Trump claims that the US has captured Venezuelan dictator Maduro following strikes.
Maduro has been charged by the US with managing a “narco-state” and manipulating an election.
According to President Donald Trump, the United States launched its most direct intervention in Latin America since the invasion of Panama in 1989 on Saturday when it attacked Venezuela and overthrew its long-serving autocrat, Nicolas Maduro.
In a Truth Social post, Trump declared, “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.”
The United States had accused Maduro of operating a “narco-state” and manipulating the 2024 election prior to the overnight strikes.
The Venezuelan leader, a 63-year-old former bus driver who was personally chosen by the dying Hugo Chavez to succeed him in 2013, has refuted those allegations and claimed Washington was determined to seize control of his country’s world-largest oil reserves.
Since the invasion of Panama 37 years ago to remove military leader Manuel Noriega due to similar accusations, the United States has not intervened so directly in its own territory.
The ruling “Chavismo” movement in Venezuela, named for Maduro’s esteemed predecessor, claimed that both military personnel and civilians perished in Saturday’s strikes, but it did not provide specific numbers.
It was unclear whether pressure would also be applied to remove other high-ranking members of Venezuela’s ruling party, such as vice president Delcy Rodriguez, or if the United States would simply watch from the sidelines. The opposition, led by Maria Corina Machado, a recent Nobel Peace Prize winner, has maintained for the past 18 months that it won the 2024 election and has a democratic right to seize power, but they did not immediately respond.
In the United States, Maduro might be charged with a crime.
At a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida at 11 a.m. (1600 GMT), Trump stated that the operation was conducted “in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement,” and he promised further details.
According to a U.S. official who spoke to Reuters, Maduro was apprehended by a group of elite U.S. special forces, including the U.S. Army’s Delta Force. According to Republican U.S. Senator Mike Lee, Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed him that Maduro would face criminal charges in the United States and that no further action was expected within Venezuela.
“They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” Attorney General Pam Bondi stated regarding Maduro and his spouse on X.
In 2020, Maduro was charged with narco-terrorism and other offenses in a U.S. federal court for allegedly operating a “Cartel de Los Soles” scheme to transport tons of cocaine to the United States. That is something he has consistently denied.
Noriega was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the Panama case.
Vice President Rodriguez demanded proof of life, claiming she had no idea where Maduro and his wife were.
Venezuelans were anxiously speculating about what might happen next because Rodriguez might become president but Padrino and Cabello had substantial power over the armed forces. Despite Maduro’s unpopularity on the streets and substantial evidence that he lost national votes, analysts claim that military support helped keep him in power for so long.
Vladimir Padrino, the minister of defense, denounced the intervention. He stated, “In the unity of the people we will find the strength to resist and to triumph,” in a video message.
Wearing a helmet and flak jacket, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, another high-ranking official, appeared on a street and urged people not to assist the “terrorist enemy.”
Venezuelans were anxiously speculating about what might happen next because Rodriguez might become president but Padrino and Cabello had substantial power over the armed forces. Despite Maduro’s unpopularity on the streets and substantial evidence that he lost national votes, analysts claim that military support helped keep him in power for so long.
The whereabouts of Venezuelan opposition leader Machado are unknown.
The opposition in Venezuela claims that Maduro has imprisoned opposition leaders, suppressed street demonstrations, and repeatedly cheated it out of power in elections.
Machado has been ridiculed by Maduro as being in Trump’s pocket.
After recently leaving Venezuela in disguise to accept her Nobel Prize, it was unclear where she was.
Maduro’s overthrow was an “inside job” assisted by Venezuela’s military, according to an opposition source who wished to remain anonymous. Without providing any proof, the source stated, “For now, no more military action, but this was a message to the rest of the members of Venezuela’s government – look what the United States is capable of, get out now and negotiate.”
Black smoke, aircraft, and explosions rocked Caracas at around 2 a.m. (0600 GMT) on Saturday for approximately ninety minutes. According to the Venezuelan government, attacks also occurred in the states of La Guaira, Aragua, and Miranda.
As they recorded footage of billowing smoke and bright orange flashes in the sky, locals expressed shock and fear. In a video, a woman gasped at distant explosions and exclaimed, “My love, oh no, look at that.”
Carmen Marquez, 50, who lives in the capital’s eastern section, claimed that when she went to her roof, she could hear planes at various altitudes even though she was unable to see them.
“The sky was filled with flare-like lights, followed by explosions. We are concerned about the future. We only know what the state television says; we don’t know anything from the government,” she stated.
Explosions had occurred close to the military bases of Fuerte Tiuna and La Carlota, according to a local media outlet affiliated with the ruling Socialist Party. Buses and what looked to be a destroyed tank were visible in state TV footage of La Carlota.
Direct U.S. action brings back painful memories of previous interventions and is generally strongly opposed by governments and populations in the region, despite the fact that several Latin American governments oppose Maduro and claim he stole the 2024 election.
Trump’s action is reminiscent of both Theodore Roosevelt’s “gunboat diplomacy” in the early 1900s and President James Monroe’s Monroe Doctrine, which established American influence in the area in 1823.
“NEW DAWN, THE TYRANT IS GONE,” a US official declares.
“A fresh start for Venezuela! U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote on X, “The tyrant is gone.”
As the sun rose, the streets of Venezuela seemed comparatively serene. Certain areas were patrolled by soldiers, and in Caracas, small groups of supporters of Maduro started to assemble.
Others, though, were relieved.
“I’m happy, I doubted for a moment that it was happening because it’s like a movie,” stated 37-year-old Maracay merchant Carolina Pimentel. “I feel like everyone will be out celebrating at any moment, but it’s all calm now.”
The strikes were swiftly denounced as a violation of Venezuelan sovereignty by its allies Russia, Cuba, and Iran. The U.N. Security Council was urged by Tehran to halt the “unlawful aggression.”
Argentina’s President Javier Milei praised Venezuela’s recent “freedom,” while Mexico denounced the intervention and Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said it went beyond “an unacceptable line.”
Saul Kavonic, an analyst at MST Marquee, predicted that oil prices would rise due to the short-term supply risk, but that the U.S. strike might be negative in the medium run if a new Venezuelan government leads to the lifting of sanctions and an increase in foreign investment.
In the lead-up, Trump had called for a “blockade” of Venezuelan oil, increased sanctions against the Maduro regime, and carried out over two dozen attacks on ships that the United States claims were involved in drug trafficking, resulting in the deaths of over 110 people.
The most recent U.S. strikes were conducted under unclear legal authority.
The U.S. Congress, which has the constitutional authority to declare war, and Trump’s own political base, which supports an “America first” strategy and is generally against military intervention overseas, could retaliate against his action.
According to an initial assessment, the Venezuelan state-run energy company PDVSA’s oil production and refining were normal, and its most significant facilities had not sustained any damage, according to two people with knowledge of the company’s operations.
