President Donald Trump announced early Saturday that the United States had detained Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife after a “major attack” in the South American country.
The attack was carried out by the U.S. Army’s elite Delta Force, but there were no U.S. casualties, U.S. officials said.
The Trump administration has long argued that Maduro is a criminal and has considered prosecuting him through the U.S. judicial system. In 2020, during President Trump’s first term, Maduro was indicted in the Southern District of New York on charges of “narcoterrorism,” conspiracy to import cocaine, and related charges.
President Trump has repeatedly warned in recent weeks that a ground attack would begin “soon” as the United States prepares to take new action against an alleged drug trafficking network in Venezuela. President Trump’s pressure campaign against Maduro also included attacks that destroyed more than 30 ships in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Ocean in what the United States called a counter-drug operation. President Trump last month ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers traveling to and from Venezuela.
President Trump said Saturday that the United States intends to “govern” Venezuela indefinitely until there is a “proper and wise transition.”
