In the early hours of January 3, 2026, dramatic claims began circulating online that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had been seized from Caracas.

Flown out of the country by the United States. What began as an explosive post on social media quickly became a flashpoint illustrating how high‑stakes geopolitical.

Events can generate uncertainty, misinformation, and fear before clear facts have fully emerged. In the middle of that chaos, millions of people around the world woke up to their phones buzzing with dramatic claims — not all of which had been independently verified.

What follows is a careful, chronological, and highly detailed account of what was claimed, what has been reported by reliable sources, and what remains unclear.

The Online Explosion: How the Claims Spread

The first major public trigger was a post by Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Truth Social in the early morning hours, asserting that U.S. forces had carried out a “large‑scale strike” against Venezuela and had “captured” President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and flown them out of the country.

Trump said the operation was conducted “in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement” and signaled that more details would follow at a scheduled press conference.

Within minutes, screenshots, reposts, and clipped portions of Trump’s announcement were circulating on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.

Accounts supportive of and opposed to the claim began amplifying the message — some with dramatic captions, some with uncertainty, and some with outright skepticism.

Even before independent verification, public reactions included shock, disbelief, and anxiety about the possibility of a covert operation targeting the leader of a sovereign nation.