxwell and rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs.
Both Nicolas Maduro and his spouse are scheduled to appear before a judge in New York, although a specific court date has not yet been announced. The arrest represents a seismic event in geopolitics, directly challenging the sovereignty of the Venezuelan state and setting a bold precedent for US extraterritorial action.
The long-term consequences for US-Venezuela relations, regional stability in South America, and international law are yet to be fully understood, but the immediate image of a captured head of state in a Manhattan perp walk is one that will resonate globally.
