Trump says Maduro captured and flown out of Venezuela after U.S. strike
Trump says he will hold a news conference about the situation at 11am and that no U.S. lives were lost in the operation.
President Trump said on Saturday that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been captured and flown out of Venezuela after a large U.S. strike.
The U.S. Army's Delta Force, which is an elite special forces unit, reportedly conducted the operation.
Trump described the operation as a "large scale strike."
Eyewitness video obtained by CBS News shows the aftermath of the strike.
“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 wrote on Truth Social.
Trump said he will hold a news conference about the situation at 11am from Mar-a-Lago.
Maduro is facing criminal charges in the United States, according to Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“He informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant,” Utah Sen. Mike Lee wrote on X Saturday.
Rubio posted his previous statement about Maduro not being the legitimate president of Venezuela. He allegedly declared victory in the last election despite losing.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado previously said Americans should trust the Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela.
“This is not a legitimate president. This is the head of a criminal structure that was already defeated in a presidential election by a landslide,” she said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi formally announced on Saturday that Venezuela leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York.
Trump said a helicopter was hit during the operation and some soldiers were injured and no U.S. lives were lost based on the latest information he has received.
"We lost no aircraft; everything came back. One helicopter was hit pretty hard, but we got it back." Trump said during a Fox News interview. "We have a few injuries but no deaths on our side is really amazing."
Trump said the strike was justified.
"We had to do it because it’s a war where we’re losing 300,000 people a year. We don’t lose that much in a war," he said.