The US carried out multiple strikes on Venezuela and “captured” its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, along with his wife, and flew them out of the country in a midnight operation Saturday morning, a dramatic escalation which comes months after US military build-up in the region, with the deployment of aircraft and warships. In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump confirmed that the operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement.
Washington has accused Maduro of running a “narco-state”, and of working with gangs designated as terrorist organisations. Maduro has denied these allegations. The Venezuelan leader, who succeeded Hugo Chavez to take power in 2013, has said Washington wants to take control of its oil reserves, the largest in the world.
The attack comes months after US military build-up in the region, with the deployment of aircraft and warships.
Maduro to be tried in US?
As reports of Maduro being “flown out of the country” emerged, Republican Senator Mike Lee, in a post on X, said that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told him that the Venezuelan leader was arrested by US forces to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States. “He (Rubio) anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody,” Lee wrote on X following a call with Washington’s top diplomat.
News agency Associated Press reported that the White House has not disclosed where Maduro and his wife were being flown to.
The Venezuelan government has demanded “proof of life” of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. “We demand immediate proof of life of President Nicolas Maduro and the first combatant Cilia Flores,” Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Saturday morning in an audio played on state tv.
Charges against Maduro
Maduro was indicted in March 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges in the Southern District of New York.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau added Maduro would “finally face justice for his crimes.” In a post on X, he said the country’s leader was gone and would now face justice for his alleged crimes.
In 2020, Nicolas Maduro, along with 14 officials, including Venezuela’s vice president for the economy, Venezuela’s Minister of Defense, and Venezuela’s Chief Supreme Court Justice were charged with Narco-Terrorism, Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Criminal Charges in New York City; Washington, DC; and Miami.
“The Venezuelan regime, once led by Nicolás Maduro Moros, remains plagued by criminality and corruption,” announced US Attorney General William General P. Barr.
“For more than 20 years, Maduro and a number of high-ranking colleagues allegedly conspired with the FARC, causing tons of cocaine to enter and devastate American communities. Today’s announcement is focused on rooting out the extensive corruption within the Venezuelan government – a system constructed and controlled to enrich those at the highest levels of the government. The United States will not allow these corrupt Venezuelan officials to use the U.S. banking system to move their illicit proceeds from South America nor further their criminal schemes.”
“The scope and magnitude of the drug trafficking alleged was made possible only because Maduro and others corrupted the institutions of Venezuela and provided political and military protection for the rampant narco-terrorism crimes described in our charges. As alleged, Maduro and the other defendants expressly intended to flood the United States with cocaine in order to undermine the health and wellbeing of our nation. Maduro very deliberately deployed cocaine as a weapon. While Maduro and other cartel members held lofty titles in Venezuela’s political and military leadership, the conduct described in the Indictment wasn’t statecraft or service to the Venezuelan people. As alleged, the defendants betrayed the Venezuelan people and corrupted Venezuelan institutions to line their pockets with drug money,” said US Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman.
The US government stopped officially recognising Moros as its president in 2019 itself.
The Trump administration officially declared pro-Washington opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela President, and handed over the control of Venezuela’s bank accounts and property in the US to him in January 2019. This came after Washington imposed sanctions on the sale of oil to the US, a major source of income for Venezuela.