Caracas, Venezuela — Early Saturday morning, explosions rocked the Venezuelan capital as U.S. military strikes targeted military bases in and around the city, killing at least dozens of people and marking a dramatic escalation in the long-simmering crisis under President Nicolás Maduro. The attacks, carried out by the Trump administration, culminated in the capture of Maduro himself, who was reportedly snatched from his bed and transported to the United States along with his wife, Cilia Flores. Photos of the ousted leader under arrest quickly circulated, providing a moment of catharsis for many Venezuelans weary from years of economic collapse, political repression, and mass emigration.
The strikes came amid heightened tensions in the region, with the U.S. citing Venezuela's alleged role in drug trafficking as a primary justification. According to reports from The New York Times last month, some U.S. officials had been seeking pretexts to invoke emergency powers, including for deportations of Venezuelan migrants in the United States. Maduro, now detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York City, faces charges of “narco-terrorism conspiracy,” “cocaine importation conspiracy,” and weapons offenses, with his first court appearance potentially as soon as Monday.
Venezuelans in Caracas described a chaotic scene as the bombs fell. Friends and family members of residents told reporters that buildings shook from the impacts, with fires visible on the hills surrounding the valley city and small aircraft buzzing overhead like a swarm of mosquitoes. While many in the country are accustomed to tear gas and gunshots from past protests, the experience of aerial bombardment was largely new, according to eyewitness accounts.
The opposition, led by prominent figure María Corina Machado, swiftly celebrated the operation. In a statement released shortly after the strikes, Machado declared, “Venezuelans, the hour of freedom has arrived!” She urged supporters to “remain vigilant, active, and organized, until the Democratic Transition is fulfilled.” Polls conducted before the attacks indicated that a majority of Venezuelans, both inside and outside the country, favored U.S. military intervention to oust Maduro, whose regime has been accused of imprisoning, torturing, and exiling dissidents.
Machado, who has long advocated for forceful action against Maduro, appears to have influenced aspects of the U.S. policy. Months prior to the strikes, she expressed hope for a “big anti-narcotics operation in the Caribbean” during an interview. In the spring, she hosted a press conference framing the potential fall of Maduro as “A Trillion-Dollar Opportunity” for American investors, specifically inviting U.S. oil companies to participate in a post-Maduro economy. Her proximity to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a longtime ally, may have played a role in shaping the administration's approach.
However, President Trump dismissed Machado during a press conference on Saturday, calling her “a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have respect within the country” without even naming her. Instead, the administration has indicated that power will be shared, at least temporarily, between U.S. officials and Maduro's vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, who declared in a televised address that day, “In Venezuela, there is only one president. His name is Nicolás Maduro.” Key Maduro allies, including Diosdado Cabello and Vladimir Padrino, have made repeated public statements over the weekend, signaling resistance to any immediate transition.
The opposition's enthusiasm for the intervention stems from a history of failed attempts to dislodge Maduro since he succeeded Hugo Chávez in 2011. Protests swept the country in 2014 and 2017, met with tanks in the streets and mass arrests. In 2019, opposition leaders, including Juan Guaidó, convinced the first Trump administration and dozens of other nations to recognize him as Venezuela's legitimate interim president. Maduro weathered the challenge through intensified repression.
During that period, debates within the opposition highlighted divisions over U.S. involvement. Guaidó told an Italian newspaper in 2019 that he would “probably accept” a military intervention if proposed by the Americans. Machado was more unequivocal, stating to the BBC, “I want to be very precise. Maduro will only leave power when he’s faced with a credible, imminent, and severe threat of the use of force.” Along with exiled leader Leopoldo López, she was viewed as more radical, favoring mass protests even as others feared for activists' safety.
Machado's stature grew after she won more than 90 percent of the vote in the opposition primary ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Barred from running by Maduro's government, she selected Edmundo González as her substitute, who reportedly defeated Maduro by a 2-to-1 margin. Machado coordinated thousands of volunteer election watchers, producing tally sheets certified by international bodies. World leaders praised the results, but Maduro clung to power, leading to widespread dejection among opponents.
“Everything that I always dreamt would happen happened,” opposition activist Roberto Patiño said in the fall of 2024. “We won; presidents backed us; Maduro was offered an exit path. I really thought, This has to work!” Another activist, Ana Milagros Parra, 28, who fled to Bogotá and then Buenos Aires after the election, called Maduro “a cockroach” who “always survives.” Parra, now a social-media influencer, expressed reluctance about Trump's justifications—dismissing Venezuela's role in drug trafficking as overstated—but said the opposition couldn't “afford the luxury” of passing up the chance for change.
Freelance journalist Germania Rodriguez echoed that sentiment, stating, “Listen, what’s going on here is, beggars can’t be choosers. And no one but Trump has taken an interest in our crisis.” Even after Trump's belittling remarks, supporters remained optimistic. Former Colombian President Iván Duque, a Machado ally, described the operation as “not just any military operation” but “a humanitarian operation, because it was about freeing Venezuela from a satrap, a tyrant, a dictator.” Duque downplayed Trump's comments as off-script, expressing confidence in the U.S. leader's democratic intentions: “In politics, there are different styles. But beyond style, what matters to me are results.”
Genesis Davila, a Venezuelan human-rights lawyer based in Washington, D.C., and founder of the nonprofit Defiende Venezuela, voiced no reservations about the strikes. Having documented years of extrajudicial killings, persecutions, arbitrary detentions, and torture under Maduro, she questioned the effectiveness of international alternatives: “What mechanisms were international law and the human-rights system offering to stop Maduro? More reports? More condemnations?”
Milos Alcalay, a career diplomat advising Machado on international affairs, emphasized her independence from U.S. influence. “María Corina Machado’s force is not something that emanates from Trump’s finger,” he said; it derives “from the support that Venezuelans have given to her.” He dismissed Trump's claim that the U.S. would “run” Venezuela as “absurd” and likely rhetorical pressure, though he acknowledged concerns about the operation's outcome. When asked what if Trump merely claimed Maduro as a trophy without broader changes, Alcalay replied, “I’ve thought about it. But I don’t think that’ll be the case.”
Machado's international recognition, including winning the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2024, which she dedicated to Trump, underscores her pivotal role. Yet her sidelining raises questions about the future. Political prisoners remain behind bars, and Rodríguez's interim leadership suggests continuity with Maduro's policies. The opposition, once divided, now appears united in viewing the strikes as progress, with figures praising the attacks despite the civilian toll and legal ambiguities.
As Venezuela navigates this uncertain transition, the strikes highlight the high stakes of foreign intervention in Latin American politics. With Maduro facing trial in the U.S. and power dynamics shifting, observers watch closely for signs of democratic reforms or further instability. The opposition's faith in a better future persists, rooted in the belief that anything would surpass the dictatorship's grip, but challenges like economic reconstruction and political reconciliation loom large in the weeks ahead.