For months, even years, many many many people, including myself, have dreamed of seeing Nicolás Maduro in federal custody, facing justice on American soil — not dead, which would have been too easy, and no escape plans to the Middle East or Eastern Europe, where he'd live happily ever after — and that day has finally come. Maduro has been captured and charged. He will pay for everything he did to the people of Venezuela, the United States, and numerous other countries in our Western Hemisphere.
Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima. pic.twitter.com/omF2UpDJhA
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 3, 2026
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced today that Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were previously indicted in the Southern District of New York, will now face the "full wrath of American justice." Here's more from Bondi:
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.
My confidence in our justice system isn't exactly at a high point at the moment, but I hope with everything I have that he never sees the light of day again.
If you've been around for a while, you know that I've been covering and predicting that this is exactly what would what happen in Venezuela for at least five or six months. I don't say this to brag. I say it because I've poured my heart and soul into it. We can talk all day about about how communism and socialism and tyranny are bad, but, THANK GOD, most of us in this country have never truly experienced it. Our immigrant grandparents might have; our immigrant neighbors might have. But the majority of us were lucky enough to be born and raised in the greatest country in the world.
In taking on Latin America as a big part of my professional life this past year, I got to talk to, study, read about, and learn from so many people who have never not lived under communism and socialism and tyranny. What started as my passion for foreign policy and a particular region became deeply emotional and personal as I heard the stories of the people who were falsely imprisoned because of how they voted, the ones who didn't eat because they gave their only food to their children, the ones who were separated from their families, the ones who died because they didn't have basic antibiotics to treat an infection, the ones who gave birth in the streets, the ones who had no clean drinking water, the ones whose babies died because the hospital didn't have enough power, the ones who were watched and monitored daily by the very "governments" that claimed to represent them...
And knowing what the fall of Maduro means for them... it's made it difficult for me, someone who writes thousands of words almost every day, to construct a single sentence. These people in Venezuela have hope today. Some of them have hope for the first time in their lives. I've received happy emails and messages from some of our readers who have family in Venezuela, or who are from Venezuela and living in United States. I've seen so many videos of people dancing in the streets, celebrating, crying tears of joy, praying, and smiling for the first time in a long time. The people in Venezuela are doing it. The Venezuelans who live in exile are doing it. People from countries such as Cuba and Nicaragua are doing it, hoping that their turn is next, and I think it may very well be with Donald Trump and Marco Rubio in charge — at least for Cuba, anyway.
🚨 JUST IN: Venezuelans are literally crying TEARS OF JOY all because President Trump captured Maduro
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 3, 2026
"We want to thank GOD for His miracle!"
"THANK YOU, UNITED STATES!"
"Long live Venezuela!"
"Venezuela is great, and it will be resurrected among the ashes!" 🇺🇸🇻🇪 pic.twitter.com/2G2xTzQH7w
“This feels like a breath of fresh air”: Venezuelans in South Florida poured into the streets of Doral early Saturday, celebrating the U.S. military action in Venezuela that led to the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 3, 2026
People carried Venezuela’s flag and sang together in the… pic.twitter.com/nGj4sjElBk
WATCH: I am in Katy, Texas, today where the large Venezuelan community here is celebrating the arrest of Maduro.
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) January 3, 2026
The vibes are high here at Pan pa’ Venezuela@realDailyWire pic.twitter.com/VEXuVqSAIO
🚨 INCRÍVEL, VIVA VENEZUELA LIVRE!
— Carlos FNBrazil 🇧🇷 (@carlofuzileiro) January 3, 2026
MILHARES de pessoas estão nas ruas da Venezuela celebrando a captura do ditador Nicolás Maduro.
Venezuelanos solidários com Donald Trump, bandeiras americanas sendo acenadas na multidão!
Viva a Venezuela, Viva o Povo Venezuelano! pic.twitter.com/SxuVDhiLXm
But it's not just about them. It's about what's best for our region. It's about what's best for the world.
"Today is the worst day for the radical left of the twenty-first century."
That's what one of my favorite journalists, Arturo McFields Yescas, posted on X today, and he's right. If you want to know who the domestic and foreign enemies and allies of the United States and its values are, this moment will help you figure it out easily.
Those praising Trump are good. Those condemning him are not. It really is that simple. Our president removed a cancer from this world that no one else could or would touch.
Thankfully, for today at least, the sound of freedom is drowning out the leftists who are pouting and making stupid accusations. So let's focus on the positive while we can. Pay attention to these names. These are some of the men who are joining with Trump to protect our hemisphere from bad actors.
Argentina's President Javier Milei has been one of those most outspoken supporters. He basically said what I just did about good and bad, and promised to help the Venezuelan transition. This is a little long, but it's important to share:
PRINCIPLE OF REVELATION
On historic days like today, we can truly see what some leaders and opinion makers are made of.
On one side is democracy, the defense of life, freedom, and property. Those values that many claim to defend but only uphold when it suits them.
On the other side are those accomplices of a narco-terrorist and bloody dictatorship that has been a cancer for our region, sowing the disease of 21st Century Socialism, with its consequent misery and death.
Here there are no half-measures or grays. You are either on the side of GOOD, or on the side of EVIL. And all those who today do not defend the cause of freedom tooth and nail are part of the problem and not the solution.
We celebrate the fall of the narco-terrorist dictator Maduro. Argentina is ready to help in the transition to a free, democratic, and prosperous Venezuela.
LONG LIVE FREEDOM, DAMN IT...!!!
Long live freedom, damn it, indeed.
El Salvador's Nayib Bukele, who actually played a role in negotiations between Trump and Maduro this year, posted this video on X:
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) January 3, 2026
Costa Rica's Rodrigo Chaves had this to say:
My government declared from the outset that Maduro committed electoral fraud - for that reason, he was never a legitimate president and now must answer for his crimes in Venezuela and abroad. May God bless the brave Venezuelan people and help them recover the democracy and rule of law that the deposed dictator Maduro stole from them. Let us celebrate this new opportunity for our Venezuelan brothers
Bolivia's new president Rodrigo Paz posted on X:
Freedom is not negotiable. The dignity of the people is not either. When an illegal regime governs for drug trafficking, society is subjected to tyranny. Bolivia reaffirms that the way out for Venezuela is to respect the vote, which represents the true popular will. Bolivia will always stand by democracy, institutions, and respect for human rights.
Chile's new president-elect José Antonio Kast says something that's important: the governments of Latin America must come together to make this work:
The arrest of Nicolás Maduro is great news for the region.
His permanence in power, sustained by an illegitimate narcoregime, expelled more than 8 million Venezuelans and destabilized Latin America through drug trafficking and organized crime.
Maduro is not the legitimate President of Venezuela, and from that country operate criminal and terrorist structures that gravely threaten regional peace and security.
Now begins a greater task. The governments of Latin America must ensure that the entire apparatus of the regime abandons power and is held accountable; coordinate the safe and expeditious return of Venezuelans to their country; support the recovery of their democratic system; and advance effective regional efforts against drug trafficking and organized crime.
Democracy is defended with conviction, coordination, and unrestricted respect for International Law.
Ecuador's Daniel Noboa posted this on X:
To all the narco chavista criminals, your time is coming. Your structure will completely collapse across the entire continent. To María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia and the Venezuelan people: it's time to reclaim your country. You have an ally in Ecuador.
Paraguay's president Santiago Peña said this earlier:
The Government of Paraguay has always maintained an unwavering commitment to democracy, the rule of law, and the full exercise of human rights in Venezuela, and for that reason it has long been alerting about the unsustainable situation of Nicolás Maduro's illegitimate, predatory, and dictatorial regime, which has caused so much harm to that noble people.
His downfall can only be good news.
In these decisive hours, we urge prioritizing above all democratic avenues and the well-being of the Venezuelans.
Furthermore, as a country that has successfully transitioned from an authoritarian regime to a full and vigorous democracy, Paraguay offers the international community its cooperation and experience for the regime change toward one with the full exercise of freedoms and rights.
We stand with the Venezuelan people, who deserve to live better days in democracy, freedom, and peace.
There are several others, but I think you get the idea. Our backyard is changing for the better, which means great things are ahead if we can keep it. I've been documenting all the wins over the past year, but today was the biggest of them all.
I'm sure I'll have much more to say and report in the days to come, as will many other writers, reporters, and pundits who have suddenly caught on to what's been happening under our noses for months, but for now, I'm just going to enjoy this victory, and I urge all of you to see it as a big win for the world, too.
When the rest of the media was screaming "war" and "invasion," I called them out and predicted exactly how Maduro would fall. This is why we need conservative media. The MSM voices are not concerned with facts, just clicks and sticking it to Trump when they can. But the only way my colleagues and I can continue to share these stories is by asking you to sign up for a PJ Media VIP membership.
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