Maduro had £37m bounty on his head and was captured by secret US forcces in dead of night | World | News
The US government has been seeking the arrest of Nicolás Maduro for years and is offering a reward of US$50 million (£37 million) for any information leading to his capture. In March 2020, a US court accused the former President of Venezuela of participating in narco-terrorism.
Federal prosecutors alleged at the time that Maduro and other senior Venezuelan government officials were collaborating with the FARC to smuggle cocaine and weapons into the United States. FARC is a paramilitary group that has been waging war against the Colombian state and its military for decades. Maduro was captured at midnight by the Delta force, the US army’s top unit in the fight against terrorism.
The crack army unit was also responsible for the 2019 killing of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Around 02:00 local time (06:00 GMT), loud explosions were heard in the capital Caracas, and smoke clouds were seen rising over the city.
Videos of explosions and helicopters flying overhead later went viral on social media.
Donald Trump Saturday morning confirmed the capture of the former Venezuelan President and his wife, Cilia Flores. The US President told Fox and Friends that the couple were taken from “a house that was more like a castle”.
He said U.S. forces were equipped with “huge welding torches” to cut steel, but Maduro “couldn’t get into that area of the house.”
Trump added that no US soldiers were killed and there were “a few” injuries in the operation, which he said he watched live.
After being captured, Maduro and his wife were transferred to a ship and set sail for the United States.
U.S. attorney Pam Bondi said the couple will face criminal charges and be tried in the U.S. based on the 2020 New York indictment.
In a social media post, he said they would “soon face the full wrath of American justice in American courts on American soil.”
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez immediately demanded “proof of life” for the couple and accused the United States of “murdering humble and innocent Venezuelan men and women.”
