Venezuelan President Maduro captured as US attacks Caracas, Trump says

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been “captured and flown out of the country” according to US President Donald Trump.

Trump posted the information on his Truth Social platform after Venezuela accused the United States of an attack on its capital.

He also confirmed the US had carried out “a large scale strike against Venezuela” and said the president’s wife Cilia Flores had also been taken.

At least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas around 2am local time on Saturday and a state of emergency was subsequently declared in Venezuela.

The Venezuelan government published a statement denouncing the alleged military aggression by the United States in Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira.

“Venezuela rejects, repudiates, and denounces before the international community the extremely serious military aggression carried out by the current Government of the United States of America against Venezuelan territory and population in civilian and military locations in the city of Caracas, capital of the Republic, and the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira,” the statement said.

“People to the streets!” it added. “The Bolivarian Government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack.”

It comes as the US military has been targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats in recent days.

Pedestrians were seen running down streets in various neighborhoods while several parts of the city were left without power. Smoke was also seen rising from a Venezuelan military base hangar.

The Federal Aviation Authority has banned US commercial flights in Venezuelan airspace over “ongoing military activity”.

On Friday, Venezuela said it was open to negotiating an agreement with the United States to combat drug trafficking.

President Maduro has previously said the US wants to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through the monthslong pressure campaign that began with a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.

Trump has threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land for months. The US had also seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, and ordered a blockade of others in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country’s economy.