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Venezuela s Scale
On 3 January 2026, the United States launched a military strike in Venezuela and captured incumbent Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The US operation, codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve, began around 2 a.m. local time, when explosions were observed. The US Armed Forces bombed infrastructure across northern Venezuela to suppress air defenses as. Background has been criticized for authoritarian rule since hand-picked him as the next in 2013. According to, "Maduro ruled Venezuela with a heavy hand. pre. According to US Chairman Gen, Trump gave the order to proceed at 23:46 (22:46 EST) on 2 January. The administration did not notify the in advance of.