The Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife have been captured and flown out of the country by the United States military during an attack in Caracas, te country’s capital.
Maduro was captured after months of pressuring him over accusations of drug-running and illegitimacy in power, as well as crimes allegedly perpetrated in the US before assuming office.
President Donald Trump, who confirmed the development on Saturday, said that Maduro and his wife have been flown out of the country.
Before now, the US has not made such a direct intervention in Latin America since the invasion of Panama in 1989 to depose military leader Manuel Noriega, over similar allegations.
“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
The US had accused Maduro of running a “narco-state” and rigging last year’s election, which the opposition said it won overwhelmingly.
The Venezuelan leader, who succeeded Hugo Chavez to take power in 2013, dismissed the allegations, claiming that Washington wants to take control of Venezuela’s oil reserves, the largest in the world.
