President Donald Trump said the United States carried out overnight strikes on Venezuela on Saturday and captured the country’s long-serving president, Nicolás Maduro.
Trump later shared an image he said showed Maduro blindfolded aboard the USS Iwo Jima. According to US officials, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were flown to New York state late Saturday, landing at Stewart Air National Guard Base before being transported by helicopter to Manhattan's Drug Enforcement Administration offices and later to Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center.
Trump says US will temporarily 'run' Venezuela
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Trump said the United States would assume temporary control of Venezuela "until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition."
He boasted that this "extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives."
Did Jack Ryan 'predict' Venezuela crisis?
As news of the operation spread, social media users began sharing clips from Amazon’s political thriller Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, with some claiming the series had "predicted" the crisis in Venezuela.
One person wrote, "There is a scene in Jack Ryan S2 where a small team and one helicopter launches an assault on the presidential palace in Venezuela. I remember thinking how ridiculous that scene was. Clearly I owe the writers an apology."
{{/usCountry}}One person wrote, "There is a scene in Jack Ryan S2 where a small team and one helicopter launches an assault on the presidential palace in Venezuela. I remember thinking how ridiculous that scene was. Clearly I owe the writers an apology."
{{/usCountry}}Another commented, "Jack Ryan predicted Venezuela's future long ago."
A third person added, "Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan predicted the Venezuela mess while everyone else was busy arguing on panels. Wild times. Even wilder accuracy."
What Jack Ryan Season 2 was actually about
Jack Ryan Season 2, released in 2019, did not predict current events. The season focuses on a fictional Venezuelan president, Nicolás Reyes, and follows US intelligence officers investigating corruption, rigged elections, and political conspiracies.
The storyline was based on real reporting from the 2010s about Venezuela's economic crisis, disputed elections, and authoritarian rule. Some general themes, such as US involvement, the removal of a corrupt leader, and concerns about stability and resources, may resemble recent events.