Why has US attacked Caracas and captured Venezuela’s president? | Venezuela
On Friday night, the US launched airstrikes across Venezuela, and there were explosions in the capital Caracas before dawn. Shortly thereafter, Donald Trump announced that US forces had captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and taken them out of the country.
The stunning attack and unprecedented capture of a sitting president follows a months-long intense U.S. pressure campaign against Venezuela. Since September, the US navy has amassed a massive fleet off the coast of Venezuela, launching air strikes on boats allegedly smuggling drugs in the Caribbean and Pacific and seizing Venezuelan oil tankers. At least 110 people died in attacks on boats that human rights groups said could constitute a war crime.
Venezuelan officials have accused the United States of trying to gain access to the country’s oil reserves, the world’s largest.
The bombing of Venezuela and the capture of Maduro is a serious and dramatic escalation of the US campaign. The future of Venezuela’s ruling regime remains uncertain.
How did we get here?
Since taking office for a second term, Trump has put Maduro squarely in his sights by waging a maximum pressure campaign against the Venezuelan regime. He accused Maduro of being behind destabilizing activities in the Americas, including drug trafficking and illegal immigration to the United States. In July, the US announced that it would put a $50 million (£37 million) bounty on Maduro’s head, accusing him of being one of the biggest drug traffickers in the world.
The Trump administration declared Venezuelan gangs such as Tren de Aragua terrorist organizations and began carrying out airstrikes against alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean sea. Soon the United States began seizing Venezuelan tankers and increasing its military presence in the waters surrounding the South American country.
Trump has openly flirted with the idea of regime change in Venezuela. In late November, Trump gave Maduro an ultimatum to give up power and offered him a safe exit from the country. Maduro rejected the offer, telling his supporters in Venezuela that he did not want a “slave peace” and accusing the United States of wanting control of his country’s oil reserves.
The government in Caracas has at times appeared bewildered as the Trump administration has stepped up pressure. Maduro has repeatedly said that Venezuela does not want war with the United States, at one point dancing to the lyrics “no war, peace yes” in front of Venezuelan students and imitating Trump’s double-fisted dance move. On Thursday, two days before his capture, Maduro said in a televised interview that he would welcome U.S. investment in the country’s oil sector.
Why did the USA and Venezuela fall into conflict?
Relations between the United States and Venezuela have been tense since Hugo Chavez became president in 1999. Chavez, who describes himself as a socialist and anti-imperialist, was angered by his opposition to the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as its alliances with countries such as Cuba and Iran. Relations became even more tense after Chavez accused the United States of supporting the 2002 coup attempt.
For many in the United States, especially the more hawkish wing of the Republican party, the socialist ideological orientation of the Venezuelan government has made it a natural enemy of the United States alongside its ally Cuba.
As Chavez consolidated power, punished political opponents and nationalized much of the country’s private sector, the United States condemned Venezuela for its poor human rights record. Despite occasional minor thaws in relations between the two countries over the years, relations continued to deteriorate, especially after Maduro came to power in 2013.
Under the Trump administration, the United States portrayed Maduro’s government as illegitimate and recognized parliamentary speaker Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s president in 2019.
In July 2024, Maduro appeared to have suffered a crushing defeat in a presidential election amid widespread anger over his increasingly authoritarian rule and Venezuela’s economic collapse. The Biden administration recognized opposition candidate Edmundo González as the winner. Detailed voting data released by the opposition and verified by independent experts showed González winning the vote, but Maduro clung to power after launching a violent crackdown.
In early December, the Trump administration issued what it called the “Trump corollary” that said the western hemisphere should be controlled by the United States politically, economically, commercially and militarily. As part of the new Trump doctrine, the US military could be used to gain access to energy and mineral resources in the region.
Who is Nicolás Maduro and why did Trump capture him?
Maduro has been president of Venezuela since 2013. The former bus driver rose to prominence under Chavez, serving as his foreign minister before becoming the country’s president after his death.
Maduro’s rule is considered dictatorial; The UN estimates that more than 20,000 Venezuelans were killed in extrajudicial killings in 2019. Key institutions such as the judiciary have been eroded under Maduro and the rule of law has broken down. Relations with the United States also suffered under his rule.
In recent months, Trump has repeatedly called for Maduro’s ouster, accusing him of sending drugs and criminals to the United States. Experts say this claim is without evidence.
Despite months of escalating rhetoric, the capture of a sitting president on Saturday occurred without warning, and Venezuelan officials appeared caught off guard by the brazen operation.
What happens next?
The future is uncertain. Venezuela’s defense minister vowed to continue the fight and called on citizens to unite to resist foreign “occupation,” calling resistance against the United States a “fight for freedom.”
Even though Maduro has been captured, Venezuela’s institutions and military appear intact. It is unclear whether Saturday’s attack on Venezuela was the beginning of a broader conflict or a one-off operation. Venezuelan opposition leaders, including Nobel Peace laureate María Corina Machado, have asked Trump to help support the country’s uprising.
The United States has conducted war games in the past to simulate a scenario in which the Venezuelan leadership is “decapitated.” The simulations predicted prolonged chaos, with refugees pouring in from Venezuela and rival groups fighting each other for control of the country.
“You get prolonged chaos… there’s no clear way out,” Douglas Farah, a Latin America expert who helped run the war games, told the Guardian.
