America hit with a “large-scale strike” early Saturday, capturing the nation’s president, , and flying him in a foreign country after months of stepped-up strain by Washington.
President introduced the main points in a information convention Saturday morning.
“At my route, america Armed Forces carried out a rare army operation within the capital of Venezuela,” he stated.
“Air, land and sea was used to launch a spectacular assault.”
Trump claimed U.S. forces “efficiently captured Maduro in the dark,” including, “we’re going to run the nation till such time as we will do a secure, correct and even handed transition.”
Below Venezuelan legislation, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez would usually take energy.
There was no affirmation that had occurred, although she did challenge an announcement after the strike.
“We have no idea the whereabouts of President Nicolás Maduro and First Girl Cilia Flores,” Rodríguez stated. “We demand proof of life.”
Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah posted on X that he had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who informed him Maduro “has been arrested by U.S. personnel to face trial on legal costs in america.”
The Venezuelan authorities condemned what it known as an “imperialist assault” and urged residents to take to the streets.
Get breaking Nationwide information
For information impacting Canada and world wide, join breaking information alerts delivered on to you once they occur.
A number of explosions rang out and low-flying plane swept by way of Caracas, the capital, on Jan. 3.
Maduro’s authorities instantly accused america of attacking civilian and army installations.
Rubio stated Maduro “will not be the president of Venezuela and his regime will not be the respectable authorities.”
Gen. Dan Caine described “Operation Absolute Resolve,” as, “discreet, exact and carried out in the course of the darkest hours.”
He additional defined that the strikes had been a “end result of months of planning and rehearsal, an operation that solely america army might undertake.”
No American service member was killed, and no American gear was misplaced, in keeping with officers.
Trump added that is solely the beginning of American involvement within the nation.
“We’re going to be taking an amazing quantity of wealth out of the bottom,” Trump stated. “And that wealth goes to the individuals of Venezuela and the individuals exterior of Venezuela and in addition to america of America within the type of reimbursement for the damages precipitated to us by that nation.”
Trump described Maduro as the pinnacle of a legal community accountable for trafficking huge quantities of medication into america.
“Every boat kills, on common, 25,000 individuals,” he claimed.
The strikes got here after months of strain by the Trump administration, together with assaults on boats suspected of carrying medicine and a current CIA drone strike on a suspected cartel docking space.
The variety of Venezuelan casualties will not be instantly clear.
Movies from Caracas present buildings and army installations broken, and a number of explosions had been reported throughout the capital and close by states.
Elon Musk took to X to congratulate Trump on the strikes and capturing of Maduro.
Conservative Chief Pierre Poilievre congratulated Trump on X, calling Maduro a “narco-terrorist and socialist dictator” and urging a transition to opposition management.
Canadian Overseas Affairs Minister Anita Anand additionally took to X with an announcement that stated Canada continues to refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Maduro regime and is “monitoring developments carefully.”
“Canada calls on all events to respect worldwide legislation and we stand by the individuals of Venezuela,” Anand stated in an announcement.
The Authorities of Canada has up to date its journey advisory, urging residents to keep away from all journey to Venezuela, warning the state of affairs is “tense and will escalate shortly.”
© 2026 International Information, a division of Corus Leisure Inc.
