Palm Beach County [US], January 3 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Saturday told Fox News that the United States had planned to carry out military operations in Venezuela four days prior, but the mission was delayed due to unfavorable weather conditions. “We were going to do it four days ago but the weather was not perfect. The weather has to be perfect… It was amazing. I’ll tell you — it was highly guarded, like a fortress actually. We had nobody killed, we lost no aircraft,” Trump said, offering his first remarks after the strikes that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Trump described the operation as necessary, citing the loss of lives linked to drug trafficking and emphasizing that the action sent a strong message. “We had to do it. It is a war. We are losing three hundred thousand people a year. We don’t lose that much in a war,” he said. He added, “It sends a signal we’re not going to be pushed around as a country anymore.”
Highlighting the skill and coordination behind the mission, Trump said, “It was amazing to see the professionalism — the quality of leadership…To have a few injuries but no deaths on our side is really amazing.” He detailed the complexity of the operation, involving multiple aircraft, helicopters, and fighter jets, describing it as a precise maneuver executed under heavy surveillance.
The US strikes successfully captured Maduro and Flores, who were flown out of the country in coordination with US law enforcement. Trump confirmed the operation on Truth Social, noting, “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. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement. Details to follow.”
US Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced that Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism and other offenses and will face justice in the United States. “Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States. They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” Bondi said on X. She also thanked Trump and the US military for the operation, calling it “incredible and highly successful.”
The capture of Maduro comes amid sharply heightened tensions between the United States and Venezuela. (ANI)
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