By Ayomide Otitoju
Former US President Donald Trump on Saturday claimed that US forces had captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro following a “large-scale strike” on the South American nation.
“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolás Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He added that the operation was conducted in coordination with US law enforcement.
Trump said he would hold a news conference at 11:00 am (1600 GMT) at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, where he is concluding a two-week holiday break. In a brief phone interview with The New York Times, he described the operation as “brilliant,” praising the planning, troops, and personnel involved.
The announcement comes after months of increasing US military and economic pressure on Maduro, whose leftist government faces sanctions and opposition from the United States and several European nations, which do not recognize his legitimacy.
Trump has previously argued that Venezuela is a major source of drugs entering the United States and has accused Maduro’s government of seizing US oil assets. He had also suggested in December that Maduro should step down, warning that the Venezuelan leader’s “days are numbered.”
The US has bolstered its military presence in the Caribbean, deploying the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and other warships. Operations have included seizing tankers, targeting drug-smuggling boats, and carrying out aerial strikes. On Monday, Trump said US forces had destroyed a docking area used by alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers—the first known strike on Venezuelan soil in the campaign.
The claim of Maduro’s capture comes just two days after Maduro reportedly sought cooperation with Trump on combatting drug trafficking and illegal migration. Independent verification of the reports was not immediately available.
