Donald Trump has addressed the US strike on Venezuela, which took place in the early hours of Saturday.
During a press conference from Mar-a-Lago, the President confirmed that US forces had captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a sweeping early‑morning raid on Caracas and nearby regions.
He praised the "extraordinary" military operation which was conducted at his direction in the capital of Venezuela, highlighting the use of "overwhelming" American military power by "air, land and sea".
Trump labelled it an "assault like we've not seen since World War II" against "a heavily fortified military fortress" in the heart of Caracas.
He compared it to previous military operations against Iran, adding: "No nation in the world could achieve what America achieved yesterday."
Trump claimed that all Venezuelan military capabilities were "rendered powerless" by the strike, claiming that Caracas was plunged into darkness during the operation "due to a certain expertise" that America has.
He confirmed that Maduro and his wife were captured during the strike, and will "now face American justice", having been indicted in the southern district of New York for their "campaign of deadly narco-terrorism" against the US and its citizens.
Trump claimed that gangs sent to the U.S. by President Maduro, which he referred to as a "terrorist organization", were "stealing American lives."
He further claimed that Maduro "emptied prisons and insane asylums," and "sent everybody bad into the United States."
Trump explained that Venezuela cost America "billions and billions of dollars" as they allegedly stole U.S. oil.
According to Trump, this has been going on for many years, but no other President "bothered to do anything about it."
Trump added that the US is "going to run" Venezuela until "such a time that we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition" of power.
He'd earlier told the New York Times that the mission was a major success.
“It was a brilliant operation, actually,” Trump said, praising the planning and execution. “A lot of good planning and [a] lot of great, great troops and great people.”
Trump took to social media to say US forces had launched “a large‑scale strike against Venezuela” and said that more details would be shared at a press conference at his Mar‑a‑Lago estate.
CBS News later reported that US officials said elite Delta Force soldiers, the unit behind the 2019 killing of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al‑Baghdadi, were responsible for capturing Maduro.
Venezuela’s government quickly hit back, accusing the US of unleashing multiple attacks on civilian and military targets as explosions echoed through Caracas before dawn on Saturday.
In an official statement, officials urged citizens to rise up and resist what they called a dangerous act of foreign “military aggression” that could plunge the region into turmoil.
“The entire country must mobilise to defeat this imperialist aggression,” the statement declared.
Venezuela’s defense minister, Vladimir Padrino López, appeared in a defiant online video condemning the assault as a “deplorable” and “criminal” regime‑change operation that had “desecrated our sacred land.”
“This invasion represents the greatest outrage the country has ever suffered,” Gen Padrino López said, claiming Venezuelan authorities were still assessing civilian casualties from helicopter strikes in urban zones.
The defense chief urged soldiers and civilians alike to push back. “They have attacked us but they will not vanquish us … we will form an indestructible wall of resistance. Our vocation is peace, but our heritage is the fight for freedom,” he said.
US media outlets reported that Trump ordered the strikes targeting military installations across Venezuela. Early Saturday, blasts and low‑flying aircraft were reported over Caracas and three other states: Miranda, La Guaira and Aragua.
In its statement, the Venezuelan government said the attack aimed to seize control of the country’s strategic resources, especially oil and minerals.
It called on the global community to denounce what it described as a blatant breach of international law that endangered millions of lives.
Neighboring Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, echoed alarm on social platform X, writing: “Right now they are bombing Caracas … bombing it with missiles,” and urging an immediate emergency session of the UN Security Council.
The BBC reported that Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has stated that he does not know where President Maduro is.
He has demanded "immediate proof of life" of the President and his wife.