Trump ordered military raid to capture Venezuela's Maduro in Caracas without congressional authorization or advance notice

In the early hours of January 3, 2026 ("Operation Absolute Resolve"), Delta Force commandos of the U.S. Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, backed by CIA operators and Joint Special Operations Command, raided Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's compound in Caracas and captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The operation involved more than 150 aircraft launched from 20 locations across the Western Hemisphere, and U.S. forces killed an unspecified number of Venezuelan security personnel in the assault; one U.S. helicopter crew member was struck by small-arms fire. Maduro and Flores were extracted by helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima and flown to New York, where they face U.S. drug-trafficking and weapons charges in the Southern District of New York; Justice Department personnel were on-site during the raid to read Maduro his rights.

Congressional committees were notified only after the operation was already underway. Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterized the raid as the execution of a Department of Justice arrest warrant under the president's "inherent authority under Article II," not an act of war, and President Trump said Congress's "tendency to leak" was the reason advance notice was withheld. Trump also indicated the operation served broader aims beyond the arrest, telling reporters the administration would "run [Venezuela] properly" and bring in American oil companies to develop the country's oil resources.

Lawmakers in both parties disputed the administration's framing. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the capture "was a military action, and pursuant to the Constitution, only Congress has the power to declare war," and joined Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in demanding an immediate Gang of Eight briefing. Republican Sen. Susan Collins said Congress should have been informed earlier, and Sen. Mike Lee and Reps. Thomas Massie and Tom Barrett separately said the operation required congressional authorization; Sen. Ruben Gallego said he would force a vote on a Venezuela war-powers resolution. Legal experts, including a former State Department lawyer, described the raid as a use of force against another state in apparent violation of international law.

Updates

2026-01-08 — Senate advanced a Venezuela war-powers resolution on a bipartisan procedural vote [3, 4]

The Senate voted 52-47 to advance Sen. Tim Kaine's war-powers resolution requiring congressional authorization before further U.S. military operations against Venezuela, with five Republicans -- Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, and Todd Young -- joining all Democrats. It was the first time such a measure had cleared the Senate after two earlier attempts failed, including one that fell short 51-49 in November 2025. "The Constitution is clear -- only Congress can declare war," Paul said on the floor.

2026-01-13 — DOJ legal opinion defending the raid's legality was disclosed to lawmakers [5, 6]

A Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel opinion assessing the raid's legality, drafted in December 2025 by Assistant Attorney General Elliot Gaiser, was provided to lawmakers and a redacted version was later made public. The memo concluded Trump had constitutional authority to order the raid without congressional authorization because it would not rise to a "war" in the constitutional sense, while acknowledging the operation would qualify as an "armed conflict" under international law, subject to the law of armed conflict's proportionality and distinction requirements. It also invoked the doctrine of "male captus bene detentus" to argue Maduro could still be prosecuted regardless of how he was captured.

2026-01-14 — Senate blocked the war-powers resolution on final passage after two Republicans switched sides [3]

The Senate defeated the war-powers resolution 51-50, with Vice President Vance breaking the tie, after Majority Leader John Thune persuaded Hawley and Young to reverse their votes. Young said he had received assurances the administration would seek congressional authorization in advance of any further major military operations in Venezuela; Collins, Murkowski, and Paul kept their support. Trump had publicly called for the five Republican defectors on the earlier procedural vote to lose their seats in Congress.

2026-01-22 — House narrowly defeated a second war-powers resolution on a tied 215-215 vote [7]

The House voted 215-215 on a war-powers resolution requiring congressional authorization before further U.S. military action in Venezuela -- the third such House attempt since December 2025 -- with Republican Reps. Don Bacon and Thomas Massie joining all Democrats in support. The tie defeated the measure; GOP leadership held the vote open until Rep. Wesley Hunt arrived to cast the deciding vote against it.