Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro captured following U.S. strikes on Caracas, Trump says
CBC
The United States hit Venezuela with a “large-scale strike” early Saturday and said its president, Nicolás Maduro, along with his wife, had been captured and flown out of the country after months of stepped-up pressure by Washington — an extraordinary nighttime operation announced by President Donald Trump on social media hours after the attack.
Multiple explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through Caracas, the capital of the oil-rich nation, as Maduro’s government immediately accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations. The Venezuelan government called it an “imperialist attack” and urged citizens to take to the streets.
Trump first announced the developments on his Truth Social platform shortly after 4:30 a.m. ET. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have since been indicted in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media platform X.
Bondi added that the couple will “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts."
The situation marks Washington's most direct intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama.
It was not immediately clear who was running the country. Under Venezuelan law, the vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, would take power. There was no confirmation that had happened, though she did issue a statement after the strike.
“We do not know the whereabouts of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores,” Rodriguez said. “We demand proof of life."
Trump said earlier that Maduro “has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement. Details to follow."
Maduro was captured by elite special forces troops, a U.S. official told Reuters. The legal implications of the strike under U.S. law were not immediately clear.
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said Maduro will stand trial on criminal charges in the U.S. Maduro was indicted in March 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges in the Southern District of New York.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee said Rubio informed him that “he anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody,” the lawmaker posted on social media.
Ahead of the overnight strikes, the U.S. again accused Maduro of running a "narco-state" and rigging the 2024 election, which the opposition said it won overwhelmingly.
The Venezuelan leader, a 63-year-old former bus driver handpicked by the dying Hugo Chávez to succeed him in 2013, has denied those claims and said Washington was intent on taking control of his nation's oil reserves, the largest in the world.
The explosions in Caracas — at least seven blasts — sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report hearing and seeing the explosions. Venezuela's government said civilians and military personnel died in Saturday's strikes but did not give figures. The attack itself lasted less than 30 minutes, and it was unclear if more actions lay ahead, though Trump said in his post that the strikes were carried out “successfully."
