Former Miss Universe winner Alicia Machado publicly celebrated the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, posting a jubilant Instagram video of herself dancing as news of the U.S. operation rippled across the globe.
Under the video, Machado wrote in Spanish, later translated into English: “Long live Venezuela, my beloved homeland! The great beginning of the end! ‘God is with us—who can be against us?’” She also reposted a quote about Venezuelan freedom to her Instagram story as supporters of the opposition flooded social media with reactions.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were formally indicted in the Southern District of New York after President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces had captured the pair during what he described as a “large-scale strike” against Caracas early Saturday.
According to Pam Bondi, Maduro faces sweeping federal charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to use those weapons against the United States.
The dramatic operation followed months of escalating confrontation between Washington and Caracas. Last year, Trump ordered a major U.S. military buildup in Caribbean and South American waters, followed by a blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers already under U.S. sanctions.
Maduro, 63, has ruled Venezuela since 2013 as the hand-picked successor to socialist leader Hugo Chávez. While he has served three terms, Venezuela’s opposition insists its candidate, Edmundo González, won the 2024 election. Venezuela’s Supreme Court nevertheless upheld Maduro’s claim to power last August.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton underscored the criminal case against Maduro in a post on X, writing that the Venezuelan leader “wasn’t just an illegitimate dictator” but also ran “a vast drug-trafficking operation,” noting that he was indicted in U.S. court nearly six years ago.
Machado’s celebration carried particular historical weight given her complicated past with Trump. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton famously cited Trump’s past remarks about Machado during a debate, recalling how he referred to her as “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping.”
Machado, who won Miss Universe in 1996, later backed Clinton in that election, publicly announcing her support and encouraging women to vote. Trump, for his part, dismissed Machado in a 2016 Fox & Friends appearance, calling her “the worst Miss Universe we ever had” and criticizing her weight and attitude.
Despite that history, Machado framed Maduro’s capture not as a Trump victory but as a Venezuelan one. She reposted a quote attributed to Nelson Mandela about freedom, writing that true liberation means living in a way that enhances the freedom of others.
The Venezuelan government condemned the operation, calling it a grave act of U.S. military aggression, while Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it was “extremely concerned” by reports that Maduro and his wife were forcibly removed from the country.
Bondi, however, praised the operation in a statement on X, saying Maduro and Flores would soon face “the full force of American justice—on American soil, in American courts,” and thanked Trump and the U.S. military for what she called a highly successful mission.
