US President Donald Trump announced the capture of President Nicolas Maduro on Truth Social and said he would host a news conference later in the day on the developments Venezuela
US President Trump made the announcement on Truth Social. File Pic/AFP
The United States hit Venezuela with a large-scale strike early Saturday and said President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country after months of stepped-up pressure by Washington an extraordinary nighttime operation announced by President Donald Trump on social media hours after the attack.
Multiple explosions rang out, and low-flying aircraft swept through Caracas, the capital, as Maduro's government immediately accused the US of attacking civilian and military installations. The Venezuelan government called it an imperialist attack and urged citizens to take to the streets.
Trump announced the developments on Truth Social shortly after 4:30 am ET and said he would host a news conference at 11 am ET.
The US indicted Maduro on narcoterrorism charges in 2020
The Justice Department, during Trump's first term in office, charged in several indictments that Maduro had effectively converted Venezuela into a criminal enterprise at the service of drug traffickers and terrorist groups as he and his allies stole billions from the South American country.
The coordinated unsealing of indictments against 14 officials and government-connected individuals, and rewards of USD 55 million for Maduro and four others, attacked all the key planks of what then-Attorney General William Barr called the corrupt Venezuelan regime, including the Maduro-dominated judiciary and the powerful armed forces.
One indictment by prosecutors in New York accused Maduro and socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello, head of the rubber-stamping constitutional assembly, of conspiring with Colombian rebels and members of the military to flood the United States with cocaine and use the drug trade as a weapon against America.
State Department officials say the tyrant is gone'
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau says the military action and seizure of Maduro marks a new dawn for Venezuela, saying that the tyrant is gone.
He posted on X hours after the strike. His boss, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, reposted a post from July that said Maduro is NOT the President of Venezuela and his regime is NOT the legitimate government.
Maduro will be tried in the US
Utah Sen. Mike Lee said Rubio informed him that he anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in US custody, the lawmaker posted on social media.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted on X that he had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who briefed him on the strike. Rubio told Lee that Maduro has been arrested by US personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States.
The White House did not immediately respond to queries on where Maduro and his wife were being flown to. Maduro was indicted in March 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges in the Southern District of New York.
Colombia prepares to receive refugees from Venezuela
President Gustavo Petro of Colombia, one of Trump's fiercest critics, said the Colombian government convened a national security meeting before dawn Saturday and sent security forces to the border in preparation for a potential massive influx of refugees from neighbouring Venezuela.
He said he'd also call on the UN Security Council to consider the aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and of Latin America.
Without sovereignty, there is no nation, Petro wrote on social media.
Russia calls US action an act of armed aggression'
Russia's Foreign Ministry condemned what it called a US act of armed aggression against Venezuela in a statement posted on its Telegram channel Saturday.
Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive, let alone military, outside intervention, the statement said.
The ministry called for dialogue to prevent further escalation and said it reaffirmed its solidarity with the Venezuelan people and government, adding that Russia supports calls for an emergency UN Security Council meeting.
State Department urges Americans in Venezuela to shelter in place
The State Department issued a new travel alert early Saturday, warning Americans in Venezuela to shelter in place due to the situation.
US Embassy Bogota is aware of reports of explosions in and around Caracas, Venezuela, it said without elaboration.
The US Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, warns US citizens not to travel to Venezuela. US citizens in Venezuela should shelter in place. The embassy in Bogota has been shuttered since March 2019 but operates remotely.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio retweeted Trump's announcement without comment, but his deputy, Christopher Landau, posted Trump's statement, adding that it marked a new dawn for Venezuela! The tyrant is gone. He will nowfinallyface justice for his crimes, Landau said.
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