Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: After threatening Venezuela for months, attacking its ‘drug boats,’ and warning of ground strikes, America on Saturday launched airstrikes on its Latin American neighbour, claiming to have ‘captured’ its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, and flown them out of the country.
US President Donald Trump, who is eyeing Venezuela’s phenomenal natural resources and minerals, including 300 billion barrels of oil—the world’s largest and six times more than America’s own oil reserves— and seeking regime change, said large-scale American strikes hit the Venezuelan capital Caracas overnight. He also claimed to have captured the Maduros and flown them out of their country, according to media reports.
There was confusion about the whereabouts of the Maduros. Some media reports said that, soon after the airstrikes, the Venezuelan President declared a nationwide emergency across his country.
Earlier, at least seven explosions rang out and low-flying US aircraft swept through Caracas with the Maduro government accusing the US of attacking civilian and military installations following a monthslong pressure campaign. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ban on American commercial flights in Venezuelan airspace because of “ongoing military activity” ahead of the explosions in Caracas.
In a post on his social media outlet Truth Social, Trump said the United States had “successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader,” adding that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken into custody and flown out of the country in an operation conducted alongside US law enforcement agencies.
His claims followed a series of loud explosions reported across Caracas from around 2 am local time on Saturday. Residents described low-flying aircraft overhead as blasts shook multiple neighbourhoods, forcing people onto the streets, the media reported.
Videos circulating on social media showed fires engulfing buildings and thick columns of smoke rising over parts of the city.
US Airplanes roared overhead and explosions rattled the streets, while power outages were reported in areas close to a major military base in the southern part of the capital. At least seven explosions were heard, according to residents.
The Venezuelan government said the strikes were carried out by US forces. There was no immediate independent confirmation of President Trump’s claim regarding the capture of Maduro and his wife.
Earlier, President had said on Thursday he was open to cooperation with Washington after weeks of US military pressure.
Ground Strikes
The explosions come as President Trump also warned of ground strikes against Venezuela, for the first time in the history of that country.
Ahead of airstrikes, the US had deployed a navy task force to the Caribbean, raised the possibility of ground strikes against Venezuela.
Trump had on Monday said the United States will hit Venezuela and destroyed a docking area for alleged Venezuelan drug boats.
The Republican leader would not say if it was a military or CIA operation or where the strike occurred, noting only that it was “along the shore.”
The Trump administration has for long accused Maduro of heading a drug cartel and said it is cracking down on trafficking, but the leftist leader denied any involvement in the narcotics trade, saying Washington is seeking to overthrow him because Venezuela has the largest known reserves of oil on the planet.
Over the last few months, Washington ramped up pressure on Caracas by informally closing Venezuela’s airspace, imposing more sanctions and ordering the seizure of tankers loaded with Venezuelan oil.
For weeks Trump threatened ground strikes on drug cartels in the region, saying they would start “soon,” with Monday being the first apparent example.
US forces have also carried out numerous strikes on boats in both the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean since September, targeting what Washington says are drug smugglers.
The US administration, however, provided no evidence that the targeted boats were involved in drug trafficking, prompting debate about the legality of these operations.
The deadly maritime campaign has killed at least 107 people in at least 30 strikes, according to information released by the US military.
On Saturday, Venezuelan Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez called on the United States to provide “proof of life” of President Nicolas Maduro who Trump said was captured along with his wife by US forces.
Speaking by telephone to Venezuelan TV Rodriguez said she did know the whereabouts of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, following a series of US strikes on Caracas and other cities.
Venezuela accused the United States of hitting residential areas in a wave of strikes early Saturday, and announced a major deployment of military resources.
The “invading” US forces “have desecrated our soil, going so far as to strike, using missiles and rockets fired from their combat helicopters, residential areas populated by civilians,” Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said in a video statement shared on social media.
He also said the South American country would launch a “massive deployment of all land, air, naval, riverine and missile capabilities… for comprehensive defense.”
The USA’s Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau, wrote on X: “A new dawn for Venezuela! The tyrant is gone. He will now — finally — face justice for his crimes.”
Meanwhile, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said he ordered the deployment of military forces to the Venezuelan border, following US “attacks.” He described Washington’s actions as an “assault on the sovereignty” of Latin America and said they would result in a humanitarian crisis.
Venezuela will resist the presence of foreign troops, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said in a video early on Saturday.
A US attack on the country in the early morning struck civilian areas, Padrino said, and Venezuela is compiling information about dead and injured people.