CATIA LA MAR — U.S. President Donald Trump ordered an air-to-surface missile strike and ground invasion on Venezuela's Caribbean coast on Jan. 3, 2026, in an operation that ended President Nicolás Maduro's 13-year rule. The action, code-named Operation Absolute Resolve, was carried out to abduct Maduro, with strikes beginning just before 2 a.m. local time.

Missiles hit defense and radar installations along the Caribbean coast and near the Urbanización Rómulo Gallegos housing estate in Catia La Mar. The strikes shattered windows, shook walls and tore façades off buildings in the estate. During the two-and-a-half-hour operation, scores of Cuban and Venezuelan troops and at least three civilians were killed.

Among the residents of the Urbanización Rómulo Gallegos estate is Ángel Linares, 48, who lives in an apartment in the complex. The estate sits near the coast where the initial strikes landed.

Delcy Rodríguez has held power as Venezuela's leader since Trump recognized her following the operation. Trump has repeatedly praised Rodríguez as a "terrific" partner. Asked when a vote might be held, Rodríguez said, "I don't know, some time."

Since the operation, murals of Maduro have been painted over and his portraits removed from some government offices. Hundreds of political prisoners have been freed, and dissidents have emerged from hiding or returned from exile to continue pushing for a transition to democracy. Foreign journalists have been allowed into Venezuela for the first time since the 2024 presidential vote.

On a recent evening, hundreds of people gathered outside El Helicoide in Caracas to protest for fresh elections and the release of an estimated 500 detainees. El Helicoide is a former shopping mall converted into a facility used for political imprisonment and torture. Jesús Armas, a former political prisoner released from El Helicoide in February as a gesture from Maduro's successors, said, "Everything is so confusing. This feels sometimes like an illusion."

Armas also said, "I feel great. I feel hope right now. I know that we are going to change this country. We're going to bring back freedom and I know Venezuela will be a democracy in the next few months."

A U.S. commercial flight arrived in Caracas, the first such flight to Venezuela in more than seven years.