Everything to know about ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro

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Everything to know about ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured in a U.S. operation on Saturday, intensifying the political crisis in the country.

Published by Abhishek Swain | January 06, 2026

Nicolas Maduro served as president of Venezuela for more than 10 years before he was ousted over the weekend in a United States military operation thatcapturedand brought him to the U.S. to face narco-terrorism charges.

In the indictment, federal prosecutors referred to Maduro as the "de facto but illegitimate ruler of the country" and accused him of allowing "cocaine-fueled corruption to flourish for his own benefit, the benefit of members of his ruling regime, and for the benefit of his family members."

Maduro, 63, started serving in the Venezuelan government in 2000, when he was elected to the National Assembly. He was the minister of foreign affairs and then vice president under former President Hugo Chavez before being elected president in 2013 in a narrow victory following Chavez's death.

He declared victory again in disputed elections in 2018 and 2024. The country's National Assembly said in 2019 that he had usurped power, and more than 50 countries, including the U.S., do not recognize him as the legitimate leader of Venezuela, according to theState Department.

Venezuela's opposition party also maintains that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who ran against Maduro in the election last year, should be the rightful president of Venezuela. Independent exit polls showed Gonzalez Urrutia received two-thirds of the votes, and the U.S. said "overwhelming evidence" supported his victory, but Maduro claimed he won the election and did not cede power.

Federal prosecutors allege that since 1999, Venezuelan officials, including Maduro, have "partnered with some of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world, and relied on corrupt officials throughout the region, to distribute tons of cocaine to the United States."

The Justice DepartmentchargedMaduro under President Donald Trump's first term in 2020, with federal prosecutors alleging he "very deliberately deployed cocaine as a weapon."

The indictment alleged that while the foreign minister of Venezuela, Maduro was paid millions in drug proceeds in connection with a money-laundering scheme that was part of the narco-terrorism conspiracy. It further accused him of helping manage and then leading a Venezuelan drug-trafficking organization dubbed the Cartel of the Suns "as he gained power in Venezuela," and continuing to participate in cocaine trafficking during his presidency.