What led U.S. to attack Venezuela and capture Nicolás Maduro?

The United States launched a "large-scale strike" against Venezuela on Saturday morning and captured the country’s president and first lady, President Donald Trump said in a social media post.

The dramatic raid follows an intense pressure campaign ratcheted up by the Trump administration that included numerous military strikes in recent months against alleged drug-carrying boats in South American waters.

Nicolás Maduro, the country’s leader, and his wife, Cilia Flores, will face criminal charges after an indictment in New York, said U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Here’s what we know about the conflict:

Who is Nicolás Maduro?

Maduro, the Venezuelan president, first took power in 2013 after narrowly winning an election. He was handpicked as the successor to Hugo Chávez, the country’s controversial president who first took power in 1999 and continued in the role until his death in 2013.

Why is the U.S. targeting Maduro?

The Trump administration has framed its increasing pressure campaign against Maduro, who it does not recognize as a legitimate ruler, as a means to stop the flow of illicit drugs into the U.S.

The United Nations accused Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Guard late last year of a decadelong pattern of committing political violence against Maduro's opponents. The report implicated the unit in a pattern of killings, arbitrary detentions and sexual violence against protesters and others.

The United Nations Human Rights Council said in a March 2025 report that Venezuela's government "continues to engage in actions constituting the crime against humanity of persecution on political grounds, committed in connection with the crime of imprisonment or severe deprivation of physical liberty and other crimes."

What triggered the latest conflict?

Trump signed an executive order in January 2025 that recognized criminal organizations and drug cartels as "foreign terrorist organizations," including a well-known Venezuelan street gang. Trump asserted Maduro was working with the gang, Tren de Aragua, as part of a drug trafficking and illegal immigration operation that flowed into the U.S. On Thursday, Maduro said Venezuela was open to negotiating an agreement with the United States to combat drug trafficking.

When did military intervention start?

The U.S. deployed military units into the waters off Venezuela in August and carried out at least 35 strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats, killing at least 115 people, officials said. Human rights groups and several U.S. senators have raised questions over the legality of the strikes.

The Associated Press contributed to this story. 

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ