Near midnight Friday into early Saturday morning, American military forces carried out a major assault in Venezuela that captured strongman Nicolás Maduro. Helicopters flew into the capital city of Caracas for the operation, which also included air strikes on a number of major military targets in the country, including ports, airports, and military bases.

Later Saturday morning, President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social account, “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.”

Following the operation, Venezuelan defense minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez released a video statement calling on the international community to condemn the attack and stating that Venezuela would “deploy all [its] capacities” to defend itself. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, speaking via telephone to the government news channel VTV, told viewers “we do not know the whereabouts of President Nicolas Maduro and the First Lady Cilia Flores. We urge the government of Donald Trump to release immediate proof of life of the life of President Maduro and the First Lady.”