The US has captured Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife following a “large-scale” strike against the country, President Donald Trump has said.
It is learnt that Maduro and his wife were captured in the operation carried out by the US army’s Delta Force carried out the operation. It is the biggest US military build-up in the Americas since the Cold War and follows weeks of heightened tension.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi says Maduro has been indicted in New York on drug and weapons charges and will “face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”
Maduro, she says, has been charged with “Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States.”
“A huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers,” the Attorney General adds.
Three figures likely to succeed Maduro are Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, and Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino.
All three appeared on television hours after the attack and could assume leadership.
Venezuela has declared a national emergency, denouncing “military aggression.”
