ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - US President Donald Trump confirmed that US airstrikes were carried out on Venezuela in the early hours of Saturday morning and claimed that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been "captured and flown out of the country."

"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 wrote on Truth Social, coming hours after footage of explosions in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and coastal city of Higuerote emerged.

The US military on Saturday morning conducted a series of strikes on Venezuela, with US President Donald Trump announcing that his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro has been" captured and flown out of the country." pic.twitter.com/17dIckf9ch

— The New Region (@thenewregion) January 3, 2026

Trump continued by asserting that the operation was carried out in conjunction with US law enforcement.

CBS News, citing US officials, reported that Delta Force, a US Army special missions unit, captured the Venezuelan leader.

A US press conference is set to be held on the matter at 7 pm Iraqi time.

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, in a press conference on Saturday, said there is coordination to defend Venezuelan territory, adding that the goal is to confront what he described as an imperialist threat.

"The enemy is seeking to spread fear and chaos in our country, and we will continue to resist and defend our homeland against any aggression," he added.

In a separate statement, the defense ministry said: “We will prevail in this conflict.”

Maduro has served as Venezuelan president since 2013 and has been a US bugbear in the region for his avowedly socialist and anti-US imperialism stances.

In August 2025, the US announced that it would increase the bounty for information leading to Maduro's arrest to $50 million.

Updated at 12:55 with Venezuelan defense minister's remarks

Updated at 13:02 with CBS News report