President Donald Trump claimed early Saturday that the United States carried out a “large scale strike” in Venezuela and that President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country, according to Trump’s Truth Social post.
In the post, Trump said the operation was conducted “in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement” and promised more information later. He said a news conference would be held at 11 a.m. at Mar-a-Lago.
Venezuela’s government accused the United States of launching attacks on civilian and military sites, reported by Reuters. Reuters said the Venezuelan statement described strikes in Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, and said Maduro declared a national emergency and urged mobilization.
Explosions and fires were reported in and around the capital in the predawn hours, as reported by The Associated Press. The AP reported that uncertainty spread quickly about the status of Venezuela’s leadership, and that Venezuelan authorities had not publicly provided details about Maduro’s whereabouts in the immediate aftermath.
Neither the White House nor the Pentagon immediately provided public, detailed confirmation beyond Trump’s statement, Reuters reported.
The situation remained fluid Saturday morning, with Trump promising additional details at the scheduled news conference.
