US completes operation in Venezuela: Maduro to be tried for criminal crimes
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro participates in the inauguration of the headquarters of the Bolivarian National Police service academy, in Caracas, Venezuela, December 5, 2025. Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Senator Mike Lee that US forces have allegedly arrested Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, and no further military escalation is planned in Venezuela.
Lee wrote about this on January 3 in his X.
The Republican senator said he spoke with Rubio by phone.
“He informed me that Nicolas Maduro was arrested by US forces for criminal prosecution in the US, and that the military actions we saw last night were aimed at protecting and supporting those who were executing the arrest warrant,” he wrote.
He said the operation likely falls under the president’s authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect American citizens from a real or imminent threat of attack.
Rubio does not expect further action in Venezuela after Maduro was taken into custody in the US.
Previously, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said that Nicolas Maduro would face justice “for his crimes.”
Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been captured and taken out of Venezuela.
Recall that US President Donald Trump ordered strikes on targets inside Venezuela on Saturday, January 3.
The Venezuelan government subsequently declared a state of emergency in the country due to the American attack .