“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,” Trump posted on Truth Social. He also confirmed the large scale military strikes the US has carried out against Venezuela.
This comes after multiple loud explosions, and the sounds of low-flying aircraft were heard today around 2 am (local time) in Caracas. Powercuts were witnessed in several parts of the city as locals panicked and rushed into the streets. A national emergency was subsequently declared by the Venezuelan President after the explosions.
President Maduro accused the US government of military aggression against the Venezuelan people and military installations across multiple states. Venezuelan authorities said in a statement that the US had attacked strategic locations in various parts of the country.
The developments come amid spiked tensions between the US and Venezuela regarding alleged Venezuelan boats engaged in smuggling narcotics through the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. The US has been attacking suspected drug-smuggling boats for the past several months, which has been described by Trump as “war on drugs”.
The situation is expected to escalate as a high level delegation of Chinese officials was reportedly in Caracas, meeting President Maduro just hours before the US strikes were reported. Trump administration is expected to face some domestic heat too, as the strikes have not been approved by the US Congress.
Trump has stated that he will conduct a presser at Mar-a-Lago today evening.
