Caracas, Jan 3: The United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and flew him out of the country in an extraordinary military operation early Saturday that plucked a sitting leader from office.
President Donald Trump insisted the US government would run the country at least temporarily and would tap Venezuelan’s vast oil reserves to sell “large amounts” to other countries.
The action marked the culmination of an escalating Trump administration pressure campaign on the South American country that consisted of months of strikes on boats officials said were smuggling drugs to the US.
Behind the scenes, US officials tracked Maduro’s behavioral habits, including what he ate and where he slept, in preparing to execute an operation that resulted in one of the more stunning regime changes in modern history.
Maduro and his wife, seized overnight from their home on a military base, were aboard a US warship on their way to New York, where they were to face criminal charges in connection with a Justice Department indictment accusing them of a role in narco-terrorism conspiracy.
Trump said the US planned to run Venezuela until a transition of power can take place. He claimed the American presence was already in place, though there were no immediate signs the US was running the country. Venezuelan state TV continued to air pro-Maduro propaganda, broadcasting live images of supporters taking to the streets in Caracas in protest.
“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference where he boasted that this “extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives.”
The legal authority for the attack, which echoed the 1990 US invasion of Panama that led to the surrender and seizure of leader Manuel Antonio Noriega, was not immediately clear. The US government does not recognise Maduro.
Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges, but the Justice Department released a new indictment Saturday of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores that described the regime as a “corrupt, illegitimate government” fuelled by a drug trafficking operation that flooded the US with cocaine.
Trump posted on his Truth Social account a photo that he said showed Maduro in custody, including blindfolded and in a sweatsuit.
Early morning attack
Early Saturday, multiple explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through the Venezuelan capital. Maduro’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets.
The attack lasted less than 30 minutes and the explosions – at least seven blasts – sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they’d seen and heard.
Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed, said Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, without giving a number. Trump said some US forces were injured in Venezuela but none were killed.
“We think, we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again, and again. Not to get it right, but to ensure we cannot get it wrong,” said Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Video obtained from Caracas and an unidentified coastal city showed tracers and smoke clouding the landscape as repeated muted explosions illuminated the night sky. Other footage showed cars passing on a highway as blasts illuminated the hills behind them.
India issues advisory
India on Saturday night advised its nationals to avoid all non-essential travel to Venezuela in view of the situation arising out of the capture of the oil-rich country’s president by the US.
The Ministry of External Affairs also asked all Indians who are in Venezuela to exercise extreme caution and restrict their movements.
“In view of recent developments in Venezuela, Indian nationals are strongly advised to avoid all non-essential travel to Venezuela,” the External Affairs Ministry said.
“All Indians who are in Venezuela for any reason are advised to exercise extreme caution, restrict their movements, and remain in contact with the Embassy of India in Caracas,” it said. (PTI)
