US Strikes Caracas, Claims Maduro Captured: Tensions Soar to Breaking Point

• US launched strikes on Caracas in January 2026, with President Trump claiming Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured, escalating US-Venezuela tensions to unprecedented military action.
• The Trump administration framed the strikes as a counter-narcotics campaign against "narco-terrorist networks" and declared an "armed conflict" with drug cartels, authorizing military force against Latin American groups.
• A significant naval build-up in the Caribbean, including an "oil blockade," preceded the first confirmed naval strike in September 2025, which killed 11 people and raised legal questions.
• The US has long sought to remove Maduro, refusing to recognize his legitimacy since 2018, charging him with narco-terrorism in 2020, and imposing sanctions that deepened Venezuela's economic crisis.
• Venezuela's geopolitical alliances with Russia, China, Iran, and Cuba have complicated US pressure, while analysts warn of regional instability and worsening refugee flows from the escalating conflict.

Why It Matters: US military strikes on Caracas mark a dangerous escalation in the US-Venezuela conflict, risking regional instability.