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US Launched Operation in Venezuela With Cyberattack Blacking Out Caracas - Reports

© AP Photo / Matias DelacroixSmoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026.
Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. - Sputnik International, 1920, 04.01.2026
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United States launched an operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, spearheaded by a cyberattack that caused power outages in many areas of Caracas, a newspaper reported, citing unnamed officials familiar with the mission details.
On Saturday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine said that more than 150 aircraft participated in the Venezuelan president’s capture.
The cyberoperation enabled planes, drones and helicopters to approach undetected, according to the report.
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump said that the US had conducted a major strike on Venezuela, capturing Maduro and his wife and removing them from the country. Media outlets reported explosions in Caracas, attributing the raid to US Delta Force units. The New York Times newspaper reported, citing a senior Venezuelan official, at least 40 deaths, including military and civilians.
Venezuelan authorities said they had no information on Maduro's location and demanded proof that he was alive. Trump later shared a photo that, as he said, showed Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima. US media broadcast a plane landing in New York State, from which Maduro and his wife were allegedly escorted by dozens of law enforcement officers.
Several US congressmen decried the operation as illegal, while the administration vowed Maduro would face trial. Venezuela's Foreign Ministry announced its intention to appeal to international organizations regarding Washington's actions and requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council that was later set for January 5.
Russia's Foreign Ministry voiced solidarity with Venezuela. Moscow expressed deep alarm over reports of Maduro and his wife's forcible removal during US aggression, demanding their release and urging steps to avert further escalation around Venezuela.
In this Nov. 6, 2013 file photo, a Whiting Petroleum Co. pumpjack pulls crude oil from the Bakken region of the Northern Plains near Bainville, Mont. U.S. - Sputnik International, 1920, 04.01.2026
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