President Donald Trump announced early Saturday morning that Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro has been captured and flown out of the country following a joint U.S. military and law enforcement operation.
“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,” President Trump announced in a Truth Social post at 4:21 a.m. Eastern Time.
Trump added that the operation was done in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement and announced that a press conference will be held at 11 a.m. Eastern Time.
CBS News reported that Maduro was captured by Delta Force, the U.S. Military’s elite special missions unit. Additional details on the raid, or any U.S. casualties, are unavailable as of this report.
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The stunning announcement comes after several strikes targeting Venezuelan military installations were reported early Saturday morning. Strikes were reported on a number of crucial Venezuelan military installations and airbases, as well as ports and other infrastructure.
A number of U.S. helicopters could also be seen flying over the Venezuelan capital of Caracas not long after the first strikes were reported at 1:50 a.m. Eastern Time. Power and communications outages were also reported at the time of the strikes.
The U.S. government has long contended that Maduro is heavily involved in international cocaine trafficking and other criminal enterprises to keep his regime afloat. “Maduro uses foreign terrorist organizations like [Tren de Aragua], Sinaloa and Cartel of the Suns to bring deadly drugs and violence into our country,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a video statement back in August.
To date, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates, Bondi said. This figure includes“nearly seven tons linked to Maduro himself, which represents a primary source of income for the deadly cartels based in Venezuela and Mexico,” the attorney general added.
