State Department warns US citizens to leave Venezuela

The warning came amid reports of armed militias.

ByIvan Pereira, Mary Kekatos, Jon Haworth, Kevin Shalvey, David Brennan, Meredith Deliso, and Nadine El-Bawab
Last Updated: January 11, 2026, 10:28 PM EST

Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife appeared in a federal court in New York City on Monday, following their capture by U.S. forces over the weekend in a military operation in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.

Following the operation, President Donald Trump said that the U.S. would "run" Venezuela for an unspecified "period of time."

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has been sworn in as interim leader to lead the country after what the Venezuelan Supreme Court described as Maduro's "kidnapping."

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Jan 03, 2026, 11:59 AM EST

'We're going to run the country': Trump

The president announced that the U.S. will be "running the country" as it transitions into new leadership.

President Donald Trump holds a press conference following a U.S. strike on Venezuela where President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured, from Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Jan. 3, 2026.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

"We can't take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesn't have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind," he said.

Trump added that the oil business in Venezuela was "a bust," and that American oil companies will be spending "billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country."

Jan 03, 2026, 11:31 AM EST

Maduro expected to stop in Guantanamo prior to NY arrival: Sources

Maduro is expected to arrive at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay before being transferred to an FBI plane en route to New York, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

-ABC News' Pierre Thomas, Sam Sweeney and Katherine Faulders

Jan 03, 2026, 11:22 AM EST

CIA had team in Venezuela monitoring Maduro since August: Source

A source familiar with the operation told ABC News that the CIA "had a small team clandestinely on the ground starting in August that was able to provide extraordinary insight into Maduro’s pattern of life that made grabbing him seamless."

In this July 9 2019, file photo Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez (2nd R) and Venezuelan First Lady Cilia Flores (R) are seen at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela.
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images, FILE

CIA Director Ratcliffe, along with Stephen Miller, Rubio and Hegseth, "formed a core team working this issue for months with consistent meetings and phone calls, sometimes even daily … often meeting both with the president and separately," according to the source.

-ABC News' Cindy Smith

Jan 03, 2026, 11:08 AM EST

Venezuela opposition leader celebrates ‘hour of freedom’

Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado issued a statement on Saturday, calling on all Venezuelans to "be ready to mobilize what we will soon communicate to you through our official channels."

She called on the military to recognize opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, who ran against Maduro in the last election, as the rightful president of Venezuela.

"Venezuelans, the hour of freedom has arrived," she wrote. "As of today, Nicolás Maduro, will face international justice for the atrocious crimes committed against Venezuelans and against citizens of many other nations. Due to his refusal to accept a negotiated exit, the government of the United States has fulfilled its promise to uphold the rule of law."

Machado continued, "Today we are ready to take over power. We remain vigilant, active, and organized until a democratic transition is concrete. A transition that needs ALL of us."

Machado also called on Venezuelans abroad to mobilize and help build "the new Venezuela."

-ABC News' Victoria Moll Ramirez

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