United States President Donald Trump on Saturday disclosed that the Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken into custody following US airstrikes on targets inside Venezuela.
Trump asserted in a post on his Truth Social account, where he said the United States had “successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader.”
He alleged that Maduro and Flores were captured during the operation and flown out of the country.
U.S. indictment against Maduro for narco-terrorism, cocaine trafficking, and weapons offences was tied to flooding America with drugs and criminals.
Trump declared that the U.S. will run the affairs of Venezuela in the interim after American troops yesterday invaded the country and seized President Maduro and his wife, Cilia.
Trump told reporters on Saturday that his administration would take over Venezuela to ensure a judicious transition.
“We can’t take a chance if someone else takes over Venezuela that doesn’t have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind,” he said.
We’re not going to let that happen.”
He didn’t specify how long the US would stay in Venezuela.
“We’re going to run it, essentially,” he said.
The power couple were ripped from bed while asleep.
Read Also
- US Captures Venezuela President Maduro, Wife – Trump
- From "CPC" Proclamation To Precision Airstrike On Terrorists: Timeline Of Diplomatic Engagement Between US, Nigeria On Counter-Terrorism Measures
- Shehu Sani Welcomes US Strikes, Warns FG Against 'Eternal Dependence'
- FULL LIST: Nigeria, 23 Other Countries Affected By Donald Trump US Entry Restriction
They were subsequently flown to Washington DC to await trial for Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth hailed it as the most sophisticated special operations raid ever, while jubilant Venezuelans took to the streets waving flags and thanking the U.S. for ending Maduro’s repressive 11-year rule amid hyperinflation and mass exodus.
Critics like Bernie Sanders decried it as illegal imperialism, and legal questions swirl around war powers as Maduro heads to trial in New York with U.S. plans for a leadership transition.
The United Nations (UN) and many allies and antagonists of the US were alarmed by Washington’s capture of the president of a sovereign country.
Democrats in the US Congress were outraged by the development, which they branded illegal and unconstitutional.
They accused Trump of bypassing the legislature by waging war on another country.
The influential New York Times took a similar position, calling it illegal and unwise in an editorial.
Venezuela’s defence minister, Vladimir López, accused the US of “criminal military aggression” against his country.
López, who spoke in a video shared on social media, described the attack as “the most criminal military aggression by the US government in North America”.
