# Venezuela Map: States, Cities, US Strikes and Latest News

Updated 12:32 UTC, 29 Oct 2026. Canonical: https://monitorworld.app/live/venezuela-map

**Venezuela has 23 states, a Capital District (Caracas) and the Federal Dependencies**, all shown on this map with their capitals. It is not at war with the United States: there was no declaration of war, but US forces captured President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on 3 January 2026 (reported by PBS NewsHour), and US strikes on alleged drug boats continue at sea. UCDP recorded 2 armed-conflict events in Venezuela (30 Aug 2026 to 30 Sep 2026), and our risk score for Venezuela is 50/100.

## Key numbers

- States, plus the Capital District and Federal Dependencies: **23 + 2**
- Deaths in US boat strikes since Sep 2025: **243** (WOLA count via Al Jazeera, 27 Oct 2026)
- Conflict events in Venezuela (UCDP): **2** (2 deaths, 30 Aug 2026 to 30 Sep 2026)
- Venezuela risk score (our model): **50/100** (trend stable)

## Venezuela news: latest media reports

- [LOW] [The strange math that shows how Trump got Venezuela to ‘gift’ oil to the United States](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/29/economy/venezuela-oil-trump-no-cost-nabep) (CNN World, 09:00 UTC, 4h ago)

## US and Venezuela: dated timeline

- [DATED] [US strike on an alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific kills 5; the WOLA count reaches 243 deaths in 69 reported strikes since September 2025](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/27/us-says-it-killed-five-people-in-strike-on-alleged-drug-boat) (2026-10-27, reported by Al Jazeera, citing WOLA)
- [DATED] [Opposition leader María Corina Machado returns to Venezuela after about ten months abroad; how she entered was not disclosed](https://citizen.digital/article/i-am-here-opposition-leader-machado-returns-to-venezuela-n392730) (2026-10-25, reported by AFP via Citizen Digital)
- [DATED] [Maduro pleads not guilty to a new torture-conspiracy charge, added by an indictment of 8 October; the judge moves the trial to 14 June 2027](https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/9369570/ex-venezuela-leader-maduro-pleads-not-guilty-to-torture/) (2026-10-15, reported by AAP via Canberra Times)
- [DATED] [The US Embassy in Caracas reopens, seven years after it closed in 2019; consular services stay in Bogotá for now](https://www.wlrn.org/light/americas/2026-03-31/us-reopens-embassy-in-venezuela-months-after-military-operation-to-remove-maduro) (2026-03-30, reported by AP via WLRN)
- [DATED] [The US Senate blocks a war powers resolution on Venezuela, 51-50, with the Vice President's tie-breaking vote](https://wtop.com/news/2026/01/senate-republicans-defeat-venezuela-war-powers-resolution-bowing-to-trumps-pressure-as-vance-casts-tie-breaking-vote) (2026-01-14, reported by WTOP / AP)
- [DATED] [US strikes in Caracas and northern Venezuela; US forces capture Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores and fly them to New York](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/how-u-s-forces-captured-venezuelan-leader-nicolas-maduro-in-caracas) (2026-01-03, reported by PBS NewsHour)
- [DATED] [The USS Gerald R. Ford carrier group arrives in the Caribbean as part of the US build-up near Venezuela](https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/11/16/us-aircraft-carrier-arrives-caribbean-major-buildup-near-venezuela.html) (2025-11-16, reported by Military.com)
- [DATED] [First US strike on a boat that the US says left Venezuela with drugs; 11 people killed](https://www.ksat.com/news/politics/2025/09/02/trump-says-us-has-carried-out-strike-against-drug-carrying-vessel-that-departed-from-venezuela/) (2025-09-02, reported by AP via KSAT)

## Key context

### Venezuela at a glance: geography

Venezuela lies on the north coast of South America, on the Caribbean Sea. It borders Colombia to the west, Brazil to the south and Guyana to the east. Its area is about 916,445 km² by the official Venezuelan figure, and the UN estimates its population at about 28.6 million in 2026, after millions of people left the country since 2015.

The Andes reach into the west (Mérida and Táchira), Lake Maracaibo and the oil fields lie in the north-west (Zulia), the Llanos grasslands fill the centre, and the Orinoco river and its delta drain the east. The Guiana Highlands in the south-east hold Angel Falls, the world's highest waterfall at about 979 m. Most people live in the northern coastal cities: Caracas, Maracaibo, Valencia, Barquisimeto and Maracay.

### The 23 states and their capitals

Plus the Capital District (Caracas) and the Federal Dependencies (more than 300 Caribbean islands, including Los Roques and La Orchila).

| State | Capital |
| --- | --- |
| Amazonas | Puerto Ayacucho |
| Anzoátegui | Barcelona |
| Apure | San Fernando de Apure |
| Aragua | Maracay |
| Barinas | Barinas |
| Bolívar | Ciudad Bolívar |
| Carabobo | Valencia |
| Cojedes | San Carlos |
| Delta Amacuro | Tucupita |
| Falcón | Coro |
| Guárico | San Juan de los Morros |
| La Guaira | La Guaira |
| Lara | Barquisimeto |
| Mérida | Mérida |
| Miranda | Los Teques |
| Monagas | Maturín |
| Nueva Esparta | La Asunción |
| Portuguesa | Guanare |
| Sucre | Cumaná |
| Táchira | San Cristóbal |
| Trujillo | Trujillo |
| Yaracuy | San Felipe |
| Zulia | Maracaibo |

### Essequibo: the border dispute with Guyana

Venezuela claims the Essequibo region west of the Essequibo river, about two thirds of Guyana's territory, which Guyana administers. Guyana asked the International Court of Justice to confirm the 1899 arbitral award that set the border; Venezuela rejects the court's jurisdiction. On 1 May 2025 the court ordered Venezuela not to hold elections in the area, and Venezuela held its own vote for a "Guayana Esequiba" state on 25 May 2025. Hearings on the merits took place from 4 to 11 May 2026, and as of October 2026 the court has not given its judgment ([ICJ case page](https://www.icj-cij.org/case/171)). This map draws the border as Guyana administers it, with no claim shown.

### Is the US at war with Venezuela?

No formal war exists. Congress did not declare war or authorise the January 2026 operation, and a Senate war powers resolution failed 51-50 on 14 January 2026. The US calls the boat strikes and the capture of Maduro counter-narcotics and law-enforcement actions; Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty to narco-terrorism charges in New York on 5 January 2026.

Since then Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro's vice president, has governed as acting president. The US reopened its embassy in Caracas on 30 March 2026 (AP). Formal, US-backed talks between the acting government and part of the opposition began on 6 August 2026 (Reuters); as of late October 2026 no election date is set. The US strikes on boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific continue; human rights groups and UN experts have questioned their legality, and the US says they target drug traffickers.

### What this map shows, and what it does not

Grey dots are the 23 state capitals and Caracas; tap one for the state name. Coloured dots are armed-conflict events recorded by UCDP, by reported deaths; events near the Colombian border can be inside Colombia. We do not plot boat-strike positions: the US gives only rough areas, and we do not show military positions or ships.

### UCDP events by month (30 Aug 2026 to 30 Sep 2026)

Reported by UCDP (Uppsala Conflict Data Program), candidate events 30 Aug 2026 to 30 Sep 2026. Deaths: best estimate, with the low-high range in brackets.

| Month | Events | Deaths: best (low-high) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sep 2026 | 2 | 2 (2-2) |

### Who fought whom (UCDP dyads)

UCDP candidate events 30 Aug 2026 to 30 Sep 2026. Actor names are UCDP's own labels; deaths are UCDP best estimates, reported by UCDP.

| Sides | Events | Deaths (best) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| unidentified armed group vs unidentified armed group | 2 | 2 |

### Deadliest recorded events (UCDP, 30 Aug 2026 to 30 Sep 2026)

| Date | Place and sides | Deaths: best (low-high) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-09-24 | Venezuela: unidentified armed group vs unidentified armed group | 1 (1-1) |
| 2026-09-12 | Venezuela: unidentified armed group vs unidentified armed group | 1 (1-1) |

## FAQ

### Where is Venezuela located?

On the north coast of South America, facing the Caribbean Sea. It borders Colombia to the west, Brazil to the south and Guyana to the east, and the islands of Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire and Trinidad and Tobago lie just off its coast.

### How many states does Venezuela have?

23 states, plus the Capital District (Caracas) and the Federal Dependencies, a group of more than 300 Caribbean islands. The table above lists every state with its capital. Venezuela also claims the Essequibo region, which Guyana administers; the case is before the International Court of Justice.

### Is the US at war with Venezuela?

Not formally. There is no declaration of war, and Congress did not authorise military action. But US forces struck targets in Caracas and captured Nicolás Maduro on 3 January 2026, and US strikes on alleged drug boats continue: at least 243 people have been killed in 69 reported strikes since September 2025, by a count of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) reported by Al Jazeera on 27 October 2026.

### Why did the US attack Venezuela?

The US government says it acted against drug trafficking and to bring Maduro to trial on narco-terrorism charges filed in New York. Critics, including some members of Congress and UN experts, say the strikes and the operation broke US and international law. Oil, migration and Venezuela's disputed 2024 election are also part of the background.

### Who runs Venezuela now?

Delcy Rodríguez has been acting president since 5 January 2026, after Maduro's capture. Opposition leader María Corina Machado returned to Venezuela on 25 October 2026. The latest media report on this page is "The strange math that shows how Trump got Venezuela to ‘gift’ oil to the United States" (CNN World, 29 Oct 2026 09:00 UTC).

### Is Venezuela backed by Russia or China?

Under Maduro, Venezuela had close ties with Russia, China, Cuba and Iran: Russian arms, Chinese loans repaid in oil, and Cuban security advisers. Since the US operation of 3 January 2026, the acting government has restored relations with the US, which reopened its embassy in Caracas in March 2026.

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## Sources

- [UCDP Candidate Events Dataset](https://ucdp.uu.se/): Uppsala Conflict Data Program, CC BY 4.0. Candidate (preliminary) events to 30 Sep 2026, not live. Fatalities are UCDP best / low / high estimates.
- [The GDELT Project (DOC 2.0 API)](https://www.gdeltproject.org/): media reports, matched by keyword. Headlines link to the publisher; MonitorWorld does not verify them.
- [MonitorWorld news digest](https://monitorworld.app/sources): headlines from public news feeds (Reuters, AP, BBC, Al Jazeera and others), severity rated by our model. Each headline links to the publisher.
- [MonitorWorld risk index](https://monitorworld.app/sources): 0-100 country and global risk scores computed from news activity, conflict data and military activity. An estimate, not an official rating.
- [PBS NewsHour](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/how-u-s-forces-captured-venezuelan-leader-nicolas-maduro-in-caracas): report on the US operation of 3 January 2026.
- [International Court of Justice: Guyana v. Venezuela](https://www.icj-cij.org/case/171): the Essequibo border case, orders and hearings.
- [WOLA](https://www.wola.org): independent tracking of the US boat strikes.
- [UN OCHA / ReliefWeb: Venezuela](https://reliefweb.int/country/ven): humanitarian situation reports.

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