The United States early Saturday morning staged a mission to apprehend Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, pictured in November, and his wife, both of whom have been indicated in the United States for narco-terrorism. File Photo by Venezuelan President Office/UPI | License Photo
The United States early Saturday morning staged a daring “large strike against Venezuela,” during which the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, was captured and flown out of the country.
President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that Maduro and Maduro’s wife had been captured, with the New York Times reporting that they were flown by helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima and that both will eventually face charges in the Southern District of New York.
“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country,” Trump said in the Truth Social post, which the White House reposted on X. “This operation was done in conjunction with U.S law enforcement.”
Trump said that a news conference will be held at 11 a.m. EST from Mar-a-Lago, his golf club in Florida.
Since September the Trump administration has built up a 15,000-troop presence in the Caribbean offshore of Venezuela spread across more than a dozen warships while striking boats that are allegedly smuggling drugs.
On Monday, Trump confirmed that the U.S. military had for the first time struck onshore in Venezuela when it hit a dock area that was allegedly used by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua as a shipping facility for drugs.
Colombian President said earlier this week, however, that the facility was used to process coca paste into cocaine by a Colombian guerrilla group National Liberation Army.
The raid to apprehend Maduro and his wife had been secretly planned by the military, including members of the elite Delta Force and the CIA, since December when planners established a daily routine for the Venezuelan president ahead of the mission, CNN reported.
Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured while sleeping in their bedroom in the middle of the night, sources told CNN.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
This week in Washington
President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order reclassifying marijuana from a schedule I to a schedule III controlled substance in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo
