By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
SHOCKING MILITARY action by the United States (US) was announced overnight stating that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were arrested and taken out of their country following what President Donald Trump described as a large-scale strike against Venezuela.
President Trump said in an emergency statement issued on the 3rd, local time and posted on his Truth Social Media platform Truth Social that the US military had completed the operation successfully.
He wrote that President Maduro and his wife had been arrested and transferred outside Venezuela.
Earlier, explosions were reported in Caracas in the early hours of Saturday as parts of the Venezuelan capital lost electricity as media reports noted that several neighbourhoods were cut off from the power grid after blasts were heard.
The first explosion was said to be recorded at about 1.50am local time noting that an aircraft could be heard flying after the explosions, while the cause of the blasts was not immediately clear.
“One was so strong, my window was shaking after it,” a CNN correspondent Osmary Hernandez said.
Also, a video obtained and verified by the station showed two plumes of smoke rising into the night sky over Caracas.
The footage also showed flickering city lights and an orange glow at the base of one plume before a flash and a dull booming sound were heard elsewhere.
President Trump said the operation went beyond a conventional military strike adding that the action was conducted jointly with US law enforcement authorities.
“This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement,” he said.
Trump added that the USA had successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader adding that both he and his wife had been captured and flown out of the country.
President Trump later repeated the claim, saying, US forces had captured the Venezuelan leader after launching the operation.
In a brief phone interview with The New York Times, Trump praised the operation, calling it “brilliant”.
“A lot of good planning and lot of great, great troops and great people,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.
Trump’s announcement marked the first time in 36 years that a sitting president was reported to have been captured by US special forces on their own soil and extradited to a third country or the US; noting that the last comparable case cited was the 1990 invasion of Panama, when former leader Manuel Noriega was arrested.
Hours later, Venezuelan authorities responding through its Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, said during a call with the state-run television channel VTV that the whereabouts of President Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were unclear.
“The whereabouts of President Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores are unclear, and we do not know where they are,” Rodríguez said, calling on the US government to “immediately clarify whether the presidential couple is alive”.
Also, the Venezuelan government declared a state of emergency at dawn, saying that a US attack had begun with the declaration reported as the explosions were still being assessed in Caracas and surrounding areas.
Venezuelan news outlets Efecto Cocuyo and Tal Cual Digital reported that explosions were also heard outside the capital.
The outlet said blasts were heard in La Guaira state, north of Caracas along the coast, and in Higuerote, a coastal city in Miranda state.
President Trump said he would hold a press conference at 11.00am local time at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, where his private residence is located as he said he would disclose details of the operation during the briefing.
Previous Months Before The Attack:
In recent months, the Trump administration has applied pressure on the Maduro government through blockades of Venezuelan waters and precision strikes.
Also, Trump repeatedly warned that the United States was preparing to take new action against alleged drug trafficking networks in Venezuela and said strikes on land would begin soon.
And by October, Trump said he had authorised the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to operate inside Venezuela to curb the illegal flow of migrants and drugs from the country.
On several occasions, Trump also said that Venezuela is a major exporter of drugs to the US and accused the Venezuelan government of involvement in narcotics trafficking adding that the US government has indicted Maduro on charges described by him as narco-terrorism and drug-terrorism.
Aside that, the US-Drug Enforcement Administration (USDEA) was cited as providing justification for the military operation as the action was described as a hybrid operation in which the US military used force to secure suspects linked to those charges.
Trump also cautioned in December that it would be smart for Maduro to step down as he added at that time that the Venezuelan leader’s days were numbered.
Two days before Trump’s announcement, Maduro attempted to engage with the US president, offering cooperation on fighting drug trafficking and illegal migration. About the same time, the US also established a large naval and aerial presence in the Caribbean. Assets deployed include the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and other warships.
Also, US forces have seized two tankers at sea as part of an oil blockade on Venezuela while the country also carried out aerial strikes that it said were aimed at destroying small boats accused of drug trafficking.
Earlier this week, Trump told reporters that US forces had struck and destroyed a docking area used by alleged Venezuelan drug boats. He said it was the first known strike on Venezuelan soil during the campaign.
As a matter of fat, the US government, alongside many European nations, does not recognise the legitimacy of President Maduro.
And while Trump has not explicitly called for Maduro’s removal from office, the administration has maintained economic and military pressure on the Venezuelan government.
However, President Trump said further details of the operation would be provided at his scheduled press conference.
