Protests, celebrations after Maduro’s capture, US strikes on Venezuela
U.S. strikes in Venezuela and the capture of the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, received mixed responses from members of Congress. It’s also proved to be a polarizing topic across the U.S. and internationally, as some celebrate Maduro’s ouster and others condemn U.S. intervention in other nations’ affairs.
Protests against US strikes
Protests against the United States’ military operation took place in Chicago, Washington D.C., New York, and Los Angeles. One of the organizations behind the demonstrations, CODEPINK, called the strikes “blatant and illegal acts of war by the Trump Administration.”
“This act of aggression is a continuation of U.S. attempts to seize and plunder Venezuela’s natural resources and undermine Venezuela’s sovereignty as well as the sovereignty of other countries in Latin America,” CODEPINK said in a statement. “The world does not need another U.S.-made catastrophe. Venezuela deserves sovereignty. Latin America deserves peace. And people in the United States deserve a future not stolen by endless war.”
A protestor in San Antonio, Texas, Renee Wimbish, told local outlet WOAI that the administration “can say whatever they want about why they are doing it, and it’s all about oil.”
“They want control of the oil there, that product, and they want control of Latin America,” Wimbish said.
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John Parker of the Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice speaks during a Union del Barrio U.S. out of Venezuela press conference on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) -
People demonstrate against U.S. military action in Venezuela in Boston Common on January 3. 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty Images) -
People demonstrate against US military action in Venezuela in Boston Common on January 3. 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. US President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States will “run” Venezuela and tap its huge oil reserves after snatching leftist leader Nicolas Maduro out of the country during a bombing raid on Caracas. Trump’s announcement came hours after a lightning attack in which special forces grabbed Maduro and his wife, while airstrikes pounded multiple sites, stunning the capital city. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty Images) -
People demonstrate against U.S. military action in Venezuela in Boston Common on January 3. 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty Images) -
People demonstrate against U.S. military action in Venezuela in Times Square on January 3. 2026 in New York.(Photo by John Lamparski / AFP via Getty Images) -
People demonstrate against US military action in Venezuela outside Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, on January 3. 2026. (Photo by Leonardo Munoz / AFP via Getty Images) -
People carrying banners and flags gather to protest the US attacks on Venezuela and Israel’s attacks on Gaza in violation of the ceasefire, in Stockholm, Sweden on January 3, 2026. (Photo by Atila Altuntas/Anadolu via Getty Images) -
Protesters rally outside the White House Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Washington, after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a military operation. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) -
Protesters rally outside the White House Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Washington, after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a military operation. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) -
A protester waves a Venezuelan flag during a rally outside the White House, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Washington, after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a military operation. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Some cheer Maduro’s capture
Some Venezuelan migrants in the U.S. and around the world cheered Maduro’s capture. Maduro, who was sworn in for his third term in January in an election the international community says is fraudulent, is seen by critics as a dictator who persecuted his political opposition.
Reuters reported that chants celebrating were heard in Latin American cities and in Spain.
“We are free. We are all happy that the dictatorship has fallen and that we have a free country,” Khaty Yanez, a Venezuelan woman who has lived in Chile for seven years, told the outlet.
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Venezuelan dissidents residing in Madrid, Spain, gather to celebrate the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife by U.S. forces. (Photo by David Canales/NurPhoto via Getty Images) -
Hundreds of people during the rally in support of Venezuela and celebration for the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, at Puerta del Sol, January 3, 2026, in Madrid, Spain.(Photo By Diego Radames/Europa Press via Getty Images) -
Venezuelans celebrate in Bogotá, Colombia, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. (AP Photo/Jose Vargas) -
Farmers from Atenco with machetes gather outside Venezuela’s Embassy to protest against the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro, in Mexico City, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte) -
Venezuelans celebrate at the Obelisk in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that President Nicolas Maduro had been captured and flown out of Venezuela. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) -
Venezuelans celebrate after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country in Santiago, Chile, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) -
Maribel Gonzalez celebrates outside Versailles Cuban Cuisine after President Donald Trump announced President Nicolás Maduro had been captured and flown out of Venezuela, in Miami, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck) -
Venezuelan dissidents residing in Madrid, Spain, gather to celebrate the US attacks this morning in Caracas, Venezuela, and the subsequent arrest of Nicolas Maduro and his wife by US forces. (Photo by David Canales/NurPhoto via Getty Images) -
Man carrying Venezuelan flag when dozens of Venezuelans took to the streets of Lima to celebrate the arrest and capture of Nicolás Maduro. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in Caracas during a U.S. military operation. (Photo by Carlos Garcia Granthon/Fotoholica Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) -
Hundreds of Venezuelans gather in Puerta del Sol, Madrid, Spain, on January 3, celebrating the announcement that Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro is captured and removed from power following a US intervention in the early hours of the morning. (Photo by Aaron Heredia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
