ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast - Jan. 4, 2026

Tonight, breaking news. The stunning capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, now behind bars in the US, set to face charges in court in New York City, 24 hours after the president said the US would run Venezuela. President Nicolas Maduro and his wife handcuffed as they arrived in New York City. Maduro showing two thumbs up, wishing federal agents Happy New Year. Happy New Year. Maduro is expected in court tomorrow to answer narco-terrorism charges. New details emerging about the extraordinary US military operation to extract Maduro from his safe house inside a heavily fortified military installation. 150 US aircraft taking off from 20 locations. Extraction teams flying less than 100 feet above the surface. A covert CIA team on the ground tracking Maduro's every move. And President Trump's new threat to Venezuela's vice president, saying she will pay a very big price if she does not cooperate. Martha Raddatz with the latest reporting. 24 hours after President Trump claimed the US would now run Venezuela, what the administration is now saying tonight, the president who campaigned on getting America out of foreign wars, now says he will not rule out American boots on the ground in Venezuela. Tonight, the scene inside Venezuela. A mix of celebration and fear over the country's future. Many relieved Maduro is gone, but asking what comes next. And tonight, the human toll from the US operation. James Longman at the border with Venezuela. Tonight, President Trump's focus on Venezuela's oil reserves, the largest in the world. The president says US oil companies will rebuild Venezuela's oil infrastructure. What happens to the oil in the meantime, with Russia and China getting oil from Venezuela? Major airlines are now scrambling to get back on schedule after flights were canceled in the Caribbean, stranding thousands of travelers. World News Tonight begins now. ABC News, World Headquarters in New York. This is World News Tonight with David Muir. Good evening and Happy New Year. Thanks so much for joining us on this busy Sunday night. We begin with breaking news, making global headlines. America's precision operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, bringing them to the US to face charges in an American court. Maduro and First Lady Celia Flores arriving in New York in handcuffs. Both are expected to make their first court appearance tomorrow. The couple is now being held separately at the same notorious jail in Brooklyn that housed Ghislaine Maxwell, Sean Combs, and El Chapo, along with Luigi Mangione. Maduro giving two thumbs up as he was being escorted by federal agents. Remarkable new details are emerging about the US military operation to extract Maduro from his safe house inside a heavily fortified military installation. The plan, months in the making, involving 150 aircraft extraction teams flying less than 100 feet above the surface and a covert CIA team on the ground tracking Maduro. President Trump says the US will now run Venezuela. And 24 hours after saying Venezuela's vice president was cooperating with the US, why Trump's now threatening that she will, quote, pay a very big price if she does not. New images emerging from inside Venezuela, Maduro supporters in the streets condemning the US and demanding the return of their president. Tonight, lawmakers from both parties are calling for a briefing from the White House. Many are upset Congress was not notified before any military action was taken. Our team is standing by ABC's chief global affairs correspondent, Martha Raddatz, leads us off. Tonight, remarkable new video showing the moment ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife arrived in New York facing federal narco-terrorism charges. The once defiant leader in handcuffs surrounded by federal agents wishing everyone Happy New Year in video shared by the administration. Maduro seized in a bold and dangerous military operation using the army's elite Delta Force to remove him from power, with President Trump claiming the US has now taken over Venezuela. We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition. But questions tonight over who is really in control after Maduro's handpicked vice president, Delce Rodriguez, was sworn in as the nation's acting president and blasted the US intervention, saying Maduro was abducted. President Trump, after initially signaling Rodriguez might be cooperative, today issuing a new threat, saying if she doesn't do what's right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro. Venezuela's defense minister, also defiant, saying the military stands united in the face of imperial aggression and Venezuelan lives were lost. And tonight, we're learning more about that extraordinary US military and law enforcement raid to capture Maduro. The elite Delta Force had built an exact replica of Maduro's safe house inside a heavily fortified military installation, practicing the raid for months. And a covert CIA team on the ground was tracking Maduro's every move, where he slept, what he ate, even the pets he has. President Trump giving the green light for Operation Absolute Resolve at 1046 Friday night. The weather broke just enough, clearing a path, that only the most skilled aviators in the world could maneuver through. Ocean, mountain, low cloud ceilings. More than 150 US military warplanes, fighter jets, bombers, launching from 20 different bases and ships. Videos online showing explosions lighting the night sky over Caracas. As US warplanes targeted air defenses and military bases, gunfire heard as low-flying aircraft struck multiple facilities. Then, nearly a dozen US Special Operations helicopters roaring through the night, swooping in, carrying the extraction team flying barely 100 feet over the dark water. Those helicopters arriving at Maduro's compound around 101 Saturday morning in the dead of night. On arrival into the target area, the helicopters came under fire, and they replied with that fire with overwhelming force and self-defense. One of our aircraft was hit, but remained flyable. The Special Operations forces moving in, just as Maduro headed for a safe room, grabbing him and his wife moments before they could close a steel door behind them. He was trying to get into a safe place. You know, the safe place is all steel. And he wasn't able to make it to the door because our guys were so fast. The operation lasting roughly two and a half hours over Venezuela, with only minor injuries to US personnel. President Trump posting this image of Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima, handcuffed and blindfolded. And tonight, with Maduro now in US custody, serious questions about how the US plans to control oil-rich Venezuela, until, in the president's words, there can be a proper judicious transition. And Lindsey, that is the big question. What next in Venezuela, and who will remain in charge? President Trump saying he's not afraid of boots on the ground, but insisting Venezuela's oil would be a priority. Lindsey? A number of questions there, Martha, thank you. 24 hours after President Trump declared the US would now run Venezuela, what the administration is now saying. Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggests the US will push for government changes through oil blockades. And what President Trump is signaling about possible American boots on the ground in Venezuela. Here's ABC's Rachel Scott. 24 hours after President Trump declared the US would run Venezuela, a country of 31 million people, tonight it's still unclear how that will happen, what it will look like, and who will be in charge. The president was blunt. We're gonna run the country right. It's gonna run very judiciously, very fairly. It's gonna make a lot of money. But today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, an architect of the plan, seeming to dial back the US rule. Is the United States running Venezuela right now? What we are running is the direction that this is gonna move moving forward. And that is, we have leverage. This leverage we are using, and we intend to use. We started using already. Rubio implying the US would simply pressure the current Venezuelan government with a military blockade to, quote, quarantine oil leaving the country. That's a departure from what the president said, that Rubio, along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, would actually run the nation themselves. What's the group you mentioned that would run Venezuela? It's largely going to be, for a period of time, the people that are standing right behind me. We're gonna be running it. We're gonna be bringing it back. Today, Rubio hedged on just who was in charge. Is it you? Is it Secretary Hegseth? Who are those people who will be running the country specifically? Well, it's not running, it's running policy. The policy with regards to this. We want Venezuela to move in a certain direction. Democrats accused the president of leading America into another US-led regime change, like the war in Iraq, a move President Trump himself has long criticized. We have learned through the years, when America tries to do regime change and nation building in this way, the American people pay the price in both blood and in dollar. The president, who campaigned on a pledge to get America out of foreign wars, now says he won't rule out sending American troops to Venezuela. We're not afraid of boots on the ground. The president spoke openly about the country's oil and his intention to send US oil companies in, while also saying the mission is to crack down on drug trafficking. But tonight, one Republican critic, Congressman Thomas Massie, posting, Wake up, MAGA. Venezuela is not about drugs. It's about oil and regime change. This is not what we voted for. The congressman warning, lives of US soldiers are being risked to make oil companies, not Americans, more profitable. And Lindsay, there are still a lot of questions tonight. The president says the US is going to run Venezuela, but the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, did not go that far. He did insist the US is not at war with Venezuela. Lindsay. Rachel Scott from the White House for us. Thank you, Rachel. Here in New York City, extremely tight security will be in place when Nicolas Maduro and his wife make their first scheduled appearance in federal court in lower Manhattan tomorrow. Maduro and his wife are being held separately at the same notorious jail used for Glenn Maxwell, Sean Combs, El Chapo, and Luigi Mangione. ABC's Whit Johnson is outside the facility in Brooklyn. Tonight, Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, are behind bars inside this notorious federal jail in Brooklyn, known for its poor conditions and high-profile inmates. The Metropolitan Detention Center, once home to drug lord El Chapo, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Diddy Combs, and currently accused killer, Luigi Mangione. Tomorrow, the ousted Venezuelan president will be transported to the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan to face charges. Federal prosecutors laying out their case in this new four-count indictment, alleging Maduro was at the forefront of a narco-terrorism conspiracy to transport thousands of tons of cocaine into the U.S. People should read this indictment. They should read what this man did for 15, eight, the last 15 years of his life against the United States, him and his wife. Maduro allegedly sold Venezuelan diplomatic passports to individuals he knew were drug traffickers seeking to move drug proceeds using private planes under diplomatic cover. The indictment highlighting Maduro's wife, Celia Flores, as a key player in the corruption, alleging she accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. The government says the couple maintained state-sponsored gangs and ordered kidnappings, beatings, and murders against those who owed them drug money or undermined their operation. Maduro has long denied drug trafficking. In a final interview on state TV two days before his capture, he said the U.S. government knows that if they want to seriously discuss an agreement to combat drug trafficking, we're ready. But by that time, U.S. forces were already poised to seize Maduro, just waiting for the right conditions and the order from President Trump. And the Maduros are both scheduled to make their initial court appearances in the same courtroom tomorrow. Maduro's 35-year-old son is also named in the indictment, but sources tell ABC News he is not in U.S. custody. Lindsay. Whit Johnson for us, thank you. Now to the images inside Venezuela. A mix of celebration and fear over the country's future, many expressing relief Maduro is gone, others condemning the operation. ABC's chief international correspondent James Longman is at the border with Venezuela. Tonight, the world reacting to America's stunning operation in Venezuela. A number of people were killed in the U.S. strikes that accompanied Maduro's capture, this apartment building right next to a military complex, although the government won't confirm the number of dead. The defense minister's still defiant, saying today it was against Venezuela, tomorrow it could be against any state or any country. But after the celebration in the streets at the fall of an autocrat, millions wonder, what now? This is Cocta on the Colombian side of the border, and that there is Venezuela, and in normal times, tens of thousands of Venezuelans cross this border to buy goods here that they can't get back home. Now, though, it's a path perhaps to a new future for the millions of people who've been forced into exile. We meet nervous faces like Jose Luis and his mother. You get the sense that people don't really know how to feel, happy that Maduro is gone, but they have no idea what's gonna happen next. We meet Sol. When I heard the news about Maduro, I started crying with joy, she says. She shows us her groceries, cheaper here than in Venezuela. Sol is hoping that in the future, she won't have to come to Colombia to get her shopping. And it's a busy night tonight, Lindsay, on the bridge to Venezuela. Happiness, the overwhelming emotion we encountered about the end of Maduro, but for many of Venezuela's neighbours, they are still officially condemning the operation. Big questions about what will happen next. Lindsay? Lots of mixed emotions there, James, thank you. Now to the U.S. takeover of Venezuela's oil industry. President Trump is aiming to tap into that country's vast oil reserves, the largest in the world. ABC's Matt Rivers reports from Bogota, Colombia. With President Maduro out, President Trump wants American oil companies in, saying the runway is now clear for U.S. corporations to revitalize a, quote, badly broken oil industry they once dominated. But tonight, some questioning if that plan is realistic. The oil companies are gonna go in, they're gonna spend money, we're gonna take back the oil. Venezuela, a key ally of Russia and China, sits on the largest supply of oil reserves worldwide, a supply U.S. companies tapped for decades. But after Venezuela nationalized its oil industry, output plummeted. Sanctions and decades of mismanagement meant that the country now accounts for just 1% of global production. But so far, some American oil companies, like ConocoPhillips and Chevron, not overtly signing on to the president's plan. The task alone is a massive one and will be a very expensive one for any company to undertake. U.S. oil companies say they lost billions when they were forced out by Venezuela's government, leaving behind assets and lost profits. Trump says that will change. We're in the oil business. We'll be selling oil, probably in much larger doses. Now, right now, China is the largest buyer of Venezuelan oil. President Trump doesn't like that. Instead, he would rather see that oil sold within the United States or to other friendly countries. But bottom line, Lindsey, is that we are likely at least years away before we see a truly significant increase in Venezuelan oil production. Lindsey? Matt Rivers reporting from Colombia. Thank you. Now to the major airlines scrambling to get back on track. Thousands of flyers stranded after flight cancellations and delays in the Caribbean. Here's ABC's Morgan Norwood. Tonight, thousands of tourists stranded across the Caribbean after the military operation that captured Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro forced airlines to cancel hundreds of flights across the region. This Flight Radar 24 animation showing flights avoiding Venezuelan airspace yesterday after the FAA banned U.S. airlines from flying over Venezuela and portions of the Caribbean, citing ongoing military activity. Luis Munoz Marine International Airport in San Juan seemed empty after the airstrikes. Reporter Nidia Han from our Philadelphia station, WPVI, says she and her family could be stuck for days. Unfortunately, because of Maduro's capture and airspace being closed, we are stuck here in Vieques. Overnight, those restrictions lifting, but now major airlines racing to get back on track, many handing out travel waivers. American Airlines adding nearly 5,000 extra seats to the region, deploying its Boeing 777, its largest plane. Southwest, United, and JetBlue also adding flights tonight. And Lindsay Airlines are urging passengers to check their flight status before heading to the airport, warning that these flight schedules could remain fluid in the coming days. Lindsay? Morgan, thank you. When we come back, tracking a fast-moving system, snow and ice moving across the Northeast, coastal flood alerts in the West, and a popular actress from Lost in the Marvel movies, which is now revealing about her condition after a frightening fall. Next tonight, some dangerous weather. A clipper system bringing ice and snow from the Great Lakes to the Northeast through Monday. More rain is on the way in the West, possibly several inches, while Central California could get up to two feet of snow. And more flooding from the record king tides in Northern California, big waves crashing on the shore in Pacifica. When we come back, the popular star from the Marvel movies reveals a serious health issue. To the Index now, actress Evangeline Lilly reveals she suffered a traumatic brain injury in a fall last spring. Lilly, who's 46, got her big break in ABC's Lost in 2004. She's also starred in Marvel's Ant-Man series. Posting on Instagram, she described falling face-first into a boulder and admits she faces an uphill battle to regain her health. When we come back, the world reacts to a remarkable moment in history. Before we go, a few of the remarkable images emerging over the last historic 24 hours. President Nicolas Maduro now behind bars in Brooklyn. His wife also there in a separate cell. They're both scheduled to make their first court appearance tomorrow. A huge crowd of Venezuelans coming together, packing the streets in Barcelona. Venezuelans living in South Florida celebrating Maduro's arrest. Happy, they say, because Venezuela is free. Thanks for watching. David Mirror back here tomorrow. I'm Lindsay Davis. Good night.