The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has assured this Saturday that the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, “has been captured and transferred out of Venezuela” after a large-scale military operation carried out by the United States. The announcement was made by Trump himself through his social network, Truth Social, where he also confirms that the US has executed attacks inside Venezuelan territory.
The U.S. president’s message comes after explosions were reported in civilian and military areas of Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira during the early morning hours, as denounced by the Venezuelan government.
Trump announces press conference
In his publication, Trump states that the operation has been developed with the participation of U.S. law enforcement agencies and has announced a press conference in Mar-a-Lago (Florida) at 11.00 local time (17.00 Spanish peninsular time), where he promises to provide more details.
According to his version, Maduro and his wife were reportedly detained and taken out of the country by plane. For the moment, there is no independent confirmation on the whereabouts of the Venezuelan president.
The US gave the green light for the attacks days ago
Government sources quoted by the CBS network claim that Trump authorized the attacks several days ago. According to this version, senior U.S. military commanders even considered an offensive at Christmas, but decided to postpone it in order to prioritize operations against the Islamic State in Nigeria.
Venezuela denounces a “very serious military aggression”.
The Venezuelan government has described the attacks of early this morning as a “very serious military aggression” by the United States. In response, it has decreed a state of national emergency and called on the population to defend the country.
Petro speaks of “bombed” Caracas
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has stated that Caracas is being bombed and has requested urgent meetings of the UN Security Council and the Organization of American States (OAS) due to the seriousness of the situation.
Subsequently, Petro has published a list of locations that, according to his information, have been bombed or disabled, among them:
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Cuartel de la Montaña (Caracas), where Hugo Chávez‘s mausoleum is located.
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Federal Legislative Palace
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Caracas central area with massive power outages in the south of the capital city
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Activation of the Defense Plan at Miraflores
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El Hatillo and Charallave Airports
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Areas of Santa Monica, Fuerte Tiuna, Los Teques and 23 de Enero.
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Military bases at La Carlota, Fuerte Tiuna, Higuerote and the F-16 base No. 3 in Barquisimeto.
Airlines keep flights suspended
In parallel, the airlines operating between Spain and Venezuela have decided to maintain the suspension of flights at least until January 31, 2026, following the recommendations of the State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA). Iberia, Air Europa and Plus Ultra, together with TAP, Avianca and Gol, will not resume operations for the time being, despite previous warnings from the Venezuelan Government.
