US President Donald Trump said that US forces had launched a major invasion of Venezuela and captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro after military operations in the capital Caracas and elsewhere in the country last night.
Trump, in a post on his Twitter account Truth Social, said that “the United States has successfully carried out a major invasion of Venezuela and has captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and removed them from the country.” He added that he would provide more details at a news conference in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
A US official confirmed to Reuters that Maduro had been captured by US special forces, although the Venezuelan government has not officially confirmed his capture or his departure from the country.
Venezuela’s Defense Ministry reacted strongly to Trump’s statement. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said that Venezuela “totally rejects the presence of foreign forces,” describing the attack as an attack against the country’s sovereignty and nationalism. He called on the people of Venezuela to unite and resist what he called “foreign aggression.”
Hours before Trump’s speech, loud explosions were heard in Caracas and other regions, prompting Maduro’s government to declare a state of emergency and put the military on alert. Witnesses said the airstrikes and bombings lasted for about an hour and a half, knocking out power to parts of the capital.
Countries including Cuba and Iran condemned the US attack, calling it a clear violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty and calling for the UN Security Council to intervene.
Trump has been pressuring Maduro to step down for months, accusing him of electoral fraud and drug trafficking. The Venezuelan government has accused the US of seeking to seize the country’s oil and mineral resources, the world’s largest.
The attack would be the first US military intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama.
