US President Donald Trump has claimed that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been captured and flown out of the country following what he described as a large-scale US strike on Venezuela.
In a post early Saturday on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the United States had successfully carried out a major operation against Venezuela, adding that Maduro and his wife were removed from the country in an action conducted alongside US law enforcement agencies. He said further details would be released at a news conference scheduled for later in the day.
The claims followed reports of multiple explosions in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, and other parts of the country in the early hours of Saturday. A CNN team in Caracas said it witnessed several blasts around 1:50am local time, with parts of the city experiencing power outages and low-flying aircraft heard overhead.
Verified videos circulating online showed fires and explosions at key locations, including airports in Higuerote and La Guaira, as well as smoke rising near Fort Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex and the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence.
Venezuelan authorities accused the United States of carrying out “military aggression” against Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira. In a statement, the government said President Maduro had signed a state of emergency and ordered the activation of national defence plans. It also announced plans to lodge complaints with the United Nations and other international bodies.
The US government has not officially confirmed involvement in the explosions, and the Pentagon referred questions to the White House, which had yet to issue a formal response.
International reactions were swift. Colombian President Gustavo Petro called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations, while Cuba condemned what it described as a “criminal attack” on Venezuela. In the US, Senator Brian Schatz warned that Washington had “no vital national interests in Venezuela to justify war” and criticised the lack of transparency around the reported action.
The Federal Aviation Administration has since barred US aircraft from Venezuelan airspace, citing safety risks linked to ongoing military activity.
As of Saturday morning, the Venezuelan opposition said it had no official comment on the situation, while uncertainty remains over the accuracy of Trump’s claims and the full extent of developments on the ground.