As RedState reported, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. had captured and arrested Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in a middle-of-the night military operation. This was definitely not on the weekend news cycle Bingo card; I was just expecting to go to brunch.
Attorney General Pam Bondi took to X to lay out the legal justification and indictment charges.
Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 3, 2026
Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States. They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts. On behalf of the entire U.S. DOJ, I would like to thank President Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American People, and a huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers.
Maduro and his bride were definitely taken by surprise, and so were the Democrats. So, of course, they are doing their usual meltdown. Throwing temper tantrums, shade, and probably some furniture.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (AZ) was one of the first to weigh in on X.
Second unjustified war in my life time.
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) January 3, 2026
This war is illegal, it’s embarrassing that we went from the world cop to the world bully in less than one year.
There is no reason for us to be at war with Venezuela.
Why is their default to cry, "War?" Look at the Truth Social post: Did Trump say anything about war? Trump announced the strike and promised further details in a news conference at 11:00 a.m. EST. RedState will supply those details when the conference begins.
Democrats are doing their best to shout over the cheering of the people of Venezuela, who are dancing in the streets. Rep. Dan Goldman (NY-10) did his best to claim that Trump is violating constitutional powers. The only time they care about this is when they can use it to bludgeon the president.
Trump’s unilateral operation last night was an illegal act of war without Congress’s authorization.
— Rep. Dan Goldman (@RepDanGoldman) January 3, 2026
Maduro is a brutal dictator who has oppressed the Venezuelan people, but our constitution does not yield for bad people.
If Congress is to survive as an institution, the…
Trump’s unilateral operation last night was an illegal act of war without Congress’s authorization.
Maduro is a brutal dictator who has oppressed the Venezuelan people, but our constitution does not yield for bad people.
If Congress is to survive as an institution, the Republican majority must join us exercising our power to hold this administration accountable for this flagrant violation of the constitution.
Rep. Jim McGovern (MA-02) also decided to drape himself in the Constitution and moan about the cost of war.
Without authorization from Congress, and with the vast majority of Americans opposed to military action, Trump just launched an unjustified, illegal strike on Venezuela.
— Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) January 3, 2026
He says we don’t have enough money for healthcare for Americans—but somehow we have unlimited funds for war??
Without authorization from Congress, and with the vast majority of Americans opposed to military action, Trump just launched an unjustified, illegal strike on Venezuela.
He says we don’t have enough money for healthcare for Americans—but somehow we have unlimited funds for war??
We have three words for Reps. Goldman and McGovern: President Barack Obama. Constitutional scholar and lawyer Jonathan Turley explains:
Trump does not need congressional approval for this type of operation. Presidents, including Democratic presidents, have launched lethal attacks regularly against individuals. President Barack Obama killed an American citizen under this “kill list” policy. If Obama can vaporize an American citizen without even a criminal charge, Trump can capture a foreign citizen with a pending criminal indictment without prior congressional approval.
So, that dead dog definitely doesn't hunt, but they'll beat it anyway, as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) does so well. She's not bright enough to talk about the Constitution, but universal healthcare and those Epstein files? Well...
It’s not about drugs. If it was, Trump wouldn’t have pardoned one of the largest narco traffickers in the world last month.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 3, 2026
It’s about oil and regime change.
And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn’t. Especially to distract from Epstein + skyrocketing healthcare costs.
Not to be outdone, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) weighed in on international law and regime change war.
Trump’s illegal and unprovoked bombing of Venezuela and kidnapping of its president are grave violations of international law and the U.S. Constitution. These are the actions of a rogue state.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) January 3, 2026
The American people do not want another regime change war abroad.
Early Saturday morning, Trump talked at length to the hosts of Fox & Friends Weekend, to discuss what he could about the operation. When one of the hosts asked about the Democrats' response, Trump laid into them.
These are weak, stupid people. And they are trying to save themselves from almost destroying our country. If I didn't get elected, our country would not, I don't even think we would have a country right now. We were heading down. We were heading down the path of destruction. [...]
[A]s far as last night is concerned, it was really genius. What they did is genius.
And the Democrats, maybe they'll take a shot, you know, they'll take a shot. All they do is complain. They don't talk about... they should say, "You know what? We did a great job." We're stopping drugs from coming into this country. And nobody's been able to do it until we came along. But they should say, "Great job," they shouldn't say, "Oh gee, maybe it's not constitutional," [Hosts chuckle]
You know, the same old stuff that we've been hearing for years, and years and years.
Exactly. The decades-long War on Drugs that has been waged by multiple administrations — Democrat and Republican — was less battles and more continued concessions to the status quo of drugs flooding our border, violence and death in America's major cities, and American kids dying. The ones whose pockets were being lined from the continued destruction of America's time, talent, and treasure due to drug crime, trafficking, and overdoses set the narrative and ruled the day, not any White House administration. But in one strategic strike, this Trump White House has taken a drug lord off the table and freed a nation from over 25 years of an oppressive Narco-state.
Trump ended by praising the military operators who got the job done, possibly without injury or death.
They did an incredible job, these men and women that went out there last night, the courage they had. Going into an area where -- you know all of the lights were turned off -- we turned off almost all of the lights in Caracas. This thing was so organized. And they go into a dark space with machine guns facing them all over the place, and then you hear from a guy that I'd never even heard of him. But you hear from some Congressman, "Oh, this is so terrible."
What's terrible is that people continue to keep electing these Democrat brain trusts into office. That could be fixed in November 2026.
GO FURTHER: Maduro and His Wife Have Been Indicted in SDNY, Bondi Says: Here Are the Charges
A portion of Trump's phone conversation on Fox & Friends Weekend is below.
WATCH:
"These are weak, stupid people," says @POTUS on Democrat complaints of Maduro's capture.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 3, 2026
"It's the same old stuff that we've been hearing for years and years... You hear from some congressman saying, 'Oh, this is so terrible.' We're saving lives." pic.twitter.com/E6tuZRWt41
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