Los Angeles – United States captured early this Saturday Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, amid an attack on Venezuela that affected several states and the capital, Caracas, by order of President Donald Trump, who called the operation “brilliant”.
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The president referred to a press conference at his mansion in Mar-a-Lago (Florida) at eleven o’clock in the morning this Saturday (16.00 GMT) to expand on the information about the operation led by the US forces. Trump’s message came almost four hours after attacks were reported in several civilian and military locations in the capital, Caracas, and the central states of Miranda, Aragua, La Guaira, according to the Venezuelan government. In a brief telephone interview with The New York Times newspaper this morning, Trump called the operation “brilliant.” “Very good planning and many excellent troops and great people,” the U.S. president elaborated. The White House activated last September a huge military deployment in the Caribbean with the argument of combating drug trafficking from Colombia and Venezuela, while at the same time demanding the departure of Maduro and his close allies, whom it accuses of leading a so-called Cartel of the Suns. In the framework of this operation, dubbed ‘South Lance’, Washington has summarily destroyed nearly 40 alleged vessels and killed about 110 of their occupants and has also ordered the seizure of sanctioned tankers transporting Venezuelan crude in its attempt to economically suffocate the Executive in Caracas. Last November, Trump confirmed that he spoke on the phone with Maduro and indicated that the conversation had been “neither good nor bad.” The White House considered carrying out airstrikes against Venezuelan targets, including military ones, on Christmas Day, but ultimately decided to prioritize airstrikes in Nigeria against alleged Islamic State (IS) camps, according to two sources from the Executive cited by CBS. Following those attacks, Trump’s team considered new windows of opportunity to attack strategic targets of Nicolás Maduro’s regime, but they were forced to further delays because the weather was not favorable for the attacks. Military sources indicated that the Pentagon expected to have the most favorable weather conditions for the success of this operation. The military operation involved a large deployment of “Chinook” helicopters and other special forces assets to capture Maduro, who would have been taken out of the country in one of these aircraft, according to sources who spoke to FOX. Trump is expected to explain at the press conference whether he had Congressional authorization for the operation. Several Democratic lawmakers condemned the attacks, Arizona Senator Rubén Gallego said in an X message that “it is shameful” that the U.S. has gone from “being the world’s policeman to being the world’s abuser in less than a year.” The Democrat insisted that “there is no reason” for the attack to occur. Trump will also have to shed light on the future of Venezuela and the captured ruler. The number two at the U.S. Department of State, Christopher Landau, announced in a message on his X account that Maduro “will finally face justice for his crimes.” The U.S. had increased last August to $50 million the reward for information leading to the arrest of Maduro.
