Venezuela updates: Flights over the Caribbean are set to resume at 12 am ET

The White House's official Rapid Response 47 account shared a video late Saturday apparently showing Maduro on a perp walk.

In the video, Maduro can be heard saying "good night" and "Happy New Year" to those in the room.

Sean Duffy, the US Secretary of Transportation, said in a post on X that the airspace over the Caribbean would no longer be restricted as of 12 a.m. ET on Sunday, January 4, allowing commercial flights to resume.

"Airlines are informed, and will update their schedules quickly. Please continue to work with your airline if your flight was affected by the restrictions," Duffy said.

Delta Airlines said in a statement that it would resume flights to and from 13 previously affected airports in the Caribbean airspace, adding that the airline might experience possible schedule adjustments as its "resources are repositioned" following the continuation of service in the area.

In an address televised late Saturday night local time on the state television channel VTV, Venezuelan Supreme Court Justice Tania D'Amelio ordered that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez would assume the role of acting president following Maduro's arrest on Saturday.

The order adheres to the Venezuelan constitution, which states that, in the event that the person holding the presidential office is absent or unable to fulfill their duties, the person holding the office of vice president must assume the role.

Rodríguez has served as Venezuela's vice president since 2018. She has spent more than 20 years as a leader of the left-wing populist movement, Chavismo, which has steadily grown in popularity since its founding by President Hugo Chávez in the 1990s and has been led by Maduro since Chávez's death in 2013.

Charles Myers, chairman of Signum Global Advisors, told Business Insider he is preparing a group of 15-20 asset managers to travel to Venezuela in March to explore investment opportunities in the country.

"I think the centerpiece of Venezuela's success, looking out 12 months or even 24 months, is foreign investment," Myers said. "A big part of the Venezuela story, starting today, is foreign investment, especially in oil and gas, which is pretty straightforward, but there are massive opportunities in construction, in tourism."

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Photos from Reuters show a federal aircraft at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York. Multiple outlets have reported that Venezuelan President Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, are among the individuals disembarking from the aircraft.

Flight-tracking data shows Venezuelan airspace has effectively gone dark, and the FAA formally barred US airline operations there on Saturday, reinforcing an already informal no-fly zone. Airlines also limited service in the nearby southern Caribbean, canceling flights amid heightened security risks.

Delta, American, and Southwest scrapped Caribbean routes, while aviation risk firm Osprey Flight Solutions upgraded the region's threat level from "moderate" to "high," affecting destinations from Puerto Rico to Barbados and Trinidad. Thousands of travelers were left stranded as airlines reassessed safety and insurance concerns, with some flights forced into long detours to avoid the region.
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Business Insider's Graham Flanagan explains how the raid on Venezuela unfolded early on Saturday, with a detailed look at satellite images showing damage caused at sites in Caracas, where Venezuelan President Maduro was apprehended.

Watch the full explainer here.

Sean Duffy, Trump's secretary of transportation, said on Saturday afternoon that the FAA will lift airspace restrictions over the Caribbean and Venezuela "when appropriate." His update comes roughly 15 hours after the FAA issued an emergency notice in the region, prompting cancellations from most major airlines.

"Early this morning in support of the Department of War, the FAA restricted the airspace in the Caribbean and Venezuela to ensure the SAFETY of the flying public," Duffy wrote on X. "When appropriate, these airspace restrictions will be lifted. Please work with your airlines directly if your flight has been impacted."

Venezuelans across the world had differing reactions to the US capture of Maduro. Supporters at home took to the streets to protest his detention with signs saying things like, "We want our Nicolas!" or accusing Trump of kidnapping.

Some Venezuelans living in other countries, like Spain and Chile, on the other hand, celebrated the arrest. More than 7 million Venezuelans left the country during Maduro's rule, which was marked by economic collapse and the jailing of protesters and opposition leaders.

Palmer Luckey, the cofounder of defense technology company Anduril, said on X that he approved of the decision to keep Congress in the dark ahead of the US raid on Venezuela.

"In principle, I am a fan of Congress being notified before a strike," he wrote. "In practice, the Venezuela operation would have been impossible because the offices of so many members leak like a sieve. The odds of Madura getting tipped off by our own system approach 100%."

Last year, Andruil took over Microsoft's US Army contract for mixed-reality goggles. The 10-year contract is worth $22 billion.

At the heart of the government's case is an organization it calls the Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns — an alleged drug-trafficking network made up of high-ranking Venezuelan officials.

The name comes from the sun insignia worn on Venezuelan military uniforms, and the term predates Nicolás Maduro's rise to power in 2013, having circulated for decades in reporting on alleged military corruption.

Prosecutors say the organization enables powerful Venezuelan elites to enrich themselves through drug trafficking to the US. Several figures tied by US authorities to the cartel have faced prosecution in the United States, including two nephews of first lady Cilia Flores and former Venezuelan intelligence officer Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios, known as "El Pollo."

Those cases reached US courts only after authorities arrested the defendants in places like Spain and Haiti and transferred them to US custody.

Chevron has reconsidered its earlier statement to Business Insider on the US raid in Venezuela that netted President Nicolás Maduro, offering a new, more concise version.

"Chevron remains focused on the safety and well-being of our employees, as well as the integrity of our assets," Kevin Slagle, Chevron's global head of media relations, said in the updated statement. "We continue to operate in full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations."

Here's the company's original statement, which was also from Slagle:

"Chevron remains focused on the safety of our people and the integrity of our operations. With more than a century in Venezuela, we support a peaceful, lawful transition that promotes stability and economic recovery. We're prepared to work constructively with the US Government during this period, leveraging our experience and presence to strengthen US energy security."

New satellite images obtained by Business Insider reveal significant damage at a military facility in Caracas after widespread US airstrikes overnight.

The images, captured by the spatial intelligence firm Vantor, show destroyed buildings and equipment around the military complex at Fuerte Tiuna. The facility houses defense ministries and major commands, official residences, and other strategic infrastructure.

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticized the US raid on Venezuela in a statement released Saturday afternoon.

"Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law," Mamdani wrote. "This blatant pursuit of regime change doesn't just affect those abroad, it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home."

The statement marks the first possible clash between Mamdani and Trump, who shared a friendly meeting at the White House in November.

Later on Saturday afternoon, Mamdani said he'd spoken with Trump. "I called the president and spoke with him directly to register my opposition to this act," the mayor said at a press conference in Brooklyn.

During a Florida press conference, Trump said US forces raided "a heavily fortified military fortress" in Caracas to capture Venezuelan leadership as part of "an extraordinary military operation" involving weapons across air, land, and sea domains.

He added that no US military personnel were killed in the raid, and no weapons or equipment were lost. The US is ready for a second attack, "a much bigger wave" on Venezuela, if needed, the US president said.

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Trump confirmed the large-scale attack on Venezuela and capture of President Nicólas Maduro and his wife on Saturday, calling it an "extremely complex" operation. Maduro and his wife were taken aboard the USS Iwo Jima and are on their way to New York.

More details are still emerging about the operation, called Absolute Resolve, but Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said it was based on months of intelligence gathering on Maduro. 150 aircraft, from fighter jets and bombers to helicopters, were involved in the attack, and Trump said there were no personnel or equipment losses.

The strike comes after months of US pressure on Venezuela's alleged drug trafficking network and oil industry. What comes next, though, is unclear. Trump said at a press conference that the US would be running Venezuela until a "safe, proper" election could occur, and that US oil companies would be entering the country.

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Prior to his capture by US military forces, government agencies had been offering up to $50 million for information that could lead to Maduro's arrest and conviction. A poster issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the State Department initially offered $15 million after Maduro was indicted in 2020 for drug trafficking.

The reward was raised to $25 million in January 2025 and then to $50 million in August — marking the first time a narcotics target came with a reward offer exceeding $25 million, the State Department has said.

A recording of a flight radar shows no planes flying over Venezuela after the US carried out strikes in Caracas, the country's capital, on January 3. See the video here.

Chevron Corporation, founded in 1879 in California, first established a presence in Venezuela in 1923. Now, it operates five onshore and offshore production projects across the country. In a statement to Business Insider on how the US capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro will impact Chevron's operations, a spokesperson for the company said it's prepared to work with the United States.

"Chevron remains focused on the safety of our people and the integrity of our operations. With more than a century in Venezuela, we support a peaceful, lawful transition that promotes stability and economic recovery," Kevin Slagle, Chevron's global head of media relations, said. "We're prepared to work constructively with the US Government during this period, leveraging our experience and presence to strengthen US energy security."

Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the operation to topple Maduro involved months of planning, rehearsing, and studying Maduro's patterns of life.

The operation began late Friday night and continued for several hours into Saturday, involving more than 150 US military aircraft, including fighter jets, early warning aircraft, bombers, and drones. These planes attacked Venezuela's air defenses to pave the way for the apprehension forces, who entered Caracas on low-flying helicopters and stormed a facility to capture Maduro.

The US eventually withdrew from Venezuela and transferred Maduro and his wife to a US Navy ship, where the Venezuelan president was photographed blindfolded.

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Cilia Adela Flores married Maduro in 2013 after years of being romantically connected. She is powerful in her own right, having served as president of Venezuela's National Assembly, the nation's lawmaking body, from 2006 to 2011.

In 2015, two of her nephews were arrested in Haiti and brought to the US to face drug charges. The charges were brought by the same office that is handling the case against Maduro and his wife. Her nephews were convicted following a two-week jury trial, and each was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2017. They were released in 2022 as part of a prisoner swap.

Elon Musk praised Trump's military action in Venezuela in a post on X, calling it "a win for the world."

Musk's relationship with Trump fractured publicly in June 2025 over the president's "One Big, Beautiful, Bill," following a stint as a White House special advisor and de facto head of DOGE.

The two showed signs of reconciliation in the fall of last year, and Musk was invited to a state dinner held for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in November of 2025.

From a markets perspective, the price of crude oil will be top of mind for investors. It's also what will most directly impact everyday Americans, if there's a prolonged disruption, in the form of prices at the pump.

The commodity doesn't trade over the weekend, but any future price action will likely be driven by how the situation with Venezuela impacts the world's overall supply of oil.

Three key considerations suggest the impact on oil prices will be muted in the near term:

• Although Venezuela is now sitting on 303 billion barrels of oil — a fifth of the world's reserve — it presently accounts for less than 1% of daily global crude production
• Reports say Venezuela's oil infrastructure wasn't impacted by the series of US attacks, minimizing any potential disruption
• The global oil surplus is expected to reach a record in 2026

As shown in the chart below, crude oil prices have fallen 20% since the start of 2025. A big part of that is the oversupply mentioned in the third bullet above. Expect oil prices to remain in this range as long as supply and reserves remain strong.

Delta, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines said they canceled flights to the Caribbean on Saturday morning following the US strike against Venezuela.

The cancellations are in "compliance with FAA airspace closures in the Caribbean," Delta said in a statement.

Southwest Airlines said in a statement that flights impacted included those with destinations to Aruba, Aruba; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

American Airlines issued a similar statement, listing the impacted destinations for its flights.

About 300 flights to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, were canceled, according to FlightAware. The Puerto Rican airport issued the following statement:

Trump said the US pulled off an "extraordinary military operation" in Venezuela.

Speaking from Florida, the president said the US turned off the lights in Caracas using "certain expertise," although he did not elaborate.

Trump said Venezuela's defenses were in a "very ready position" and "waiting" for a US attack, but were quickly "overwhelmed" by American forces. He said the military is prepared to stage a larger, second wave of airstrikes if needed.

Trump said in a press conference from Mar-a-Lago on Saturday that the US will send its oil companies to Venezuela to "spend billions of dollars." Earlier, he said Washington will be strongly involved in the country's oil industry moving forward.

Trump also said the US is "going to run the country" until it can facilitate a safe transition of power in Venezuela, which he says must be "judicious."

"We want peace, liberty, and justice for the great people of Venezuela," Trump said.

The president did not specify how the US plans to govern the country, which has a population of nearly 30 million people, in the interim.

Trump published video footage that appears to show the US operation unfolding in Venezuela.

In a Truth Social post, the president shared a video compilation of low-flying helicopters and strikes apparently being carried out inside the country. Several large explosions are visible, leaving tall plumes of black smoke.

The footage — set to "Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival — appears similar to other videos published earlier on social media.

Trump shared an image of captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in US custody following strikes on the country and a raid by American forces.

The photo posted to the president's Truth Social account was captioned, "Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima." The Iwo Jima, a landing helicopter dock where Maduro was taken after capture, is a US Navy amphibious assault ship.

Maduro can be seen in the photo wearing ear protection, a blindfold, and cuffs while holding a bottle of water.

Notably absent from the 2026 indictment is Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios. Known informally as "El Pollo," Carvajal Barrios was a high-ranking member of the Maduro government before he broke ranks in 2019. He went into hiding in Spain and was captured (twice) before being extradited to the United States, where he pleaded guilty last June to a range of drug-related charges.

El Pollo is mentioned seven times in the new indictment, suggesting he could be key to the government's case against Maduro.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has released a public statement, saying the opposition is "prepared to enforce our mandate and take power."

"Nicolás Maduro, as of today, is facing international justice for the atrocious crimes committed against Venezuelans and against citizens of many other nations," the statement reads.

"In light of his refusal to accept a negotiated exit, the government of the United States has fulfilled its promise to uphold the rule of law."

Trump is scheduled to speak from Mar-a-Lago about the Venezuela raid that captured Maduro. You can watch on the White House livestream below.

Trump said US forces stormed a "fortress" to capture Maduro, who had tried to reach a "safety space" surrounded by steel.

Speaking to Fox, Trump said "a couple of guys" and a US helicopter took fire during the operation, but he believes that no one was killed.

The president described the raid as being "very organized," involving "highly trained soldiers." He said the raid was planned with "pinpoint" accuracy, and revealed that the US built a model house identical to the one that was raided — a tactic similar to what the US did ahead of the 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.

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US Attorney General Pam Bondi on Saturday posted the new Maduro indictment on X. The one she shared is an expanded version of the 2020 indictment, accusing Maduro of a widespread conspiracy to traffic drugs into the United States.

It names some new defendants, however — notably Maduro's wife Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro and son Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra.

Manhattan federal prosecutors indicted Muduro and other members of his government in 2020, during the first Trump administration.

That indictment carried many of the same charges cited by US Attorney General Pam Bondi on Saturday as the basis for Saturday's arrest.

The 2020 case, which remains active, alleges narco-terrorism conspiracy and conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession and use of machine guns and destructive devices. It does not, however, mention Maduro's wife, Cilia Flores, suggesting that the latest charges could be brought in a refiled or expanded indictment.