The US captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and flew him out of the country after carrying out a major strike on its capital, Caracas, US President Donald Trump announced.
The shocking move — unseating a sitting head of state and ferrying him away — comes after months of pressure from the Trump administration on Venezuela. Washington alleges that as Venezuela’s leader, Maduro in effect headed a narcotics trafficking operation. The US has in recent months carried out multiple strikes on vessels purportedly moving illegal drugs.
Though details remained scarce about the operation, footage aired by broadcasters including the BBC showed large plumes of smoke rising into the Caracas sky overnight.
Just days earlier, Maduro had said he was open to negotiations with Washington, telling a Spanish journalist that Venezuela and the US should “start talking seriously.”
Maduro, who succeeded Hugo Chavez in 2013, has said the US wants to take control of Venezuela’s oil reserves, the largest in the world.
Trump’s MAGA base is split over how far to go against Maduro’s government, with support for limited strikes and sanctions but resistance to a full-blown conflict or regime change that would contradict the US president’s vow to stop Washington becoming embroiled in “endless wars.”