President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the United States had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife after carrying out a “large scale strike” in the South American country.
The raid was carried out by the US Army’s elite Delta Force. Venezuela’s interior minister said Wednesday that at least 100 people died in the attack. There were not any US casualties, according to Trump, though he said some service members were injured when a helicopter was hit.
For years, the Trump administration has looked to prosecute Maduro through the US legal system. In 2020, during Trump’s first term, Maduro was charged in the Southern District of New York for “narco-terrorism,” conspiracy to import cocaine, and related charges.
In New York on Monday, Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges. A defiant Maduro told the judge he had been kidnapped.
In recent weeks, Trump had repeatedly warned that the United States was preparing to take new action against alleged drug trafficking networks in Venezuela and that strikes on land would start “soon.” Trump’s pressure campaign on Maduro included strikes destroying more than 30 boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean in what the United States described as a counter-narcotics campaign. Trump last month ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers coming to and leaving Venezuela.
Trump said Saturday that the United States is “going to run” Venezuela indefinitely until a “proper and judicious transition” occurs. Maduro ally Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as acting president.
Here are some of the stories that made headlines over the past week, as well as some photos that caught our eye.
