President Donald Trump says he has “captured” Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, as part of a large-scale attack on the capital city of Caracas on Saturday morning.
Trump made an uncharacteristically brief announcement about the attacks on Truth Social at 4:21 a.m., writing that: “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.”
The 79-year-old president went on to note that the operation was executed “in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement,” but did not cite which law enforcement agency was involved.
Trump promised that more details would be shared during a press conference from Mar-a-Lago at 11 a.m. He had spent the previous day golfing and shopping for marble for his tacky White House ballroom.
CBS News was the first to confirm that it was the U.S. president who had ordered large-scale strikes on sites inside Venezuela, including military facilities, triggering explosions that ripped through Caracas just before 2 a.m. local time on Saturday.
The strikes marked a significant escalation of U.S. military action beyond previous maritime operations and isolated attacks. The pre-dawn blasts heard across the Venezuelan capital were the result of direct American intervention, according to CBS News reporters Jennifer Jacobs and Jim LaPorta, citing U.S. officials.
Trump authorized U.S. military commanders to carry out strikes inside Venezuela several days ago, according to U.S. officials cited by CBS News. Military planners had been prepared to move as early as Christmas Day, but other operations took priority, the sources said.
According to the officials, U.S. airstrikes targeting ISIS-linked militants in Nigeria were deemed more urgent at the time, delaying the Venezuela operation.
In the days after Christmas, additional strike windows opened, but the mission was postponed in part because of weather conditions. U.S. military leaders wanted conditions that would maximize the likelihood of success before giving the final go-ahead, the officials told CBS News.
At least seven blasts were reported just before 2 a.m. local time, according to residents and journalists from Reuters, the Associated Press, and CNN. Videos circulating online showed scenes of chaos and plumes of smoke over the city as residents took to social media.
Witnesses also reported the roar of low-flying aircraft, and several neighborhoods, especially in southern Caracas, near a major military base, have reportedly lost electricity. Journalists on the ground confirmed the repeated detonations and aircraft noise.
The attack took place amid escalating geopolitical tensions between Venezuela and the United States. U.S. military forces have recently intensified operations targeting alleged “narco-terrorist” networks in the region. Maduro has previously accused the U.S. of aggression and interference, even as, days earlier, his government signaled willingness to negotiate on anti-drug cooperation.
There are no reports of casualties or verified damage assessments at this time.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a longtime critic of Trump, posted an alert to social media minutes after the explosions were first reported. “Caracas is under attack right now,” he wrote. “Alert the world: Venezuela has been attacked! They are bombarding with missiles. The OAS and the UN must meet immediately.”
He followed that post just six minutes later with video of the attacks on Caracas, noting, “Colombia, now a member of the United Nations Security Council, must be convened immediately to establish the international legality of the aggression against Venezuela.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
