Inside Maduro’s luxury socialist retreat: How dictator basked in ‘$700m fortune’ with ‘lavish Dominican Republic mansion’, Swiss watches and private jets – while his citizens faced poverty

Nicolás Maduro came from humble beginnings. 

Born to a working class family in 1962 in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, it might have been expected that he would dearly hold onto those roots as he took office in 2013. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Having led Venezuela for more than a decade, Maduro, 63, is believed to have built up a vast fortune that is made up of a portfolio of properties around the world, multiple luxury vehicles and watches. 

All the while, the socialist dictator’s country starved. During his reign, which appeared to have met an abrupt end on Saturday after American troops kidnapped him and his wife Cilia Flores, 69, from his heavily secured compound in Caracas, he collapsed the nation’s economy. 

In the 1970s and 1980s, Venezuela was the wealthiest nation in South America and was in the top 20 richest countries in the world, amid a massive oil boom. 

But under Maduro, the country’s GDP fell by more than two-thirds between the start of his reign in 2013 to 2022.

All the while, Maduro hoarded wealth at an astonishing rate, culminating in the US confiscating a massive $700million worth of assets from him in 2025. 

One of the lavish properties he is rumoured to have been linked to is Villa La Caracola, a massive mansion in the Dominican Republic worth an estimated $18million (£13million). 

Located in the exclusive gate Cap Cana community on the eastern coast of the country, the mansion has direct sea views, and access to a plethora of amenities that Maduro’s fellow countrymen could only dream of.  

It has nine bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and private terrace, a formal dining room, a living room, a gourmet kitchen, several open terraces and an infinity pool. 

The gated community Maduro’s home sits in has a helipad, several restaurants, shops and spas, and offers 24-hour security. 

It is also just around the corner from a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, named after the famed American player who is widely considered one of the greatest of all time. 

Maduro has previously denied owning the property, stating: ‘If there were justice in this world, I would demand an investigation to determine who owns that mansion. I don’t have, and never will have, any property, money, or accounts anywhere in the world’.

This property was reportedly seized by American prosecutors last year, according to US Attorney General Pam Bondi. 

She also revealed that American authorities had seized two private jets, along with luxury jewellery, ‘multiple multi-million-dollar homes in Florida, a horse farm, cars — nine vehicles, I believe’.

The jets were revealed to be a Dassault Falcon 200 and a Dassault Falcon 900EX, which prosecutors said were bought through shell companies, moved between nations to disguise ownership and outfitted with luxury interiors from the US in apparent violation of export control rules. 

The Dassault Falcon 200 is no longer in production, but a brand new one would have set someone back $7.5million (£5.5million)

And a brand new Dassault Falcon 900EX is worth just under $45million (£33.3million). 

Maduro also appears to have an extensive collection of luxury watches, a fact that he is apparently embarrassed by. 

In one video that has resurfaced in recent months, Maduro was seen talking to a group of people at a table while wearing a Rolex watch. 

Upon realising he is being filmed, he surreptitiously hides the watch in his sleeve, and places his hand below the table. 

In 2024, he revealed he had been gifted a watch by the legendary late footballer Diego Maradona. 

A close inspection of the watch showed it was a Hublot King Power Maradona 716.OM, made with 18kt Rose Gold. 

Even used, these can sell for up to $30,500 (£23,600). 

He was also seen wearing a Tissot T-Touch Expert, which can be worth hundreds even used. 

In the wake of Maduro’s mismanagement of his nation, Trump vowed on Monday to help rebuild Venezuela’s neglected infrastructure, sensationally revealing it could be 18 months before citizens are able to elect a new leader. 

He also said then the US would be responsible for ‘nursing’ the nation back to health in the interim.

‘We have to fix the country first. You can’t have an election. There’s no way the people could even vote,’ Trump said.

‘No, it’s going to take a period of time. We have — we have to nurse the country back to health.’

It comes after Maduro declared himself ‘the president of my country’ as he protested his capture and pleaded not guilty to federal charges that the Trump administration used to justify removing him from power in Venezuela.

‘I was captured,’ Maduro said in Spanish as translated by a courtroom interpreter before being cut off by the judge. 

Asked later for his plea to the charges, he stated: ‘I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country.’ 

Maduro’s court appearance in Manhattan, his first since he and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized from their Caracas home Saturday in a stunning middle-of-the-night military operation, kicked off the U.S. government’s most consequential prosecution in decades of a foreign head of state. She also pleaded not guilty.

The court set a next date of March 17, and no application for bail was made. 

Explosions tore across Caracas during the daring raid on early Saturday morning, as Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek Saab claimed that ‘innocents’ had been ‘mortally wounded’ by the US operation.

With details still emerging on Monday, Havana said 32 Cubans were killed in the attack, while Trump suggested Cuba itself was close to collapse following Nicolás Maduro’s capture. 

‘I don’t think we need any action. It looks like it’s going down,’ Trump said.

The White House signalled it was not seeking full regime change, but rather Maduro’s removal and the installation of a compliant new government – even one staffed by many of his former allies.

Trump’s invasion of Venezuela has been panned across the world, with more than half of Britons disapproving of his raid. 

A YouGov poll found 51 per cent of Britons disapprove of the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during a military operation.

This compares to just 21 per cent who approve of Mr Trump’s astonishing action against the South American leader.

But the Venezuela raid does not seem to have affected the US President’s popularity ratings in the UK.

One-fifth (20 per cent) of Brits hold a favourable view of Mr Trump, while more than three-quarters (76 per cent) hold an unfavourable view of him. 

The YouGov poll found Mr Maduro is poorly-known in the UK, with 65 per cent answering ‘don’t know’ when asked what they think of him.

But the number who dislike the Venezuelan leader dramatically outnumber those with a positive view, by 33 per cent to 2 per cent.

The survey showed Reform UK voters were primarily in favour of the US military operation in Venezuela.

Nearly half (49 per cent) of those who backed Nigel Farage’s party at the 2024 general election approve of Mr Trump’s action, compared to 22 per cent who disapprove.

This compared to approval rates of only 31 per cent among Tory voters, 12 per cent of Labour and Liberal Democrat voters and 5 per cent of Green supporters.

Nearly one-third (32 per cent) of all voters think the UK Government should have condemned Mr Trump’s actions.

But the same proportion (also 32 per cent) said Sir Keir and his ministers were right to neither condemn nor praise the US President’s decision.

Only 8 per cent think the Government should have praised Mr Trump.