President Donald Trump said U.S. forces carried out an "extraordinary" overnight military operation in Caracas that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, describing the mission as one of the most dramatic displays of American military power in modern history.
Speaking at a press conference Saturday covered on Newsmax, Trump said U.S. air, land, and sea forces overwhelmed Venezuelan defenses in a coordinated assault that left the country’s military "rendered powerless" within hours.
He said Maduro and Flores were seized in the dark after U.S. forces disrupted power and command-and-control systems across the capital, and were taken into U.S. custody to face narco-terrorism charges in the Southern District of New York.
Trump praised U.S. service members and law enforcement for what he called a flawless operation carried out with "breathtaking speed, power, precision, and competence," contrasting it with past U.S. missions he said had ended in failure.
He placed the Maduro operation alongside other high-profile U.S. actions, including the raid that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
The president invoked historical precedent, drawing parallels to the 1989 capture of Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega, who was seized by U.S. forces during Operation Just Cause and later tried in U.S. federal court on drug trafficking charges.
Trump also referenced the Jan. 3, 2020, U.S. drone strike that killed Soleimani in Baghdad, describing both actions as examples of decisive U.S. responses against foreign adversaries.
Maduro and Flores, Trump said, are now in U.S. custody and will face American justice.
"No nation in the world could achieve what America achieved," he said, adding that the operation demonstrated the United States is once again a "respected country."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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