Operation Southern Spear is a significant US military operation launched in the early hours of 3 Jan 2026 (local time). US special forces, together with air units, stormed strategic locations in Caracas and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro along with his wife, Cilia Flores, removing them from the country.
The main reasons leading to this capture operation are as follows:
This is the primary legal basis cited by the US. Since 2020, the US Department of Justice has charged Maduro and associates as leaders of the "Cartel de los Soles," a drug trafficking network involving senior Venezuelan military officials. The US alleges Maduro uses narcotics as a weapon to "destroy American lives and undermine regional security," collaborating with the FARC rebel group in Colombia.
Under President Donald Trump's administration, policy toward Venezuela shifted from economic sanctions to kinetic military action. It began with the announcement of Operation Southern Spear in November 2025 to blockade maritime routes and destroy vessels suspected of transporting drugs, eventually expanding to a "decapitation strike" in Caracas aimed at ending a regime the US considers illegitimate.
The US government claims that the economic and political crisis under Maduro's leadership caused a massive influx of migrants crossing into US borders, which Trump viewed as a threat to domestic security. Removing Maduro was thus presented as a solution to the root cause to restore stability in Venezuela.
Venezuela holds the world's largest oil reserves. The US seeks to cut off Maduro's income from illegal oil trade and gold mining, which it alleges funds armed groups and supports Russian and Chinese influence in Latin America.