Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was captured Saturday in what US officials described as a bold American operation, has served as the country’s leader since 2013, following the death of his predecessor, Hugo Chávez.
Officials in the Trump administration say the 63-year-old Maduro heads what they call the Cartel of the Suns, an alleged drug trafficking network accused of flooding the United States with narcotics. They also say he has been an illegitimate president since the 2024 elections, which Venezuela’s opposition and international election observers said were marred by widespread fraud. Maduro has been under US indictment since 2020 on drug trafficking charges, allegations he has repeatedly denied, insisting the cartel does not exist.
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Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, captured in a bold US operation
(Photo: Federico PARRA / AFP)
Explosions and helicopters: footage of the US attack on Caracas
It was not immediately clear where Maduro was taken, but US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau suggested he would be brought to the United States to stand trial on charges filed six years ago. Landau said Maduro would finally be held accountable for his crimes, declaring what he called a new era for Venezuela. President Donald Trump said Maduro was captured along with his wife, Cilia Flores, and that the two were flown out of Venezuela. CBS News reported the operation was carried out by US commandos.
Maduro was born in 1962 in Caracas and never completed an academic degree. He worked as a bus driver in his youth and became active in public transportation labor unions in the 1980s, when unions were illegal. In the 1990s, he joined the movement of Chávez, the socialist leader elected president in 1999 who shifted Venezuela from a US ally to an adversary and forged close ties with China, Russia and Iran.
A loyal ally of Chávez, Maduro served as vice president and was named his political heir before Chávez died of cancer in March 2013. He also served as a senior lawmaker and as foreign minister.
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Maduro in 2022; about 7 million fled Venezuela during his rule, one of the world’s largest migrations
(Photo: Adem ALTAN / AFP)
After Chávez’s death, Maduro narrowly won the presidency. The opposition alleged fraud at the time, though the results were upheld. He later crushed anti-government protests in 2014 and 2017. During his rule, Venezuela — once among Latin America’s wealthiest nations due to its vast oil reserves — suffered an unprecedented economic collapse marked by hyperinflation, shortages of food and medicine and the breakdown of public services. While US sanctions contributed to the crisis, widespread corruption also played a major role. More than 7 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2015, one of the largest migration crises in modern history.
In August 2018, Maduro survived an apparent assassination attempt during a live broadcast, when explosive-laden drones detonated nearby. Seven members of the National Guard were wounded, but Maduro was unharmed.
The United States and many Western countries have not recognized Maduro’s legitimacy since the 2018 election, which they described as neither free nor fair. In elections held in July 2024, Maduro claimed victory with 51% of the vote. The opposition said the results were fraudulent and that its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, won about 70%, according to exit polls. Maduro’s main rival, María Corina Machado, was barred from running by Venezuela’s Supreme Court, whose judges are widely seen as loyal to Maduro.
Thousands of protesters were arrested after the election. Machado went into hiding and fled the country last month to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo for her work promoting democracy in Venezuela.
In November, Venezuela’s President Maduro sang John Lennon and called for peace
Maduro’s victory was recognized by allies including Russia, China and Cuba. Like Chávez, he portrayed himself as a socialist revolutionary, frequently denouncing what he called American imperialism and vowing that the revolution would endure.
During Trump’s first term, Washington pursued a policy of maximum pressure against Maduro through sweeping sanctions, which failed to topple his government. In 2020, the US Justice Department indicted Maduro as a narco-terrorist and accused him of conspiring to traffic cocaine into the United States. A $15 million reward was offered for information leading to his arrest, later raised to $25 million in January 2025 and increased again to $50 million last August under the Trump administration.
In November, the United States designated the alleged Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organization. Maduro rejected the accusations, saying the cartel does not exist.
Ties to Iran and Hezbollah
Maduro clung to power in recent months as Trump escalated pressure on his government, beginning with airstrikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean, followed by what US officials described as an oil blockade and the deployment of major naval forces near Venezuela. That campaign culminated Saturday in a large-scale attack on Caracas and other targets, under cover of which Maduro was captured.
US media reported that Trump spoke with Maduro by phone in November and demanded that he step down and leave Venezuela for exile abroad. Maduro rejected the ultimatum. While publicly signaling openness to negotiations and even performing John Lennon’s anti-war song “Imagine,” he also staged military rallies and vowed his supporters would never abandon the revolution.
Maduro maintained close ties with Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, a concern for Washington amid reports of growing influence by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and its allies in Caracas. Hezbollah condemned the US attack, calling it a violation of Venezuelan sovereignty and international law, and accused Washington of acting under false pretexts.
Reports in regional media have alleged that Hezbollah has expanded operations in Venezuela, including money laundering and drug trafficking networks, and that Lebanese families linked to the group have close economic and political ties to Maduro’s government. Diplomats cited in those reports said Iranian diplomatic missions in South America played a key role in shielding such activities. According to foreign media accounts, Iran maintains a regional foothold in Venezuela, including operatives affiliated with Hezbollah.