Trump sheds more light on Venezuela strike, Maduro capture

By Sarah Roderick-Fitch
The Center Square

President Donald Trump shed more light on the strikes on Venezuela and the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

During an interview on Fox News Saturday morning, the president said he didn’t think any U.S. troops were killed during the operation overnight; however, he said a couple of troops were hit, including a helicopter.

He added that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are en route to New York after being taken aboard the USS Iwo Jima, which is deployed in the Caribbean. Earlier, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the couple had been indicted in the Southern District of New York and would be tried on American soil.

The president said the operation was originally planned to take place four days prior, but was postponed due to the weather.

He said he watched the operation unfold from Mar-a-Lago, his residence in Palm Beach, Fla.

“The team did an incredible job…There’s no other country on Earth that can do such a maneuver,” said the president. “I’ve never seen anything like this. I was able to watch it in real time, and I watched every aspect of it.”

Trump added that the U.S. was prepared to carry out a second wave, but that it wasn’t necessary.

“We were all set – and this was so lethal, this was so powerful, that we didn’t have to … We were out there with an armada like nobody’s ever seen before,” said the president.

He said that Maduro and his wife were captured in a highly secured fortress.

Trump was asked what he thinks is next for Venezuela and its people.

“We’re making that decision now. We can’t take a chance on letting somebody else run it and just take over where he left off,” Trump added.

In support of the president’s actions, Vice President JD Vance defended the administration’s actions in a social media post, saying that Maduro was “offered multiple off ramps” from Trump. Still, the president “was very clear throughout this process: the drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States.”

“And PSA for everyone saying this was ‘illegal’: Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism. You don’t get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas,” Vance posted.