LIVE UPDATES: U.S. strikes Venezuela, captures Maduro

Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado stated in a press release that, following the capture of Nicolás Maduro, “the hour of freedom has arrived” for Venezuelans.

“As of today, Nicolás Maduro faces international justice for the atrocious crimes committed against Venezuelans and against citizens of many other nations. Given his refusal to accept a negotiated solution, the United States government has fulfilled its promise to uphold the law,” she said.

Machado stated that “the time has come for Popular Sovereignty and National Sovereignty to prevail in our country. We will restore order, release political prisoners, build an exceptional country, and bring our children back home.”

“We have fought for years, we have given everything, and it has been worth it. What had to happen is happening,” she said.

The opposition leader then encouraged Venezuelans in the country to be ready “to put into action what we will very soon communicate to you through our official channels.”

“To Venezuelans abroad, we need you mobilized, engaging governments and citizens around the world and committing them now to the great operation of building the new Venezuela,” she added.

“We go hand in hand with God, until the very end,” her message concludes.

A U.S. indictment brought against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accuses the politician of running a corrupt government facilitating drug trafficking and conspiracy, among other crimes.

In a Jan. 3 unsealed indictment, the U.S. government alleged that Maduro — who has held power in Venezuela for over a decade — has "tarnished every public office he has held" with corruption and drug-running.

A prayer for Venezuela amid U.S. military intervention in the nation's capital of Caracas:

In this moment of uncertainty, we join in prayer for our brothers and sisters in Venezuela, and we entrust this beloved nation to its patroness, Our Lady of Coromoto:

Jesus Christ, our Lord, we come before You in this time of great need for our homeland. We feel both anxious and hopeful, and we ask for strength as a precious gift of Your Spirit.

We long to be a people committed to respect for human dignity, to liberty, justice, and the pursuit of the common good. As children of God, grant us the grace to build fraternal coexistence, to love everyone without exclusion, to stand in solidarity with the poor, and to work for reconciliation and peace.

Grant us the wisdom of dialogue and encounter, so that together we may build a civilization of love through genuine participation and fraternal solidarity.

You call us together as one nation, and we say to You: Here we are, Lord, with our Mother, Mary of Coromoto, ready to continue the path we have begun and to bear witness to the faith of a people united in new hope.

And so we all proclaim together: Venezuela! Walks and lives with Jesus Christ, Lord of history! Amen.

The bishops of Venezuela are in prayer and communicating with each other amid U.S. strikes in Caracas and the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuelan Episcopal Conference President Jesús González de Zárate, who also serves as the archbishop of Valencia, told EWTN News that events in the country are "unfolding rapidly" and it is "not easy to assess them fully."

"We bishops have been monitoring them from the outset. We are praying and in constant communication with each other and with our priests," the prelate said.

Governments and heads of state in Latin America condemned the United States military action in Venezuela on Jan. 3 that saw major strikes in Caracas and the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said the government there observed the military strikes with "deep concern."

"[T]he Colombian Government rejects any unilateral military action that could aggravate the situation or put the civilian population at risk," he said. Colombia shares a border with Venezuela.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, meanwhile, said the strikes and Maduro's arrest "cross an unacceptable line."

"These acts represent a most serious affront to Venezuela's sovereignty and set another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community," he said, calling for the international community to "respond vigorously."

Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font expressed "concern and condemnation" over the military action, calling for "a peaceful solution to the serious crisis affecting the country."

"The Venezuelan crisis must be resolved through dialogue and the support of multilateralism, and not through violence or foreign interference," he said.

And in an official statement, the Mexican government said it "condemns and strongly rejects" the U.S. strikes, with the government calling on the U.S. to "cease any act of aggression against the Venezuelan government and people."

The government "urges the United Nations to act immediately to contribute to the de-escalation of tensions, facilitate dialogue and create conditions that allow a peaceful, sustainable solution in accordance with international law," the statement said.

The Venezuelan government has decried what it describes as a "very serious military aggression" by the United States after U.S. strikes in Caracas and the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

"This act constitutes a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations," the government statement said, claiming that the military action "threatens international peace and stability, specifically in Latin America and the Caribbean, and puts the lives of millions of people at serious risk."

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have been indicted in New York State on terrorism and conspiracy charges, according to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

"They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts," Bondi wrote on X on Jan. 3.

Bondi thanked both President Donald Trump and "our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers."

There will be "no further action" in Venezuela after the U.S. carried out strikes in Caracas and arrested President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3, according to Utah Sen. Mike Lee.

Lee said he spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the strikes and Maduro's arrest.

"He informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant," Lee said.

"This action likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack," the senator wrote.

President Donald Trump announced early Saturday that U.S. forces have “captured” Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, flying them out of the country following a “large scale strike” on the South American nation.

“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country,” Trump wrote in a post shared by U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

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