Episode 3170
2026 United States strikes in Venezuela
Tue, 2026-Jan-06 07:23 UTC
Length - 2:45
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With 346,391 views on Monday, 5 January 2026 our article of the day is 2026 United States strikes in Venezuela.
On 3 January 2026, the United States attacked Venezuela, capturing Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. The attack, codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve, began around 2 am local time when explosions were observed. More than 150 United States Armed Forces aircraft were involved in the operation, which bombed infrastructure across northern Venezuela to support an apprehension force that landed in Caracas. Venezuelan vice president Delcy Rodríguez denounced the capture as a kidnapping.
Venezuelan and Cuban officials said more than 80 people were killed in the attack, including 32 members of the Cuban military and intelligence agencies. Maduro and Flores were flown to New York City by US forces. US attorney general Pam Bondi announced that Maduro and Flores had been indicted in the US Southern District of New York on several charges related to narcoterrorism, superseding a 2020 indictment based on similar charges. Maduro and Flores pled not guilty to the charges in a Manhattan federal court on 5 January 2026.
US president Donald Trump and his administration justified the operation as a law-enforcement action, with military support, that the president has "inherent constitutional authority" to undertake. Officials in the United Nations (UN), the US, and other countries, as well as international law experts said the raid violated the UN Charter and Venezuela's sovereignty. Other reactions around the world included protests and celebrations by the Venezuelan diaspora.
Trump stated that the US would "run" Venezuela until there was a transition of power, but these claims were contradicted by Rodríguez and walked back by US secretary of state Marco Rubio. The Venezuelan government remained in place with Rodríguez sworn in as President of Venezuela on 5 January 2026.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 07:23 UTC on Tuesday, 6 January 2026.
For the full current version of the article, see 2026 United States strikes in Venezuela on Wikipedia.
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Until next time, I'm neural Kevin.
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