US Attacks Venezuela: Oil Or Drugs? — Here's Why Nicolas Maduro Was 'Captured'

US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, had been captured along with his wife Cilia Flores and flown out of the country after a series of coordinated strikes hit capital Caracas.

Venezuelan authorities confirmed the capture, adding that the move was a part of the US efforts to seize control over the country's oil reserves. The Trump administration alleged that Maduro was funneling drugs and convicts into the US and accused him of terrorism.

This was the latest and most severe escalation from the US after simmering tensions between it and Venezuela finally came to a boil on Saturday.

NDTV Profit covers the timeline of events that lead to this development.

The Trump administration's allegations that Venezuela had been the chief culprit behind the movement of narcotics past US borders does not seem to be largely supported by US Drug Enforcement Administration data.

A 2020 report from the organisation instead classified Colombia as the source of three quarters of Cocaine crossing US borders through the Pacific, with a small percentage of them transported via fast boats from the Caribbean that the US targeted.

The opioid narcotic fentanyl, which is 10 times more potent than heroin and has overtaken it as the most commonly named cause of opioid overdose-related deaths, was produced mainly in Mexico, according to the BBC.

The publication also stated that it is smuggled solely through the southern border. Venezuela was not named in the DEA's 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment as a Fentanyl originator.

Oil is Venezuela's main source of external revenue, with it funding over half of the country's governmental budget.

Venezuela produced around 0.8% of global crude oil in 2023, according to the US Energy Information Administration, which cited funding and technical roadblocks for this.

The country exports 900,000 barrels a day, with China being its biggest buyer. The US denied Maduro's claims of the country coveting Venezuela's oil. The Trump administration, however, put in place a total naval blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela.

"I assume we're going to keep the oil," he reportedly told the press.

The escalation began when Trump accused Venezuela and Maduro of "emptying his prisons and insane asylums" and "forcing" convicts to emigrate to the US.

He also built up military forces around Venezuela, sanctioned a number of attacks on alleged drug-running boats and accused Maduro of running a terrorist organisation.

Below is the timeline of escalations:

• Jan. 21, 2025: Trump declared illegal immigration a national emergency and designated criminal cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

• Feb. 20, 2025: The Trump administration designated Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang as an FTO.

• Feb. 26, 2025: Trump cancelled Venezuela's oil concessions granted under the previous administration.

• March 17, 2025: The US deported approximately 200 alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador's "Terrorism Confinement Center".

• March 24, 2025: The US imposed a 25% tariff on any country purchasing oil from Venezuela. 

• Aug. 8, 2025: The US doubled the bounty for Maduro’s arrest to $50 million and designates him a "global terrorist leader" of the Cartel de los Soles.

• Aug. 18, 2025: In response to US military buildup in the Caribbean (Operation Southern Spear), Maduro mobilized the Bolivarian Militia.

• Sept. 2, 2025: The US Navy conducted its first lethal strike on a vessel allegedly trafficking drugs for the Tren de Aragua, killing 11 people.

• Oct. 15, 2025: Trump confirmed he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela. 

• Nov. 14, 2025: The US officially announced the "Southern Spear" mission, deploying the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and F-35 stealth jets near Venezuela.

• Dec. 11, 2025: The US imposed sanctions on Maduro’s family members and six oil ships.

• Dec. 16, 2025: Trump ordered a total naval blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or departing Venezuela.

• Dec. 29, 2025: Trump claimed the US struck a shore facility used to load drugs, marking the first known land strike. 

• Jan. 3, 2026: The US military launched large-scale airstrikes in Caracas and other northern regions.

• Jan. 3, 2026: President Trump announced on Truth Social that Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been captured by U.S. forces (reportedly Delta Force) and flown out of the country.