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As Trump says Venezuela's Maduro 'captured', State department hails ‘new dawn’| Updates
The Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rouderiguez has said that the government does not know the whereabouts of Maduro and his wife, demanding “proof of life”.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday claimed that his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, has been “captured and flown out of the country”, confirming large-scale strikes on the South American nation.
The Republican leader has also said that Maduro's wife has been flown out of Venezuela along with him. On the other hand, the Venezuelan government declared a national emergency after the explosions and said in a statement that it had rejected what it described as “military aggression by the United States”.
Follow the latest updates on US-Venezuela tensions here.
“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement. Details to follow. There will be a News Conference today at 11 AM at Mar-a-Lago. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
In a brief phone interview with The New York Times, Donald Trump hailed the "brilliant" operation.
"A lot of good planning and a lot of great, great troops and great people," the paper quoted Trump as saying.
Venezuela's defence minister, Vladimir Padrino, said in a video early on Saturday that his country “will resist the presence of foreign troops”, thus confirming a ground invasion by the United States. He also accused the US of bombing residential areas.
The "invading" US forces have desecrated our soil, going so far as to strike, using missiles and rockets fired from their combat helicopters, residential areas populated by civilians," Lopez said in a video statement shared on social media.
He also said the South American country would launch a "massive deployment of all land, air, naval, riverine and missile capabilities... for comprehensive defence."
According to US officials quoted in a CBS News report, Maduro was captured early Saturday morning by members of Delta Force, the US military's top special mission unit. The elite Army Delta Force was also responsible for the 2019 mission that killed former Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rouderiguez has said that the government does not know the whereabouts of Maduro and his wife, and also demanded “proof of life” for both in an audio broadcast by the country's state TV.
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said Saturday that Venezuela was experiencing a "new dawn" after Trump said US forces seized Nicolas Maduro.
“A new dawn for Venezuela! The tyrant is gone. He will now -- finally -- face justice for his crimes,” Landau wrote on X.
The world reacts to US action in Venezuela
Russia was deeply concerned and condemned an "act of armed aggression" against Venezuela committed by the United States, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
"In the current situation, it is important... to prevent further escalation and to focus on finding a way out of the situation through dialogue," the ministry said in a statement.
The German foreign ministry also reacted to the developments and said that it was “watching Venezuela with great concern”. A written communication obtained by Reuters said the ministry was in close contact with the embassy in Caracas, and a crisis team would meet later on Saturday.
Italy's Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, said that Rome and its diplomatic representation in Caracas were closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela, with particular attention to the Italian community in the country.
Tajani stated in a post on X that Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, was being kept constantly informed and that the foreign ministry's crisis unit was operational.
Italy's Ambassador to Venezuela stated on Saturday on Italy's State TV, Rai, that approximately 160,000 Italians currently reside in the country, with most holding dual passports, as well as some who are there for work or tourism reasons.
