U.S. strikes Venezuela, says its president has been captured

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The United States says it has hit Venezuela with a “large-scale strike” early Saturday morning and has captured its president, Nicolas Maduro, who was flown out of the country.

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U.S. President Donald Trump took to social media to announce the overnight strike hours after the attack.

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“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 wrote on Truth Social.

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In a follow-up postTrump also noted Maduro was arrested and “will be brought to the United States to face criminal charges.”

It’s not known whether there was legal authority for the strike.

Maduro previously indicted on ‘narco-terrorism’ charges

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in an X post that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were indicted in New York and will face charges there. Bondi said the couple would “face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”

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Bondi noted Maduro was indicted on a number of charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy. Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted on that particular charge in 2020, but it’s not known whether the Venezuelan President and his wife faced a new indictment.

With Maduro reportedly captured and location unknown, Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez will now take power under the country’s law.

“We do not know the whereabouts of President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores,” Rodriguez said. “We demand proof of life.”

Maduro last appeared on state television on Friday while meeting with Chinese officials in Caracas.

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Explosions rang out in early morning

Venezuelans were woken up by multiple explosions as aircraft swept through Caracas. The attack itself lasted less than half an hour, with at least seven blasts to the capital.

The explosions sent people rushing to the streets as some civilians and military members were killed, said Rodriguez.

The Venezuelan government responded to the attack by stating, “People to the streets!” Some neighbourhoods were filled with armed people and uniformed civilian militia members, while streets remained empty hours after the attack.

Parts of Caracas remained without power.

Smoke could also be seen coming from the hangar of a military base in the capital, while another military base in Caracas was without power.

Military strike comes after months of pressure

The attack on Caracas came months after the Trump administration increased pressure on Maduro, which included a strong presence of American military in South American waters and attacks on boats accused of carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean.

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Most recently, a drone strike hit a dock area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels last week. The strike, ordered by the CIA, was the first known direct operation by the U.S. on Venezuelan soil since September.

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Trump has previously said that the U.S. has engaged in “armed conflict” with drug cartels as justification for the boat strikes.

So far, 35 boats have been hit with at least 115 people confirmed killed.

Maduro has claimed the U.S. military operations as a thinly-veiled effort to oust him from power.

– With files from the Associated Press

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