Nicolas Maduro and his spouse apprehended

A 63-year-old socialist and the chosen successor of the late Hugo Chavez, Maduro has faced long-standing accusations from critics both domestically and internationally of being a dictator who has imprisoned or persecuted political adversaries and has repeatedly orchestrated fraudulent elections.

Maduro, a salsa enthusiast with a penchant for drama, frequently labels opposition politicians as "fascist demons" and takes pride in resisting U.S. pressure against him, even having his appeal to Trump for "yes peace, not war" transformed into an electronica track.

He was inaugurated for a third term in January 2025 after a 2024 election that was broadly denounced as fraudulent by international observers and the opposition. Thousands of individuals who protested against the government's claim of victory were incarcerated.

Venezuela's opposition, along with the United States and numerous other Western nations, also deemed Maduro's electoral victory in 2018 to be a farce.

The repressive actions of his government were underscored by the awarding of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

Following Trump's announcement last October regarding the authorization of CIA operations in the country, Maduro condemned "those demonic forces that seek to sink their claws into Venezuela to seize our oil." Maduro has consistently refuted U.S. allegations of ties to drug trafficking and corruption.

In August, Washington increased its bounty for Maduro's capture to $50 million due to allegations of drug trafficking and connections to criminal organizations. Trump stated on Saturday that Maduro and his spouse would now confront American justice.

Trump has intensified the pressure in recent months with a significant buildup of U.S. military forces in the southern Caribbean, over two dozen strikes on vessels purportedly involved in drug trafficking in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, and an escalation of sanctions.