President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro after bombing the capital Caracas and other cities in a dramatic climax to a months-long standoff between Trump and his Venezuelan arch-foe.
In a series of fast-moving events, Caracas was rocked by explosions, accompanied by the sound of attack helicopters, around 2:00 am (0600 GMT).
The strikes, which targeted a major military base and an airbase, among other sites, continued for nearly an hour, AFP journalists said.
“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 said on Truth Social, around two hours after the attacks began.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a post on X that Maduro and his wife would face “the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts” over drug and terrorism charges.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau hailed “a new dawn for Venezuela,” on X adding: “A tyrant is gone.”
The Venezuelan government accused the United States of an “extremely serious military aggression” and called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said she did not know the whereabouts of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, speaking to Venezuelan TV by telephone.
Rodriguez demanded that Washington provide “proof of life” of Venezuela’s leader of the past 12 years, whose re-election in 2024 elections was widely dismissed by the international community as fraudulent.
Russia, a leading Venezuela ally, condemned the “armed aggression” and demanded “immediate” clarity about Maduro’s fate, its foreign ministry said in a statement.
US Senator Mike Lee quoted Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a call as saying that Maduro would “stand trial” in the United States, where he is wanted on charges of drug trafficking.
Trump said he would give a news conference at 11:00 am (1600 GMT) at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, where he is on vacation.
Venezuelan opposition leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Maria Corina Machado, had yet to react to the latest events.
In a post on X on December 31, the US-backed Machado had expressed confidence that 2026 would bring “consolidation of our nation’s liberty.”
Venezuelans had for months been bracing for attacks on its territory, following repeated threats by Trump to escalate his campaign against Maduro’s administration.
Trump hailed a “brilliant” operation which involved “a lot of good planning and lot of great, great troops and great people,” in a brief phone interview with The New York Times.
Fort Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, situated in the south of Caracas, and Carlota airbase in the north were among the targets of the strikes.
La Guaira, north of the capital, where Caracas’ airport and port are located, was also struck.
“I felt like (the explosions) lifted me out of bed, and I immediately thought, ‘God, the day has come,’ and I cried,” Maria Eugenia Escobar, a 58-year-old resident of La Guaira, told AFP.
The government said Maduro had declared a state of emergency but the 63-year-old socialist, who as recently as Thursday offered to cooperate with the United States, was nowhere to be seen.
The defense ministry accused the United States of targeting residential areas and announced a “massive deployment” of its military resources.
Iran, Cuba and Colombia’s leftist leader Gustavo Petro condemned the attacks, while the EU’s top diplomat urged restraint in a call with Rubio.
Meanwhile, Spain offered to mediate in the crisis in an attempt to broker a negotiated and peaceful solution.
Petro said he was deploying troops to the border with Venezuela.
No casualty figures were immediately available.
Residents of Caracas rushed to their windows and terraces to try to make sense of events as the bombings began.
Others hid in safe, windowless spaces, fearful of breaking glass.
Some social media users celebrated Trump’s claims that he deposed the unpopular Maduro, while others rejected what they saw as Trump’s war-mongering.
Francis Pena, a 29-year-old communications professional living in eastern Caracas, told AFP that he was sleeping and his girlfriend said “they’re bombing.”
“I can’t see the explosions, but I hear the planes. We’re starting to prepare a bag with the most important things at home -- passport, cards, cash, candles, a change of clothes, canned food,” Pena said.
Trump deployed an aircraft carrier and several warships to the Caribbean late last year as part of what he initially presented as an anti-drug smuggling campaign.
But in recent weeks, he has had made no secret of his hope to unseat Maduro from his position.
On Monday, Trump said it would be “smart” for the Venezuelan to step down and announced that the the US had hit and destroyed a docking area for alleged Venezuelan drug boats.
The Trump administration has also accused Maduro of heading a drug cartel.
Venezuela rubbished the claims, saying Washington was seeking to overthrow him because Venezuela has the largest known reserves of oil on Earth.
As part of an escalating pressure campaign, Washington informally closed Venezuela’s airspace, imposed more sanctions and ordered the seizure of tankers loaded with Venezuelan oil.
US forces have also carried out numerous strikes on boats in both the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September, targeting what Washington says are drug smugglers, that have killed at least 107 people, according to the US military.
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