The United States conducted a “large-scale strike” early Saturday in Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro, flying him and his wife out of the country, President Donald Trump said. Videos showed multiple explosions and low-flying aircraft in Caracas, the capital.
Hours after the operation, President Trump said that the U.S. would "run the country" until there is a proper transition.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition, and it has to be judicious because that's what we're all about," President Trump said.
Additionally, President Trump said U.S. oil companies will have a presence in Venezuela.
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"We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country," he said.
The Associated Press reported that Venezuelan security forces appeared to still have control of key government sites.
President Trump released a photo of Maduro following his arrest.
After the attack, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed that Maduro would be tried in the United States. He had previously been indicted in 2020 for drug-related charges. At the time, the U.S. had offered up to a $15 million reward for Maduro's arrest; the U.S. had since increased the amount to $50 million.
“Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York,” Bondi said. “Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States.”
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Bondi added: “They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts. On behalf of the entire U.S. Department of Justice, I would like to thank President Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American people, and a huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers.”
President Trump said Saturday that Maduro and Flores were on the U.S. warship Iwo Jima.
"They'll be heading in to New York. The helicopters took them out, and they went by helicopter, a nice flight. I'm sure they loved it," Trump told Fox News. "But they've killed a lot of people, remember that. They killed a lot of people, even people in their own country. Today killed a lot of people to maintain the power."
Trump had suggested for weeks that the United States could conduct an attack in Venezuela after targeting boats accused of smuggling drugs.
Members of Congress were not consulted before Saturday’s pre-dawn attack.
Sen. Mike Lee said he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio following the attacks, stating that “the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant. This action likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack."
Rubio stated that members of Congress were not notified due to concerns of possible leaks, mystifying Democrats.
Venezuela’s reaction
Vice President Delcy Rodriguez expressed outrage over the strike and called on Trump to provide “proof of life” for Maduro.
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“The Venezuelan people are outraged,” Rodriguez said. “The birthplace of our liberator, the capital city of Caracas, was attacked. The capital city that saw the birth of the liberator of our great homeland, that saw the birth of the greatest man of our continent, has been violated, attacked and assaulted. In light of this brutal situation and this brutal attack, we do not know the whereabouts of President Nicolás Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores.”
International reaction
While some of America's foes such as Iran and Russia stood opposed to the raid, other groups offered mixed reactions.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed concern over the raid.
"Independently of the situation in Venezuela, these developments constitute a dangerous precedent. The Secretary-General continues to emphasize the importance of full respect - by all - of international law, including the UN Charter. He’s deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected," a UN statement read.
The European Union was more deferential in its response.
"I am following the situation in Venezuela with great concern. The European Union calls for de-escalation and a resolution in full respect of international law and the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. The European Union will continue to support a peaceful, democratic, and inclusive solution in Venezuela," said António Costa, European Union Council president.
President Trump watches raid live
As the raid was ongoing, President Trump said that he watched the raid unfold on video feeds.
"We watched it from a room, we had a room, and we watched it, and we watched every aspect of it. We were surrounded by lots of people including generals, and they knew everything that was happening, and it was very complex. Extremely complex. The whole maneuver, the landings, the number of aircraft which were massive number. The number of helicopters, the different type of helicopters, different type of fighter jets. We had a fighter jet for every possible situation," Trump told Fox News.
Trump suggested that the raid was scheduled to occur earlier in the week, but was held off due to weather.
