The US struck Venezuela and captured its long-serving president, Nicolás Maduro, on Saturday, President Donald Trump said, after months of pressuring him over accusations of drug-running and illegitimacy in office.

Washington has not made such a direct intervention in Latin America since the invasion of Panama in 1989 to depose military leader Manuel Noriega, over similar allegations.

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Header image*: A Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II jet lands at the former Roosevelt Roads naval base, after US President Donald Trump said on Saturday the US has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Ceiba, Puerto Rico on January 3, 2026. —Reuters*