In a stunning military operation conducted in the early morning hours on Saturday, the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, along with his wife Cilia Flores, to face federal charges stemming from their alleged involvement in the drug trade and maintaining a dictatorship within the country.
For months, President Donald Trump had urged Maduro to step down from his role as the country’s leader – in what has been widely viewed as an illegitimate position – while accusing him of supporting drug cartels that have been designated as terror organizations by the U.S.
According to U.S. officials, the Department of Justice requested military assistance in apprehending Maduro after he – and later his wife, son, two political figures and an alleged international gang leader – had been indicted on federal terrorism, drugs and weapons charges in 2020.
While questions have swirled regarding the legality of the Trump administration's actions, the U.S. has previously launched similar operations targeting foreign dictators and suspected drug kingpins.
"Once you begin to pull that thread, then a lot of things begin to unravel and things get quite nasty very quickly," Michael Barnett, a professor of international affairs and political science at George Washington University, told Fox News Digital. "I think you have to worry about the precedent."
Here is a look at other instances in which U.S. officials took aim at some of the world’s most notorious leaders accused of being directly involved in some of the most prolific drug operations across the globe.
In 1990, 36 years to the day of Maduro’s capture, trial in Manhattan federal court, Hernández testified that while drug money was paid to virtually all political parties in Honduras, he did not accept bribes while in office. He maintained that he was a victim of vengeful drug traffickers seeking retribution after he aided in their extradition to the U.S., while also working alongside three presidential administrations to limit drug imports into the country.
Hernández was subsequently convicted by a jury in March 2024, with a federal judge sentencing him to 45 years in a U.S. prison and issuing an $8 million fine.
However, after serving just 17 months of his sentence, Hernández was pardoned by Trump in late 2025.
"The people of Honduras really thought he was set up, and it was a terrible thing," Trump said. "They basically said he was a drug dealer because he was the president of the country. And they said it was a Biden administration setup – and I looked at the facts and I agreed with them."
After Trump announced Hernández’s pardon, Honduran Attorney General Johel Zelaya said in a post to social media that his office was looking into bringing charges against the former president, but did not specify what crimes officials were investigating.
In 2017, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the notorious leader of Mexico’s "Sinaloa cartel," was extradited to the U.S. to stand trial on drug trafficking and related crimes in several district courts throughout the country.
The notorious crime boss evaded capture on several occasions and escaped from Mexican prison twice, with federal prosecutors revealing Guzman used a variety of crafty tactics to smuggle tons of cocaine into the U.S. during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Former cartel member Miguel Angel Martinez testified in federal court that the gang used trucks to carry 3,000 cans filled with cocaine over the U.S.-Mexico border, while estimating the vehicles carried 25 to 30 tons of cocaine worth $400 million to $500 million into the country each year, Florence, Colorado, where detainees are kept in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day.
"Since the government will send me to a jail where my name will not ever be heard again, I take this opportunity to say there was no justice here," Guzman said at his sentencing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.