Trump claims US carried out strikes on Venezuela and captured president

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Caracas: US President Donald Trump has posted on his social media platform Truth Social that the United States has carried out strikes on Venezuela on Saturday, and taken Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife into US custody.

“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country. This operation was done in conjunction with US Law Enforcement. Details to follow ... Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP”

Venezuela’s government earlier accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states after at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in the capital, Caracas, about 2am local time on Saturday.

US officials told CBS that President Donald Trump had ordered strikes on sites inside Venezuela.

Venezuela’s government issued a statement blaming the US and saying the goal of “the US attack” was to take possession of Venezuelan oil and minerals.

Attacks took place in the capital, as well as in the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, the statement said, prompting Maduro to declare a national emergency and call on social and political forces to “activate mobilisation plans”.

The Pentagon and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Federal Aviation Administration banned US commercial flights in Venezuelan airspace over “ongoing military activity”.

People in various neighbourhoods rushed to the streets. Some could be seen in the distance from various areas of Caracas, according to the Associated Press.

“The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes,” said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, her voice trembling. She was walking briskly with two relatives, returning from a birthday party.

“We felt like the air was hitting us.”

Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power.

This comes as the US military has in recent days been targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats.

On Friday, Venezuela said it was open to negotiating an agreement with the United States to combat drug trafficking.

Maduro also said the US wanted to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through the months-long pressure campaign that began with a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.

Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism in the US. The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels in what was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US began strikes on boats in September.

Trump has for months threatened to launch strikes on targets on Venezuelan land.

The US military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since early September.

As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes was 35 and the number of people killed was at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.

They followed a major build-up of American forces in the waters off South America, including the arrival in November of the nation’s most advanced aircraft carrier, which added thousands more troops to what was already the largest military presence in the region in generations.

Trump has justified the boat strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and asserted that the US is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.

The US president has accused Venezuela of using oil revenues to fund an array of criminal activities, including drug trafficking and terrorism.

As part of Trump’s pressure campaign, the US has also seized two oil tankers and sanctioned Maduro’s relatives, as well as Chinese companies trading with Venezuela.

The country has denied the allegations and called the US actions illegal.

At least seven oil tankers bound for Venezuela turned back on Friday, according to ship movements tracked on Friday by Bloomberg, as tensions between the US and Venezuela increased. That adds to four that halted journeys to Venezuela in the immediate aftermath of US forces boarding the vessel Skipper in mid-December.

Meanwhile, Iranian state television reported on the explosions in Caracas on Saturday, showing images of the Venezuelan capital. Iran has been close to Venezuela for years, in part due to their shared enmity of the US.

AP, Bloomberg, Reuters

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