Image Source foxnews
NEW YORK — In a scene once thought confined to the pages of a political thriller, deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro is scheduled to stand before a federal judge in Manhattan today, January 5, 2026. This historic court appearance follows a high-stakes weekend extraction by U.S. Special Forces, an mission codenamed “Operation Absolute Resolve.”
The Midnight Raid in Caracas
The operation, described by the Pentagon as a “precision law enforcement strike,” began in the early hours of Saturday. Over 150 U.S. aircraft reportedly saturated the region to disable Venezuelan air defenses, allowing elite teams to descend upon the presidential compound in Caracas.
President Donald Trump, speaking from Mar-a-Lago, revealed that troops utilized “massive blowtorches” to breach reinforced safe rooms. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in under 30 minutes and immediately flown to Stewart International Airport in New York.
The Charges: Narco-Terrorism
Maduro arrives in court not as a head of state—a status the U.S. government has long refused to recognize—but as a defendant in a massive 2020 narco-terrorism indictment. The Justice Department alleges Maduro led the “Cartel de los Soles,” a criminal organization they claim flooded the U.S. with cocaine in partnership with Colombian guerrilla groups.
“There is no claim to sovereign immunity if we do not recognize him as a head of state,” noted legal experts, drawing parallels to the 1989 capture of Panama’s Manuel Noriega.
A World on the Edge
While the Venezuelan diaspora in Miami’s “Little Venezuela” celebrated with chants of “Libertad,” the geopolitical fallout has been swift and severe:
- UN Emergency Session: The UN Security Council is meeting today at the request of Colombia and Venezuela’s interim government. UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned the action sets a “dangerous precedent.”
- Adversary Condemnation: China, Russia, and Iran have branded the operation an “illegal abduction” and a violation of international law. Tehran, currently facing its own internal unrest, expressed deep concern over its billions in investments now frozen in Venezuela.
- The “Oil Factor”: President Trump has already signaled that the U.S. will be “very strongly involved” in rebuilding the Venezuelan oil industry, a statement that has drawn both market excitement and sharp criticism from European allies.
What Happens Next?
As Maduro enters the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, the vacuum in Caracas remains volatile. Though Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has been sworn in as interim president, Trump has issued a stern warning for her to cooperate with U.S. demands or face further intervention.
The legal battle beginning today is expected to last years, but the political map of South America has already been permanently redrawn in a single weekend.
