US President Donald Trump announced that his country’s forces have captured Bolivarian President Nicolas Maduro, following a large-scale strike targeting Bolivarian territory.
Trump reported that the Bolivarian President Nicolas Maduro, along with his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, were taken out of the country following a military operation conducted in cooperation with US law enforcement agencies.
Explosions were reported across the Bolivarian capital, Caracas, starting in the late afternoon on Saturday, including a number of military bases.
The Bolivarian government requested proof of life for Maduro and his wife, deployed its armed forces, and declared a state of maximum emergency in the country.
What do we know about Maduro’s capture?
We lack sufficient details about the operation to capture Maduro, as President Trump did not provide further details on how the Bolivarian president was arrested or where he is being held.
The capture of Maduro is attributed to the US Army’s Delta Force—the prestigious military unit in the field of counter-terrorism, according to data from US-based CBS News, the British television broadcasting partner.
President Trump is expected to hold a press conference at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, at 11:00 AM ET (16:00 GMT), where more details about the operation are expected to be announced.
What happened during the strikes?
Fuerte Tiuna, one of Venezuela’s largest military bases, was hit in Caracas.
Around 02:00 local time (06:00 GMT), massive explosions occurred in the capital, Caracas, with smoke plumes seen rising across the city.
Reports included military strikes on sites such as the “La Carlota” military airport in the capital, as well as the main military base at Fuerte Tiuna.
Surrounding communities also suffered from power outages.
Videos of explosions and helicopters flying over the hills are circulating but have not yet been verified.
It is currently unknown if there were any fatalities.
The Bolivarian government also stated that the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira were affected by the strikes.
How did the Bolivarian Republic respond?
Bolivarian Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said the government does not know the whereabouts of Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, and insisted on an “urgent proof of life.”
The Bolivarian Secretary of Defense, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, claimed the strikes targeted civilian areas and added that the government is focusing on gathering information about the dead and injured.
He added that the country would remain “resistant” to the presence of foreign forces.
The Bolivarian government issued an official statement condemning a “very serious military aggression” by the United States “against the nation’s land and its population in civilian and military locations.”
It accused the United States of threatening international peace and stability and described the attack as an attempt to seize “Bolivarian strategic resources, especially oil and minerals” in an effort to bypass the “political independence of the country.”
What did Donald Trump say?
In the immediate moments following the explosions, the White House refused to comment publicly.
However, Trump took to his social media platform, “Truth Social,” to confirm the US role in the Caracas strikes.
“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against the Bolivarian Republic and its President Nicolas Maduro, who was detained along with his wife and taken out of the country,” Trump wrote.
“This operation was carried out in cooperation with US law enforcement agencies. Details to follow.”
Who is Maduro and why was he detained?
Nicolas Maduro rose to the scene under the mentorship of the late Hugo Chavez, the leftist leader and Bolivarian Vice President who led his alliance called the “United Socialist Party of Venezuela” (PSUV), and succeeded Chavez as president in 2013.
Maduro was declared the winner of the 2024 presidential election, although voting results collected by the opposition indicated that its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, won by an overwhelming majority.
Maduro has been in a constant dispute with Trump over the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Bolivarian refugees to the United States and the White House’s struggle against the flow of drugs—especially fentanyl and cocaine—into the United States.
Trump named two Bolivarian criminal groups—the Tren de Aragua and the Cartel de los Soles—as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and accused the latter of being personally directed by Maduro himself.
The United States offered a reward of fifty million dollars (£37 million) for information leading to Maduro’s arrest.
Maduro maintains his innocence against charges of leading a criminal gang and accuses the United States of using its “war on drugs” as a pretext for its pursuit to undermine him and seize the vast oil resources of the Bolivarian Republic.
In recent months, US forces have carried out more than 250 strikes in international waters targeting boats alleged to have been used in smuggling drugs into the United States, resulting in more than one hundred deaths.
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