After Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Is Captured, Folks Want to Know What Narco-Terrorism Is

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured by the U.S. military on narco-terrorism charges on Jan. 3, 2025, in Caracas, Venezuela.

President Donald Trump announced the capture on Truth Social, and now, people want to know exactly what narco-terrorism is.

Trump has claimed Maduro has been guilty of narco-terrorism since 2020, and his Administration indicted Venezuela's leader that same year, despite Maduro's denials. Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores de Maduro, were both captured on Jan. 3, 2025, in the military's engagement known as Operation Absolute Resolve, per NBC News. So, what is narco-terrorism?

Narco-terrorism is when drug cartels use proceeds to finance political violence, threats, and intimidation to control the government, per WION News. The Trump Administration alleges that Maduro attacked the United States by partnering with Colombian and Mexican drug cartels to traffic cocaine into the U.S.

The indictment states that Maduro "partnered with some of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world, and relied on corrupt officials throughout the region, to distribute tons of cocaine to the United States."

The indictment also claims that Maduro has been trafficking cocaine to the U.S. for 25 years.

"For over 25 years, leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States," it read, adding that the Venezuelan leader "has partnered with his co-conspirators to use his illegally obtained authority and the institutions he corroded to transport thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States."

Trump told reporters on Jan. 5 that he may also go after Colombia's leader, President Gustavo Petro. Trump said Colombia is "run by a very sick man" who was "not going to be doing it for very long." After reporters asked if he would be conducting another military operation in Colombia, he replied, "Sounds good to me," per CBS News.

Trump reportedly warned Maduro by phone one week before his arrest that he needed to surrender or he would be captured, according to NBC News. The CIA sent a unit to Venezuela last August to monitor Maduro’s movements, and troops trained for months with a replica of Maduro's compound to complete the mission.

Trump was criticized by other world leaders for capturing Maduro. The leaders of Brazil, Spain, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Uruguay issued a joint statement sharing their concerns.

"We express our deep concern and rejection of the military actions carried out unilaterally in the territory of Venezuela, which contravene fundamental principles of international law," read the statement, per Reuters. "Such actions set an extremely dangerous precedent for regional peace and security and for the rules-based international order, in addition to endangering the civilian population."

Trump said at a press conference that the U.S. will be now be running Venezuela. "We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition."