On Saturday, January 3, 2026, photos and video footage appeared on social media showing the launch of a large-scale military operation in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas. Subsequently, the Venezuelan government confirmed an attack by U.S. forces. The recordings make it possible to identify heavy MH-47G Chinook helicopters (and likely MH-60M Black Hawk helicopters) belonging to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), known as the Night Stalkers, of the U.S. Army, operating under U.S. Special Operations Command (US SOCOM).
Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base home to the Army Aviation also seems to have got hit in Caracas.pic.twitter.com/3D09lCzwGs
— SA Defensa (@SA_Defensa) January 3, 2026
Footage from a vantage point over the city, showing multiple explosions across the Venezuelan capital of Caracas. pic.twitter.com/yzymxK6kib
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) January 3, 2026
BREAKING: Strong explosions heard in Caracas, Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/zEalYr2dVp
— Clash Report (@clashreport) January 3, 2026
MH-47s. pic.twitter.com/IS5SmNlvHv
— Evergreen Intel (@vcdgf555) January 3, 2026
Full-scale military operations appear to be underway against Venezuela, with dozens of helicopters with the U.S. Army spotted over the capital of Caracas. pic.twitter.com/kIqfbGjOK4
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) January 3, 2026
According to reports by CBS News, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered strikes on facilities in Venezuela, including military targets.
🚨BREAKING via @CBSNews: President Trump ordered strikes on sites inside Venezuela including military facilities, U.S. officials said, as the administration early Saturday ratcheted up its campaign against the regime of President Nicolás Maduro. via @JimLaPorta and me
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) January 3, 2026
BREAKING:
U.S. helicopters are POUNDING the Venezuelan military complex Fuerte Tiuna in Caracas pic.twitter.com/l9jblj2O5a
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) January 3, 2026
At least 9 helicopters over Caracas. As the impacts are happening around them.https://t.co/tHQ3BQGGjd
— Evergreen Intel (@vcdgf555) January 3, 2026
Geolocation: 10.600674, -66.937218
Detonation at warehouse, La Guaira, Venezuela. @GeoConfirmed @FaytuksNetwork @Faytuks @lookner @shipwreck75 @kimhvik2 https://t.co/iXhX1U18gU pic.twitter.com/vOHJfb84Bq— Evergreen Intel (@vcdgf555) January 3, 2026
This is potentially significant.
POV ID’d by @john_marquee has smoke in the direction of a base that include a number of military academies as well as the General Command of the Army, Strategic Operational Command, and the Ministry of the People’s Power for Defense. pic.twitter.com/FGy0IuIAUi
— Evergreen Intel (@vcdgf555) January 3, 2026
#NEW footage of the aftermath of strike in the La Guaira port, north of Caracas – a ship appears to have been targeted. pic.twitter.com/bGQOI8gJMM
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) January 3, 2026
The Government of Venezuela published the following statement through all state media:
“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejects, condemns, and denounces before the international community the extremely grave military aggression carried out by the current Government of the United States of America against Venezuelan territory and population, targeting both civilian and military locations in the city of Caracas, the capital of the Republic, as well as the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira.
This act constitutes a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations, particularly Articles 1 and 2, which enshrine respect for sovereignty, the legal equality of States, and the prohibition of the use of force. Such aggression threatens international peace and stability, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean, and places the lives of millions of people at serious risk.
The objective of this attack is none other than the seizure of Venezuela’s strategic resources, particularly its oil and mineral wealth, through an attempt to forcibly undermine the Nation’s political independence.
They will not succeed. After more than two hundred years of independence, the people and their legitimate Government remain steadfast in the defense of sovereignty and the inalienable right to determine their own destiny. The attempt to impose a colonial war in order to destroy the republican form of government and force a so-called “regime change,” in alliance with the fascist oligarchy, will fail, just as all previous attempts have failed.
Since 1811, Venezuela has confronted and defeated empires. When foreign powers bombarded our coasts in 1902, President Cipriano Castro proclaimed: “The insolent foot of the foreigner has profaned the sacred soil of the Fatherland.” Today, with the moral strength of Bolivar, Miranda, and our liberators, the Venezuelan people rise once again to defend their independence in the face of imperial aggression.
People to the streets
The Bolivarian Government calls upon all social and political forces of the country to activate mobilization plans and to repudiate this imperialist attack. The people of Venezuela and their Bolivarian National Armed Force, in perfect popular–military–police unity, are fully deployed to guarantee sovereignty and peace. At the same time, the Bolivarian Diplomacy of Peace will submit the corresponding complaints before the United Nations Security Council, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, CELAC, and the Non-Aligned Movement, demanding the condemnation of and accountability from the Government of the United States.
President Nicolas Maduro has ordered all national defence plans to be placed at full readiness, to be implemented at the appropriate time and under the appropriate circumstances, in strict accordance with the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Organic Law on States of Exception, and the Organic Law on National Security.
Accordingly, President Nicolas Maduro has signed and ordered the implementation of the Decree declaring a State of External Emergency throughout the national territory, in order to protect the rights of the population, ensure the full functioning of republican institutions, and immediately transition to armed struggle. The entire country must be activated to defeat this imperialist aggression.
Likewise, he has ordered the immediate deployment of the Command for the Integral Defence of the Nation and the Integral Defence Leadership Bodies in all states and municipalities of the country.
In strict accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, Venezuela reserves the right to exercise legitimate self-defence in order to protect its people, its territory, and its independence. We call upon the peoples and governments of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the world to mobilise in active solidarity in the face of this imperial aggression.
As stated by Supreme Commander Hugo Chavez Frías: “In the face of any new circumstance of difficulty, whatever its magnitude, the response of all patriots must be unity, struggle, battle, and victory.”
Venezuelan Government statement released by TeleSUR following the strikes just minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/50p0BkiAvn
— SA Defensa (@SA_Defensa) January 3, 2026
The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the situation of Poles in Venezuela:
⚠️ 🇵🇱 🇻🇪
Nasza placówka w @PLinVenezuela weryfikuje rzeczywistą liczbę osób przebywających w kraju i kontaktuje się z zarejestrowanymi w systemie #Odyseusz. Szacujemy, że w kraju przebywa kilkoro obywateli RP. Nie posiadamy informacji, aby którykolwiek z naszych obywateli…— Rzecznik MSZ – Maciej Wewiór (@RzecznikMSZ) January 3, 2026
URGENT: Donald Trump has confirmed the attack and announced the capture of the Venezuelan president:
“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. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement. Details to follow. There will be a News Conference today at 11 A.M., at Mar-a-Lago. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
The President of Venezuela is likely aboard the USS Iwo Jima.
📍Caribbean Sea
The @USNavy (🇺🇸) Iwo Jima ARG is conducting fleet maneuvers in the Caribbean Sea, notably with a special guest, the MV Ocean Trader Special Warfare Support vessel.
Geolocation: 13.35894, -66.28738 pic.twitter.com/GFtUVUbSdn
— SA Defensa (@SA_Defensa) December 24, 2025
New recordings from Caracas:
Footage of a US helicopter (possible USMC AH-1Z Viper) engaging ground targets with gun and rocket fire in Caracas, Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/mT5h1lnFkl
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) January 3, 2026
Fort Tiuna not looking so good https://t.co/qv5Sw2RcSX pic.twitter.com/K0Dil0YSqY
— SA Defensa (@SA_Defensa) January 3, 2026
A V-150 “Commando” Armored Wheeled-Gun with the Venezuelan Army spotted near Miraflores Presidential Palace in the capital of Caracas. pic.twitter.com/ToYWjTRlMn
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) January 3, 2026
BREAKING:
The Mausoleum of Hugo Chávez has been struck. It housed his remains. pic.twitter.com/6nJuAliT7d
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) January 3, 2026
Major secondary explosions after a U.S. airstrike in the vicinity of Higuerote Airport in Venezuela tonight. pic.twitter.com/NrFOVj9IfM
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) January 3, 2026
Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base home to the Army Aviation also seems to have got hit in Caracas.pic.twitter.com/3D09lCzwGs
— SA Defensa (@SA_Defensa) January 3, 2026
An interesting detail – a few hours before the American assault, a Chinese state delegation was visiting Caracas:
Just a few hours ago, Maduro held a three-hour meeting in Caracas with Xi’s Special Envoy from China, underscoring how Beijing is quietly deepening its role in the escalating U.S.–Venezuela crisis. pic.twitter.com/LWEBygUtNg
— Gandalv (@Microinteracti1) January 3, 2026
The Venezuelan Minister of Defense confirmed the capture of the president:
Venezuelan Defense Minister is alive and speaks:
We will not negotiate, we will not surrender, and we will ultimately triumph.
NOTE: Maduro has been captured by U.S. forces. pic.twitter.com/7Dgk2JOauI
— Clash Report (@clashreport) January 3, 2026
The capture was reportedly carried out by an elite U.S. Army special unit known as Delta Force (1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta):
🚨SCOOP from @CBSNews: Venezuela’s Maduro was captured by Delta Force, the US military’s elite special mission unit, sources tell me.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) January 3, 2026
Sky News cites sources within the Venezuelan opposition who claim that Maduro’s capture was a negotiated exit from the situation:
#NEW: Sky News quotes sources within the Venezuelan opposition claiming that Maduro's capture was a "negotiated exit" pic.twitter.com/Ox4KBhcmOT
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) January 3, 2026
Russia condemned the U.S. attack on Venezuela and called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.
“Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation regarding the armed aggression of the United States against Venezuela
This morning, the United States committed an act of armed aggression against Venezuela. This causes deep concern and condemnation.
The pretexts put forward to justify such actions are untenable. Ideologized hostility has prevailed over pragmatic cooperation and over a willingness to build relations based on trust and predictability.
In the current situation, it is crucial above all to prevent further escalation and to focus on finding a way out through dialogue. We proceed from the understanding that all partners who may have claims against one another should seek solutions through dialogue-based approaches. We are ready to support them in this.
Latin America must remain a zone of peace, as it declared itself to be in 2014. Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive—especially military—interference from outside.
We reaffirm our solidarity with the Venezuelan people and our support for the course of its Bolivarian leadership aimed at defending the country’s national interests and sovereignty.
We support the statement by the Venezuelan authorities and the leaders of Latin American countries calling for the urgent convening of a meeting of the UN Security Council.
The Russian Embassy in Caracas is operating normally, taking into account the situation, and maintains constant contact with the Venezuelan authorities and Russian citizens in Venezuela. At present, there is no information about any Russian citizens being injured.”
The President of Venezuela in U.S. custody (photo from social media):
