US President Donald Trump posts photos to social media showing him monitoring the US military operation in Venezuela overnight on January 3, 2026. Photo: Screenshot of NBC News report

US President Donald Trump posted photos to social media showing him monitoring the US military operation in Venezuela overnight alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, among others, NBC reported on Saturday. 

At 4:21 on Saturday morning, Trump sent a message on his Truth Social platform: the US had carried out a daring mission to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Reuters reported. 

The action came as a surprise, but according to sources familiar with the matter, planning for one of the most complex US operations in recent memory had been in the works for months and included detailed rehearsals, per Reuters. 

Trump said in a press conference on Saturday that the US would "run" Venezuela on a temporary basis during the transition, and "get the oil flowing," CBS News reported. 

The US Army's Delta Force, an elite special forces unit, carried out the operation to capture Maduro, officials told CBS News.

Maduro and his wife landed at Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, New York, on Saturday afternoon. They have been charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and weapons offenses, NBC News said. 

Venezuela's attorney general said innocent civilians were killed in the military strikes on several facilities in Caracas and the area, and sources told NBC News that some US troops were also injured and are stable.

The US employed more than 150 aircraft, including high-end bombers, helicopters and drones, in a dramatic overnight raid in Caracas, Venezuela, according to Trump and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, US media Axios reported. 

Aircraft launched from 20 different locations "on land and sea across the Western Hemisphere," according to Caine, per Axios. 

They included F/A-18s, EA-18s, F-22s, F-35s, E-2s, B-1 bombers and "numerous remotely piloted drones," the US media report said. 

Footage circulating on social media appears to show 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment MH-47 Chinooks, Axios added. 

At least 40 people were killed in the US attack on Venezuela early Saturday, including military personnel and civilians, according to a senior Venezuelan official who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe preliminary reports, the New York Times reported.

Trump, speaking on Fox News on Saturday, said that no American troops had been killed. He suggested, however, that some service members had been injured, the New York Times said. 

The US president said "we are ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so," saying the US had assumed that a second wave would be necessary, but "now it's probably not," CBS News said. 

The US military action against the South American nation has shocked the international community.

Several countries have issued strong condemnations over the US for its attack on Venezuela. Venezuela denounced the US' "military aggression," after large explosions were heard and aircraft were seen over its capital Caracas earlier in the day.

China is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns the US's blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its president, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson made the remarks on the US military strikes on Venezuela.

Such hegemonic acts of the US seriously violate international law and Venezuela's sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region. China firmly opposes it. We call on the US to abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and stop violating other countries' sovereignty and security, the spokesperson said.