United States President Donald Trump has announced the capture and removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from Venezuela following a “large-scale strike” on the capital, Caracas.
The military operation began in the early hours of Saturday morning, with the first explosions reported around 1:50 a.m. local time. Large portions of Caracas are currently without electricity as a result of the strikes, which Trump stated were executed in coordination with U.S. law enforcement.
The operation follows months of escalating tension, during which the Trump administration designated Maduro a narco-terrorist and deployed a significant portion of the U.S. Navy to the Caribbean.
While the U.S. pressure campaign initially focused on drug trafficking and an oil blockade, this latest action signals a direct move toward regime change.
Opposition figures, including Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, have indicated they are prepared to assume governance, though the reaction of the Venezuelan security forces to the U.S. intervention remains a critical uncertainty.
President Trump is scheduled to provide further details during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago later today.