What Led to US Capturing Maduro?
The recent US operation that removed Nicolás Maduro from power in Venezuela has been described as an extremely fast escalation, yet it served as the culmination of years of intense confrontation between Washington and Caracas.
Maduro had been under US Treasury sanctions since at least 2017. However, the situation intensified significantly in 2025 when he was formally indicted on drug trafficking-related charges in the Southern District of New York. Many of these allegations are linked to the « Narcosobrinos » case, involving three nephews of Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores. These family members were previously arrested by DEA agents for attempting to traffic drugs into Florida via Haiti, although they were later pardoned and exchanged for US prisoners unjustly detained in Venezuela.
For years, Maduro denied all allegations of criminal activity, asserting that Venezuela was a regional bulwark against drug trafficking and claiming the charges were merely a US plot to depose him. The White House, however, never accepted this defense.
In the weeks and months leading up to the event, observers noted an unprecedented buildup of US military power in the southern Caribbean. While ostensibly deployed to intercept drug trafficking speedboats by sea, these forces pivoted in a dramatic fashion. In the early hours of Saturday, the operation successfully targeted and extracted the Venezuelan leader, bringing a long-standing geopolitical standoff to a sudden and decisive end.
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