Evidence from credible sources supports the statement as accurate. Learn more in Methodology.
Confirm absence of deployed U.S. military personnel conducting ground operations in Venezuela through DoD/State Department statements, troop movement records, or other official disclosures.
Multiple independent accounts of the January 3, 2026 U.S. raid in Venezuela state that U.S. ground forces (special operations troops) entered the country only for the duration of the operation to capture President Nicolás Maduro, then withdrew back offshore within a few hours. Stars and Stripes, summarizing Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine’s briefing, reports that U.S. special forces reached Maduro’s compound at 1:01 a.m. EST and that the force was back "over the water" and out of Venezuela by 3:29 a.m. EST. CNN’s reconstruction of the assault similarly notes that U.S. forces were over the water and out of Venezuelan territory by early morning, carrying the detainees. Reuters and USA Today describe the raid as an incursion launched from offshore U.S. naval assets, with no indication of any residual U.S. ground presence or occupation forces left inside the country after the extraction.
Given that Secretary Rubio made his statement on January 4, 2026, after official briefings that U.S. troops had already withdrawn, the claim that there are no U.S. forces currently on the ground in Venezuela is supported by available evidence. The verdict is True because credible reports and official briefings consistently indicate that all U.S. ground forces exited Venezuela shortly after the raid, and no sources report any continuing U.S. ground deployment there at the time of his statement.