Venezuelan Dictator Maduro Fell but the Dictatorship Remains
under the tutelage of the United States
US President Donald Trump announces he will govern Venezuela with Marco Rubio until there is a “transition”.
By Carlos F. Chamorro (Confidencial)
HAVANA TIMES – In Venezuela, the dictator Nicolás Maduro has fallen, but the Chavista dictatorship remains standing, now under the tutelage of the administration of Donald Trump of the United States.
In the early hours of Saturday, January 3, 2026, the United States launched an intense bombardment against various military and civilian installations of the Chavista regime in Venezuela, which culminated in the capture and extraction from the country of the dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by special forces of the United States military.
The military bombings in Caracas and in the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira began around 2:00 a.m. Venezuela time, and two hours later President Donald Trump announced on his social network the capture of Maduro and his wife, who were taken out of the country by air.
The US attack was initially condemned by the head of the Army, Vladimir Padrino, and by the regime’s number two, Diosdado Cabello, while Vice President Delcy Rodríguez demanded that the United States provide proof of life of Nicolas Maduro.
Unofficially, it is estimated that the US military intervention left more than 90 dead, mostly military personnel, including 32 Cuban soldiers and officers who were guarding Maduro. However, there were no visible acts of resistance by the Bolivarian Armed Forces, nor were there popular mobilizations against the US intervention.
US Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced that the dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, captured by US special troops, will be tried in a New York court, accused of drug trafficking, terrorism, and possession of weapons.
Meanwhile, Venezuela is experiencing hours of uncertainty over the results of the military operation launched by the United States.
Donald Trump announced, following the military bombardment in Venezuela and the capture of the dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, that the United States will govern Venezuela until there is a “safe and appropriate” transition.
“We are going to run the country until we can carry out a safe and sensible transition,” the president said at a press conference, while Maduro, Cilia Flores, Diosdado Cabello, and other members of the inner circle of power were being charged with narco-terrorism in a New York court.
Trump gave no details about how he plans to govern Venezuela with his government team, headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, nor for how long, but he assured that Rubio has already communicated with Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, appointed interim president, and that she is willing to cooperate under a regime tutored by the United States.
Trump did not refer to the president-elect Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, winner of the July 28, 2024 elections, which Nicolás Maduro stole, now exiled in Spain, and said that opposition leader María Corina Machado did not have the necessary support to lead Venezuela.
President Trump promised that US oil companies will arrive in Venezuela to “spend billions of dollars, fix the badly damaged oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country.”
“US dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never again be questioned,” Trump asserted, invoking the Monroe Doctrine, with the Trump corollary.
During the military bombings, US special forces infiltrated Venezuela, arrested President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and transferred them to the US military ship Iwo Jima, before sending them to New York to be tried for narco-terrorism.
The US military intervention against Venezuela’s regime was immediately condemned by Cuba, Russia, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, and Brazil; other governments, such as Argentina and Ecuador, supported Trump, while the Nicaraguan dictatorship of Rosario Murillo and Daniel Ortega, allied with Nicolas Maduro, only spoke out against it after 14 hours of silence.
First published in Spanish by Confidencial and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.
I am disappointed but not surprised that so many Latin Americans, only hours after the arrest of Nicolas Maduro, are opening about the failure of the police action to remove the dictatorship. These very same Latinos have sat on their hands for more than 30 years criticizing the dictatorship but doing nothing to remove first Chavez then Maduro from power. Relax dudes! This is a process. First you cut off the head of the snake then you allow the body to writhe around on the ground a minute until the last heart beats stop. Venezuela needs to find its own way in this. The US is there to help but it’s up to Venezuela to clean its own house.