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The night sky over Caracas was still glowing with the aftershock of explosions when the announcement arrived—first as a shockwave on social media, then as breaking news across the world. U.S. President Donald Trump declared that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been captured by U.S. Delta Force operators and flown out of Venezuela. It was a moment that shattered months of escalating tension and pushed the crisis into a new, unpredictable chapter.
According to Trump’s statement, posted in the early hours of the morning, the United States had carried out a “large scale strike” on Venezuelan territory, culminating in the capture of the country’s leader and First Lady. He described the mission as a coordinated operation conducted alongside U.S. law‑enforcement agencies, promising further details in an upcoming press conference. In a brief interview with The New York Times, Trump called the mission “brilliant,” praising the planning and the troops who executed it.
Reports from CBS News and other outlets confirmed that the elite U.S. Army Delta Force—one of the most secretive special operations units in the world—was responsible for the capture. Sources described a rapid, high‑precision operation that unfolded amid explosions and low‑flying aircraft over Caracas and several surrounding regions. Venezuelan officials had already accused the U.S. of bombing residential areas earlier that night, but the scale and intent of the operation only became clear once Trump made his announcement.
The aftermath inside Venezuela was chaotic. Smoke rose from military installations, including the massive Fuerte Tiuna complex, while government officials scrambled to assess the damage and determine the whereabouts of their president. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez claimed Maduro’s location was unknown, even as international media confirmed he had been transported out of the country by U.S. forces. Regional leaders reacted with alarm, and Colombia released its own list of sites reportedly struck during the operation.
International analysis quickly framed the moment as historic. CNN commentators compared the capture to the dramatic falls of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden—an extraordinary escalation in U.S. foreign intervention. Italian and Indian outlets echoed the same narrative: a stunning, unprecedented move that reshapes the geopolitical landscape of Latin America overnight