Trump says Maduro will be transferred to New York and describes the site where he was held
The U.S. president announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, that the Venezuelan president was detained along with his wife after a night of explosions in Caracas.
President Donald Trump announced, in the wake of US strikes against Venezuela, that Nicolás Maduro had been captured and removed from the South American country.
According to CBS, Maduro’s detention was carried out by the elite Delta Force unit. Trump later told Fox News in a phone interview that Maduro and his wife are being transported aboard a U.S. warship to New York City, where he is expected to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.
“He was in a place like a fortress, with steel doors, a secure location. No one was killed, and we didn’t lose any aircraft. It was the right moment, and we had to do it,” Trump said in describing where Maduro had been hiding.
Call with Fox News: “A brilliant operation”
In a brief phone interview with Fox News, Trump praised the success of the mission to capture Maduro. “A lot of good planning and a lot of excellent troops, excellent people,” he said. “It really was a brilliant operation.”
Asked whether he had sought congressional authorization for the operation or what would happen next in Venezuela, Trump said he would address those questions at his morning press conference at Mar-a-Lago.
The charges Maduro will face in the US
According to Marco Rubio, Maduro will be prosecuted in the United States. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, will face charges in New York.
They are expected to be charged with narcoterrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and weapons offenses.
Trump’s announcement followed a night of explosions in Caracas. Venezuela accused the United States of a “grave military aggression” and declared a state of external emergency in response to the attacks.
CBS reported that Trump had ordered the strike on the South American country and had even considered launching it days earlier, but adverse weather conditions delayed the operation.
With Trump’s announcement, U.S. involvement in the attacks has now been confirmed, and Maduro’s detention opens a new chapter in the international geopolitical landscape.
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