Washington, January 3rd.- Amid widespread international condemnation, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, confirmed today that in the attack against Venezuela he “captured” the democratically elected leader of that country, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Like a return to gunboat diplomacy, Trump wrote on his Truth Social network that “The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale attack against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolás Maduro, who, along with his wife, has been captured and taken out of the country.”
According to Trump, this “operation was carried out jointly with U.S. law enforcement forces. Details to follow. There will be a press conference today at 11:00 (Miami time) at Mar-a-Lago.”
The U.S. Attorney General, Pam Bondi, also reported on social media that “Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been formally charged in the Southern District of New York,” although the exact whereabouts of both are unknown.
“Nicolás Maduro has been charged with conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States,” added the Attorney General on X in a statement based on false accusations.
“They will soon face the full weight of U.S. justice on U.S. soil and in U.S. courts,” Bondi emphasized.
In a brief phone interview with The New York Times, Trump praised the kidnapping of his Venezuelan counterpart, calling it a “brilliant operation.”
“Lots of good planning and many great, great troops and great people,” Trump noted about an action that represents the highest escalation in tensions between the two countries.
The newspaper indicated that Trump refused to answer questions about whether he had requested Congressional authorization for the attack, saying he would address it at the press conference at Mar-a-Lago, scheduled for Saturday morning.
In the early hours of Saturday, January 3rd, at approximately 2:00 a.m. local time, multiple explosions and aircraft flyovers were reported in Caracas and other Venezuelan cities.
Trump anticipated several days ago that his decision on Venezuela was made amid an unprecedented rise in tensions between the two countries.
Local media reports indicate that the mission was carried out by the Army's Delta Force and that the location was tracked by the CIA, which Trump authorized to conduct covert activities inside Venezuela.
(Taken from Prensa Latina)
