In an unprecedented military operation marking the most aggressive U.S. regime change action since the 2003 Iraq invasion, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was forcibly removed from power and transported to American soil on January 3, 2026. The dramatic nighttime arrest culminated with Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores landing at Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, New York, approximately 97 kilometers northwest of New York City.
Video footage captured the moment a aircraft carrying the Venezuelan leader touched down at the airbase, followed by FBI personnel in full tactical gear boarding the vessel. Major news networks including CNN, Fox News, and MS Now confirmed Maduro’s identity among those disembarking from the plane.
The operation, which involved explosive disturbances rocking Venezuela’s capital in the early hours of Saturday, resulted in Maduro and Flores being transported via U.S. warship to face conspiracy to commit narcoterrorism charges at Manhattan’s federal courthouse. Legal experts note this extraordinary action surpasses even the most notable historical precedents of U.S. interventions against autocratic regimes in Panama and Iraq.
President Donald Trump declared following the operation that the United States would temporarily “govern” Venezuela and leverage the nation’s substantial oil reserves for international sale. The Trump administration justified the military intervention—along with previous lethal attacks on vessels in the Caribbean Sea—as necessary measures to combat dangerous drug trafficking networks.
The bold maneuver raises significant legal and diplomatic questions regarding the legitimacy of U.S. actions within its broader campaign against the South American nation, potentially setting new precedents for international power projection and regime change tactics.