Maduro handcuffed in the US – Trump: We will govern Venezuela

At 4:21 am on Saturday morning (US time), President Donald Trump sent a message on his platform, Truth Social: the United States had carried out a daring operation to arrest Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

The action came as a surprise, but according to sources familiar with the matter, the planning for one of the most complex US operations in recent memory had been in the works for some time and included detailed rehearsals.

Select US soldiers, including the Delta Force, created an exact replica of Maduro's bunker and practiced how to enter the heavily protected residence.

The CIA had a small team on the ground since August that could provide insight into Maduro's life pattern that made his capture seamless, a source familiar with the matter said.

Two other sources told Reuters that the intelligence agency also had an asset close to Maduro who would have been monitoring his movements and was ready to pinpoint his exact location as the operation unfolded.

As all the evidence was in place, Trump approved the operation four days ago, but the military and intelligence agencies suggested waiting for more favorable weather and less cloud cover. At 10:46 p.m. EST on Friday (5:46 a.m. today Saturday GMT), Trump gave the final go-ahead for the operation that would become known as “Absolute Resolve,” Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Dan Kaine told reporters.

Trump, surrounded by his advisers at his clubhouse in Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida, watched a live stream of events.

How the hour-long operation unfolded is based on interviews with four sources familiar with the matter and details revealed by Trump himself.

“I've done some pretty good things, but I've never seen anything like this,” Trump told Fox News just hours after the operation was completed.

The Pentagon oversaw a massive build-up of military forces in the Caribbean, sending an aircraft carrier, 11 warships and more than 12 F-35 aircraft. In all, more than 1,500 troops arrived in the region for what U.S. officials have long said are anti-drug trafficking operations.

According to one of the sources, Trump adviser Steven Miller, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe formed a central team that worked on the issue for months with regular - sometimes daily - meetings and phone calls. They also met frequently with the President.

Late Friday night and into the early hours of Saturday, Trump and his advisers were together as U.S. aircraft took off and launched strikes against targets in and near Caracas, including anti-aircraft systems, according to a U.S. military official.

Kane flatly said the operation involved the takeoff of more than 150 planes from 20 bases across the Western Hemisphere, including F-35 and F-22 fighters and B-1 bombers.

“We had a fighter for every possible situation,” Trump told Fox News.

Sources told Reuters that, in addition to fighters, the Pentagon had also ‘quietly’ moved refueling aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and aircraft specializing in electronic jamming into the area.

US officials said the airstrikes hit military targets. Reuters images at La Carlota air base in Caracas show charred military vehicles from a Venezuelan anti-aircraft defense unit.

As the strikes were taking place, US Special Forces were advancing on Caracas heavily armed, including with a blowtorch in case they needed to cut through iron doors where Maduro was.

Around I.00 a.m. EST, Kane said, the soldiers arrived at Maduro's compound in downtown Caracas while under fire. One of the helicopters was hit but could still fly.

Videos posted on social media by residents show a convoy of helicopters flying over the city at low altitude.

Once at Maduro's bunker, the soldiers, along with FBI agents, entered the residence, which Trump described as a “very heavily guarded... bunker.”.

“They just went in and they broke into places that they couldn't really break into, you know, iron gates that were put there for that very reason,” Trump said. “They got them out in seconds.”.

Once the soldiers entered the bunker, Kane said, Maduro and his wife surrendered. Trump said the Venezuelan leader tried unsuccessfully to take refuge in a safe room but was unable to close the door.

“He was attacked so quickly that he didn't get into it,” Trump said.

Some US forces were hit, Trump said, but no one was killed.

As the operation unfolded, Rubio began informing members of Congress that it was underway. The briefings began only after the operation began and not before, as is the usual practice for key members of Congress who have oversight roles, officials told Reuters.

As the soldiers were leaving Venezuelan territory, Kane said, they engaged in “multiple self-defence engagements”. By 3:20 a.m. EST, the helicopters were over the sea, with Maduro and his wife in them.

Almost exactly seven hours after Trump announced the operation on Truth Social, the US president made another post.

This time it was a photo of the Venezuelan leader in handcuffs and grey overalls.

“Nicolas Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima,” Trump wrote, referring to the amphibious assault ship.

Maduro and his wife are taken to New York via Iwo Jima

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Celia Flores are being transferred to New York via the US aircraft carrier Iwo Jima, US President Donald Trump said today.

Maduro was taken prisoner by US special forces after a US military attack in Caracas and was flown by helicopters to Iwo Jima to be transported to New York, Trump said while speaking on Fox News.

Trump said he watched the operation to capture Maduro in real time from a room in his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, along with generals.

The US president said he had called on Maduro to surrender a week ago. «I spoke with him myself, but I told him, you have to give up. You have to surrender,» Trump said. However, Maduro refused, the White House occupant added.

The US President stressed that charges have been brought against Maduro as well as against his wife in New York.

The fate of the Maduro government remains unknown.

The US is now making decisions about what happens next in the governance of Venezuela, the US president said.

For his part, the Venezuelan foreign minister insisted that Maduro remains the leader of the country and demanded his return.

The US will be actively involved in Venezuela's oil industry

The US will be «very heavily involved» in Venezuela's oil industry, the US president also said on Fox News. «We have the biggest oil companies in the world, the biggest, the greatest, and we will be very actively involved in that,» he said.

He added that he has a good relationship with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and that China will not have a problem with the Venezuelan operation because «they will get oil».

The operation against Maduro sends a message, he said, adding that those loyal to Maduro will not have a good future if they remain loyal to the arrested Venezuelan president

Donald Trump: we will take over the governance of Venezuela until a safe, proper transition

Donald Trump said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were arrested in an operation today and will face US justice, with the US president calling it one of the most successful military operations in US history.

«This was one of the most amazing, effective and powerful displays of American military power and capability in American history,» Trump said at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

He said US air, land and sea forces were used in the operation.

He stressed that the US will continue to oversee its engagement in Venezuela «until we can make a safe, orderly and prudent transition», signalling an open-ended US role in Venezuela.

«We will take over the governance of Venezuela for some time until we can make a safe, proper and prudent transition,» the US president said.

The US is «ready to launch a second, bigger attack if necessary», he said.

He stressed that the US will send major US oil companies to Venezuela after the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro and his wife are currently on the US aircraft carrier and are still on their way to New York, he added.

Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, was plunged into darkness to facilitate the operation of the US forces against President Maduro, the White House occupant said.

«The lights in Caracas were largely extinguished thanks to the expertise we have,» he said.

MFA: We are closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela - We are in contact with the Greek community

«The Greek Foreign Ministry is closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela, in close cooperation with European partners and the Embassy in Caracas, which is in contact with the Greek community in the country and is ready to provide assistance,» the Foreign Ministry said in a post on X.