Americans Deeply Divided Over U.S. Military Raid That Captured Nicolás Maduro

Nicolás Maduro was photographed in handcuffs after arriving at a Manhattan helipad, flanked by heavily armed federal agents as they escorted him into an armored vehicle bound for a federal courthouse in Manhattan on Jan. 5, 2026.

Early national polling shows Americans are sharply split over the U.S. military operation that led to the capture of Venezuela’s president. A Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted Sunday and Monday found roughly one-third of respondents supported the raid, while 72% said they feared the United States would become too involved in Venezuela as a result.

Partisan Divide Drives Public Opinion

Polls consistently reveal a stark partisan split. The Reuters/Ipsos results show roughly 65% of Republicans approved of the intervention, compared with about 11% of Democrats and 23% of independents. YouGov surveys taken within 48 hours of the capture found similar patterns: roughly 66% of Republicans supported the use of military force, versus 14% of Democrats and 27% of independents. Across those YouGov surveys, about 36% of adults approved of the operation, 39% opposed it and around 25% were unsure.

A Washington Post text-message poll of more than 1,000 Americans returned comparable results: about 40% approved of the U.S. using military force, 42% opposed it and 18% were undecided. In that poll, 74% of Republicans approved compared with 13% of Democrats and 34% of independents.

Concerns About Congressional Authority And Regional Impact

A clear majority — 63% in The Post’s poll — said the attack should have required congressional approval. Views on that question were sharply partisan: only 24% of Republicans believed congressional authorization was necessary, versus 94% of Democrats and 70% of independents. Americans were also divided on whether the operation would improve Venezuela’s situation: 34% said it would help, while 35% said it would worsen the political climate.

Political And International Fallout

The raid followed months of pressure from the Trump administration amid allegations of drug trafficking by Maduro’s government. U.S. officials described the operation as the largest U.S. action of its kind in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama. The Trump administration hailed the operation as a success, but the move prompted widespread international criticism.

United Nations Human Rights Office: The operation has made “all States less safe around the world.”

Several Democratic lawmakers have called for President Donald Trump’s impeachment in the wake of the raid, accusing the administration of bypassing constitutional requirements for congressional authorization. Rep. April McClain Delaney (D-Md.) said she could not "stand by" while the president "defy[ed] the rule of law" by launching the attack without congressional approval.

Controversy intensified after President Trump said the U.S. would temporarily "run the country" until a "proper and judicious transition" of power took place and identified Delcy Rodríguez — who served as Venezuela’s vice president under Maduro beginning in 2018 — as the likeliest interim leader. Rodríguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president on Monday, a development that has further complicated U.S. relations with regional and global partners.

Legal Proceedings

In New York, Maduro pleaded not guilty on charges that include narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine. He described himself in court as "a decent man" and "a prisoner of war." His next scheduled court appearance is March 17.

This sequence of events — the raid, the polarized polling, and the international response — has left the American public and lawmakers divided about the scope of U.S. military action and the appropriate role of Congress in authorizing such operations.