The US hit Venezuela with a “large-scale strike” early yesterday and said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country after months of intense pressure on its government — an extraordinary nighttime operation announced by US President Donald Trump on social media hours after the attack.
The legal authority for the strike — and whether Trump consulted the US Congress beforehand — was not immediately clear.
The stunning, lightning-fast military action, which plucked a nation’s sitting leader from office, echoed the US invasion of Panama that led to the surrender and seizure of its then-leader, Manuel Antonio Noriega, in 1990 — exactly 36 years ago yesterday.
Photo: Reuters
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would face charges after an indictment in New York. Bondi vowed in a social media post that the couple would “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”
Maduro was indicted in 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges, but it was not previously known that his wife had been.
Multiple explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through the Venezuelan capital, and Maduro’s government accused the US of attacking civilian and military installations, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets.
With Maduro’s whereabouts not known, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez would take power under Venezuelan law. There was no confirmation that had happened, although she did issue a statement after the strike.
“We do not know the whereabouts of President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores,” Rodriguez said. “We demand proof of life.”
Maduro “has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement,” Trump said.
The attack itself lasted less than 30 minutes, and the explosions — at least seven blasts — sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they had seen and heard.
It was not known if there were any deaths or injuries on either side or if more actions lay ahead, although Trump said in his post that the strikes were carried out “successfully.”
The White House did not immediately respond to queries on where Maduro and his wife were being flown to.
Maduro last appeared on state television on Friday while meeting with a delegation of Chinese officials in Caracas.
The strike came after the Trump administration spent months increasing the pressure on Maduro, including a major buildup of US forces in the waters off South America and attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean accused of carrying drugs.
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