ReutersThe US has captured Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro after a large scale strike on the South American country, US President Donald Trump has said.
Trump said Venezuela’s left-wing president and his wife were flown out of the country in a military operation in conjunction with US law enforcement.
His comments came after explosions were reported across capital Caracas in the early hours of Saturday morning, including at military bases.
The Venezuelan government has since demanded proof Maduro is alive. It has also deployed its armed forces and declared a national emergency.
Maduro’s capture comes after heightened tensions between the two countries, with Washington striking boats in the Caribbean it says are being used to carry drugs.
The US has accused the Venezuelan president of being personally involved in drug-smuggling and being an illegitimate leader, while Maduro has accused the US of intimidation.
Here is what we know so far.
What do we know about the operation?
AFP via Getty ImagesThere are few details about Maduro’s capture. Trump did not disclose how the Venezuelan president was detained or where he has been taken.
Maduro was captured by the US army’s Delta force – the military’s top counter terrorism unit – according to the BBC’s US news partner CBS.
Trump is due to hold a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida at 11:00 EST (16:00 GMT) at which further details about the operation may be disclosed.
According to Republican Senator Mike Lee, who spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Maduro will stand trial on criminal charges in the US.
“He [Rubio] anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in US custody,” Lee said, adding that the strikes were “deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant”.
Around 02:00 local time (06:00 GMT), loud explosions were heard in Caracas, while plumes of smoke were seen rising over the city.
Videos of explosions and helicopters flying overhead have been circulating on social media, but they have not been verified yet.
Reports of places hit by strikes include military airfield, La Carlota, in the centre of the capital and the main military base of Fuerte Tiuna.
Surrounding communities were also without power.
It is not known if there have been any casualties.
The Venezuelan government also said the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira were also hit.
How has Venezuela reacted?
Venezuela’s Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez said the government did not know where Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, were, and demanded “immediate proof of life” for them both.
The country’s defence minister Vladimir Padrino López claimed the strikes hit civilian areas and said the government was compiling information about dead and injured people.
He added that Venezuela would “resist” the presence of foreign troops.
Venezuela’s government issued an official statement denouncing the “extremely serious military aggression” by the US “against Venezuelan territory and population in civilian and military locations”.
It also accused the US of threatening international peace and stability and described the attack as an attempt to seize “Venezuela’s strategic resources, particularly its oil and minerals” in an attempt to “forcibly break the political independence of the nation”.
What has Donald Trump said?
ReutersImmediately after the explosions, the White House declined to comment publicly.
But Trump later took to his Truth Social platform to confirm the US was behind the strikes.
“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,” Trump wrote.
“This operation was done in conjunction with US Law Enforcement. Details to follow.”
The US president described it as a “brilliant operation” to the New York Times in a 50-second phone call.
Asked what he envisioned for Venezuela, he said: “You’re going to hear all about it 11 o’clock.”
Who is Maduro and why has he been captured?
Nicolás Maduro rose to prominence under the leadership of left-wing President Hugo Chávez and his United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). He succeeded Chávez as president in 2013.
In 2024, Maduro was declared winner of the presidential election, even though voting tallies collected by the opposition suggested that its candidate, Edmundo González, had won by a landslide.
He has been at odds with Trump over the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants in the US and the movement of drugs into the US, in particular fentanyl and cocaine.
Trump has designated two Venezuelan drug gangs – Tren de Aragua and Cartel de los Soles – as Foreign Terrorist Organisations (FTOs) and has alleged that the latter was led by Maduro himself.
The US had offered a $50m (£37m) reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest.
Maduro has vehemently denied being a cartel leader and has accused the US of using its “war on drugs” as an excuse to try to depose him and get its hands on Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
In recent months, US forces have also carried out more than two dozen strikes in international waters on boats it alleges have been used to traffick drugs into the US. More than 100 people have been killed.
How have other countries reacted?
News of the strikes prompted the strongest reaction from Venezuela’s long-term allies.
Russia accused the US of committing “an act of armed aggression” that was “deeply concerning and condemnable”.
Iran’s foreign ministry called the strikes a “flagrant violation of the country’s national sovereignty”.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro called the strikes an “assault on the sovereignty” of Latin America, while Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel described it as a “criminal attack”.
Meanwhile, the Spanish foreign ministry called for “de-escalation” and for action to always be taken in accordance with international law, while Germany and Italy said they were closely monitoring the situation.
