‘Come get me, I’ll wait here’: How Maduro’s open dare to Trump led to his dramatic downfall

From taunt to takedown: How Maduro’s ‘come get me’ dare to Trump backfired

• US special forces captured Venezuelan President Maduro in a raid in Caracas
• Maduro and wife charged with narco-terrorism and illegal weapons possession
• Trump viewed the raid live; elite US units planned for months.

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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured by US special forces during a late-night raid in Caracas on Saturday and flown to New York to face charges related to drug trafficking and illegal weapons possession. The operation marked a dramatic end to Maduro’s 12-year rule and followed months of heightened tensions between Washington and Caracas.

Maduro’s arrest came months after the 63-year-old leader openly challenged US President Donald Trump to apprehend him. “Come get me. I will wait for him here in Miraflores. Don’t be late, coward,” Maduro had said in an August speech after the United States raised the reward for information leading to his capture to $50 million.

Nicolas Maduro had his chance — until he didn’t.

The Trump Admin will always defend American citizens against all threats, foreign and domestic. 🇺🇸🦅 pic.twitter.com/eov3GbBXf4 — The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 4, 2026

Following the operation, the White House released a video on X mocking the Venezuelan leader. The 61-second clip combined footage of Maduro’s past taunts with visuals from the raid that led to his arrest, along with his wife, Cilia Flores.

The video also included moments from Trump’s press briefing on the Venezuela strikes, during which US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Maduro “had his chance – until he didn’t.”

“He f****d around and found out,” Hegseth was heard saying in the clip, which quickly went viral.

Operation Absolute Resolve. pic.twitter.com/KOtW0C0V1O — The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 3, 2026

US officials said Maduro and Flores were captured during a pre-dawn operation at their residence inside Caracas’ heavily fortified Fort Tiuna military compound, where they were reportedly asleep at the time.

The couple has been charged with “narco-terrorism,” importing large quantities of cocaine into the United States, and possession of illegal weapons. They are currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

Details of the operation revealed months of intensive surveillance and planning under what President Trump described as “Operation Absolute Resolve.” Elite US units, including the Army’s Delta Force, were involved in the mission, which reportedly took around 30 minutes to complete.

Trump said US forces had even built a replica of Maduro’s residence to rehearse the raid and that he watched the operation unfold live. “I watched it, literally, like I was watching a television show,” Trump said, calling Maduro’s compound “a fortress.”

Explaining the decision to strike, Trump said his administration had been preparing action against Venezuelan drug cartels for weeks, deploying a significant naval and aerial presence in the Caribbean, including the USS Gerald R Ford. He accused Maduro of leading a drug cartel and cited illegal migration and Venezuela’s oil industry as key factors behind the aggressive US posture.

Maduro has consistently denied involvement in narcotics trafficking, claiming the United States was attempting to overthrow him to gain control over Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, the largest known in the world.