The United States carried out a large-scale military operation against Venezuela early Saturday, with President Donald Trump claiming that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife had been captured and flown out of the country, as explosions were reported in Caracas and other locations.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said US forces had conducted a “large scale strike” in coordination with US law enforcement agencies and confirmed that Maduro was taken into custody. “Details to follow,” Trump wrote, announcing a news conference later in the day at Mar-a-Lago. According to reports, the operation to capture Maduro was carried out by Delta Force, the US Army’s elite special operations unit.
The strikes followed months of US military buildup in the region, including the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and multiple warships across the Caribbean. The strikes come after a series of escalatory actions by Washington in recent weeks. The US has seized two oil tankers off the Venezuelan coast, conducted deadly strikes against more than 30 boats it claims were transporting narcotics, and targeted what Trump previously described as “the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs.”
The Trump administration has long accused Maduro of drug trafficking and collaborating with gangs designated by the United States as terrorist organisations—allegations Maduro has consistently denied.
Even as Venezuela’s government is yet to confirm Maduro’s reported capture, the country’s Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino López announced the deployment of military forces across the country in a video posted on social media. He described the US strikes as “the worst aggression” ever faced by Venezuela and called for national unity and resistance, reports stated. “All armed forces are being deployed following Maduro’s orders,” Padrino said. “They’ve attacked us but they will not subdue us,” he said. He urged Venezuelans to remain calm. “Let’s not succumb to the panic the enemy seeks to instil,” he said.