WASHINGTON – The United States has captured Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and launched strikes against the country, President Donald Trump announced over the weekend.
Maduro has been indicted in New York on drugs and weapons charges, US Attorney General Pam Bondi said, adding he will “face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”
Trump said Maduro and his wife were captured from a fortress-like house and were taken to New York on a ship; the US president added that there were “a few injuries but no deaths on our side.”
Venezuela has declared a national emergency, denouncing “extremely serious military aggression” by the US.
Trump told Fox News he watched the overnight capture of Maduro and his wife “literally like I was watching a television show.”
“If you would’ve seen the speed, the violence, it was an amazing thing,” Trump added.
He praised his team as having done “an incredible job” and said “there’s no other country on earth that could do such a maneuver.”
Asked if he will support Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado – who is currently in Norway – to take over Venezuela, Trump told Fox News “we’re going to have to look at it right now.”
“They [Venezuela] have a vice president, as you know,” he said. “I don’t know what kind of an election that was, but, you know, the election of Maduro was a disgrace.”
Maduro’s capture “sends a signal we’re not going to be we’re not going to be pushed around anymore,” Trump also said.
He alleged the US is losing hundreds of thousands of people a year to drugs, adding “we’re not going to allow it anymore with this.”
Trump said the US is going to be “strongly involved” in Venezuela’s oil industry moving forward.
He revealed that he spoke to Maduro “a week ago” and that he told him “you have to give up, you have to surrender.”
US Vice President JD Vance posted on X: “The president offered multiple off ramps, but was very clear throughout this process: the drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States. Maduro is the newest person to find out that President Trump means what he says. Kudos to our brave special operators who pulled off a truly impressive operation.” (BBC)
