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Donald Trump said the US had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and flown him out of the country after weeks of rising tension between the two nations.
Trump also confirmed that the US had struck Venezuela following reports that Caracas was hit by multiple explosions and that dozens of aircraft had flown over the capital.
Videos posted on social media showed what appeared to be a series of strikes at about 2am local time on Saturday on Venezuela’s military complex Fuerte Tiuna in the west of Caracas, as well as an air base at La Carlota in the centre of the capital.
“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 on Saturday morning.
He added that there would be a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort at 11am EST.
Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s vice-president, said on Saturday morning that she did not know Maduro’s whereabouts.
Speaking to Venezuelan state television, Rodríguez demanded “proof of life” of the president and his wife, Cilia.
“We do not know the whereabouts of President Maduro and the first lady. We demand Trump give proof of life,” she said.
In the wake of the strikes, Venezuela’s government urged its supporters to take to the streets. “The Bolivarian government calls on all the social and political forces of the country to activate the mobilisation plans and repudiate this imperialist attack,” it said.
It added that Maduro had “ordered all national defence plans to be implemented” and had declared “a state of external disturbance”.
The White House has stepped up pressure on Maduro’s regime in recent months, with Trump declaring this week a “total blockade” on US-sanctioned oil tankers heading to and from Venezuela.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was designated by the White House as head of a ‘foreign terrorist’ drug cartel © Pedro Mattey/AFP/Getty Images
The American president has threatened strikes on targets on Venezuelan land for months while the US military has attacked boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific. About three dozen boat strikes have taken place, with more than 100 people killed, according to the Trump administration.
The attacks have taken place alongside a big build-up of US forces in the Caribbean, including America’s largest aircraft carrier. Last month, the US also carried out a strike on a “dock area” in Venezuela.
Maduro, who has been designated by the Trump administration as the head of a “foreign terrorist” drug cartel, has described the US naval build-up as a pretext for his ousting.
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The Pentagon referred enquiries to the White House, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment by the AP news agency.
CBS News cited US officials as saying that Trump had given the order to strike days ago but other military operations took precedence and then weather delayed the plans.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday banned US commercial flights in Venezuelan airspace, citing “safety-of-flight risks” owing to “ongoing military activity”.
Gustavo Petro, president of neighbouring Colombia, said his country was watching the events unfold with “deep concern” and posted a list on social media of what he said were confirmed attacks.
The sites included a series of military installations around Caracas, as well as the country’s National Assembly building.
Venezuela’s allies condemned the raid. Russia’s foreign ministry said “the United States committed an act of armed aggression against Venezuela. This is deeply concerning and condemnable. The excuses given to justify such actions are untenable”.
Fires burn at the Fuerte Tiuna military complex in Caracas © Luis Jaimes/AFP/Getty Images
Bruno Rodríguez, Cuba’s foreign minister, said Havana “strongly condemned” the attacks as a “cowardly” act against a nation that has not “attacked the US or any other nation”.
But Argentina’s rightwing President Javier Milei congratulated the US on capturing Maduro.
“Freedom advances. Long live freedom, dammit!” Milei, an ally of Trump, wrote on social media X, using his trademark slogan.
María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel peace prize winner, declined to comment.
The impact of the US actions on oil prices was unclear since markets are closed until Monday morning in Asia.
Saul Kavonic, an analyst at MST Financial, said any conflict might cause oil prices to jump on fears that roughly 800,000 barrels a day of Venezuelan oil exports could be affected.
He added, however, that regime change in the country could cause exports to eventually grow towards 3mn b/d as sanctions were lifted and foreign investment returned.
Additional reporting by Polina Ivanova in Berlin and Malcolm Moore in London
