United States Attacks Venezuela

Deputy Editor Chantelle Mackintosh provides a detailed overview on the US’ military action in Venezuela leading to the shakeup of international diplomatic relations  

In the early hours of 3 January 2026, the United States launched a surprise airstrike on the Venezuelan capital of Caracas. This attack on the South American country resulted in the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, with the intention to charge them on drug and terrorism charges [1]. For now, the United States forces continue to maintain a strong presence following the aftermath, although control remains contested and unstable.

There are many reasons why the United States bombed the country, as tension has been brewing for years. These tensions escalated during Donald Trump’s presidency, when he declared multiple South American drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organisations,” including the Venezuelan gang ‘Tren de Aragua’ [2]. The United States believed that President Maduro was working with the gang to traffic drugs into the United States. It is alleged that he and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in order to protect government officials. Independent verification of these claims are still limited and evidence remains contentious as of now. However, since his reign began in 2013, the Maduro government’s regime has created hyperinflation, food and medication shortages, mass migration (one in four Venezuelans), political repression, and destroyed the healthcare system [3].

The United States carried out multiple strikes against alleged drug boats crossing into America, killing dozens of people before sending the few survivors to detention centres in Ecuador and Colombia. Critics argued against the legality of these strikes as no concrete evidence of the drug trade was ever produced. This caused outrage from United Nations representatives at the United States' lack of humanitarianism shown to the people they killed [4].

Across Venezuela, there are mixed reactions to the United States' takeover. Many are celebrating the collapse of the authoritarian rule that resulted in great economic collapse, forcing many people to leave their homes, and for many more, their country [3]. Others—including government loyalists—decried the U.S. action as imperialism and a violation of sovereignty. While this situation appears to outsiders as a new crisis, to many citizens, it is a break from the decades of hardship [4]. While the methods were certainly wrong, some cannot help but hope that change will be positive.

As this situation is still unfolding, there are many uncertainties in Venezuela's future. Will the United States retain control of the country? Will President Maduro face charges for his crimes? Will there be international backlash to President Trump’s actions? Will Venezuela ever recover from decades of hardship?

by Chantelle Mackintosh

References:

[1] Petras, G., Beard, S., Loehrke, J., and Sullivan, S. (2026, January 3). Mapping US attacks in Venezuela: Timeline of Nicolás Maduro's capture. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2026/01/03/maps-timeline-us-attacks-venezuela-maduro-captured/88005969007/ 

[2] Finley, B., Toropin, K., Garcia Cano, R. (2026, January 3). A timeline of U.S. military escalation against Venezuela leading to Maduro's capture. PBS News. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/a-timeline-of-u-s-military-escalation-against-venezuela-leading-to-maduros-capture 

[3] Blakiston, L. (2026, January 5). Venezuela, Explained (unpaywalled). Shit You Should Care About. Substack. https://shityoushouldcareabout.substack.com/p/venezuela-explained-unpaywalled 

[4] Unknown. (2026, January 4). Why is the US attacking Venezuela? Timeline of events leading up to president's capture. Nine News. https://www.9news.com.au/world/why-is-the-us-attacking-venezuela-timeline-of-events-leading-to-capture-of-president-maduro-and-wife/4e2d8f2d-a677-4ea7-b0a6-6a13d819d672